Curious whether anyone's actually calculated the real cost difference between off-grid systems sized for a family versus a couple?
Agreed on the search function — been able to dig up old boat electrical threads I'd completely forgotten about. The category split's proper useful too.
Are you looking at a standard compressor fridge or considering one of those lower-power absorption models?
Yeah, this resonates. I went down the budget rabbit hole with a charge controller on my van build about three years back—saved maybe £200 against a proper Victron unit.
What size van are we talking? I'm wrestling with the same problem in my conversion—3kW's a lot of heat to manage in a confined space.
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1 year ago
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Been wrestling with this myself in the van — started with a modest 400W Fogstar setup thinking it'd be plenty, turns out I was massively underestimating how much juice the basics actually...
Fair question @Rob1963. Yeah, it does stop things going catastrophically wrong, but that's just the headline.
What's actually clever about a BMS is the balancing bit.
Why did the inverter apply for a job in hospitality? It wanted to handle more loads without complaining.
Honestly though, @NotAnElectrician80's comment about caravans rings true—I've got mates...
@MuddySkipper — that's the tricky bit, isn't it? I've been battling this in my van conversion for months.
What's worked for me is keeping the battery box itself sealed and dry, then venting the...
@WonkyMender — I'm in a similar boat (literally, in my case). Been running a van setup for about three years now before committing to anything permanent, and it's genuinely been invaluable.
The...
Has anyone actually compared total cost of ownership though? I've been burned chasing Amazon "deals" on charge controllers—ended up with a Victron MPPT that cost more upfront than a...
Honestly depends on your heating setup more than anything. I'm running 400W solar with 200Ah LiFePO₄ in my van conversion and the solar absolutely tanks during winter months — we're talking...
Have you considered the pop-top mechanism itself? I'm dealing with the same dilemma on mine and realised the roof panels need to clear the lifting struts when it's up.
The marine angle does change things a bit. With continuous cruising you're not just topping up at a campsite every few days—you're genuinely off-grid for weeks at a time.
What's your typical daily...
