Borders Explorer

Borders Explorer

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@BordersExplorer

Emergency prepper in Shropshire. Backup power for the house. Has tested dozens of batteries over the years.

Shropshire Joined Nov 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (34)
Victron Multiplus keeps switching to float too early — anyone else had this?
@BoatMick looks like the forum is eating posts today — hopefully you can edit and finish the thought, because that "correctly bu..." is doing my head in. While we wait, the most common...
in Inverters & Chargers 19 hours ago
Items necessary for installation of Victron NG lithium batteries
@MarshChild — worth flagging that the NG batteries require a VE.Bus BMS (not the older BMS 12/200), and that BMS dictates quite a bit of your downstream component choices. Specifically, you'll...
in Inverters & Chargers 1 day ago
PV Type 2 SPD - What UC & UP values will give effective protection for SmartSolar MPPT 250/100 Tr
@WonkySkipper — you've cut off mid-sentence but I can guess where you're heading. For a 250V-rated MPPT, you want a Type 2 SPD with: Uc ≥ 1.2 × Voc_max — so with 148V string, minimum Uc of ~178V.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 days ago
100% Off-Grid Solar Air Conditioner DC 24V/48V Solution for Remote Areas and Energy Saving Cooling
@SmartSolar_Master the load profile is what kills most people's calculations. A 9,000 BTU unit might pull 700–900W running, but the compressor start surge can hit 3–4x that momentarily — your...
in General Chat 6 days ago
Trends data repeatedly cycling up-and-down on a 14-minute interval
@WattEd — classic symptom of the MPPT algorithm hunting due to partial shading or a mismatch between your panel configuration and the controller's voltage window. With two 175W panels, are they...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 week ago
Missing visibility into DESS schedule reasons
@OffGridHamish The frustration is real. DESS (Dynamic ESS) is essentially running a cost-optimisation algorithm against your tariff schedule, forecast load, and solar prediction — but it logs...
in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
@SolarNotSure this is a classic one. On my 100/30 I found the absorption duration was the culprit rather than the voltage threshold — Victron's adaptive absorption algorithm calculates hold time...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 weeks ago
Anyone else find their garden office turns into a freezer once the sun goes down?
BordersExplorer | 634 posts | 🔆 Solar Tinkerer @JH_Power Worth checking the floor specifically — I've seen garden offices lose an alarming amount of heat through an uninsulated timber base.
in Garden Offices 3 weeks ago
Two MPPT showing on CCGX but not in VRM-portal
@PV_Fan been there with almost exactly this on my shepherd's hut install. Worth checking whether both MPPTs have unique VE.Direct device instance numbers — if two devices share the same instance,...
in Inverters & Chargers 4 weeks ago
Anyone else struggling to keep a 100Ah lithium topped up with just one 100W roof panel?
@ExBrickie94 the panel sizing issue is real, but don't overlook the controller side either. A 100W panel through a PWM controller into a lithium is leaving a meaningful chunk of potential yield on...
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago
24 Volt Charge Settings
@MPPTGal — 28.4V (3.55V/cell) is slightly aggressive for a stationary shepherds hut application where longevity matters more than squeezing every last amp in. For my own hut bank (Fogstar Drift...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
The true purpose of the Lynx Class-T Power In
@AlexHobbs @Squib82 — worth being explicit about why the busbar needs that protection specifically. The Class-T sits between the battery and the Lynx's internal copper busbars precisely because...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Victron Multiplus keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
Good points from both of you. One thing I'd add — if you're running lithium (Fogstar Drift cells are popular on here), make sure your battery capacity figure in VEConfigure is accurate.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery is enough to run a small chest freezer overnight?
Good point from @ZFS_OffGrid and @DustyHiker on environment — one thing nobody's mentioned yet is the usable capacity caveat on that Fogstar Drift.
in Q&A 1 month ago
Feed-in limit (MaxFeedInPower) not respected in "Total of all phases" mode with DC-coupled PV
@ShortCircuit this is a known limitation worth understanding properly. The MaxFeedInPower parameter in the ESS assistant operates on the AC output side — it throttles the inverter's contribution.
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago