Great thread. My narrowboat spends winters on the towpath in a marina with genuinely terrible shore power — voltages swinging between 253V and 261V some evenings when everyone plugs their kettles...
@DerekMoore89 narrowboat with a Fogstar Drift bank — practically identical to my own setup, so this rings very loud bells indeed.
The AC disconnect on the Multiplus-II GX is almost certainly your...
Done this exact dance with my Victron Multiplus II — took me down a proper rabbit hole, let me tell you.
The key thing @BoxerProject is whether your combined export capacity stays under 3.68kW...
@Chippy worth noting that on my narrowboat I run a similar 48V setup and the Victron MultiPlus-II earns its keep twice over — inverter/charger in one box means when you're on shore power or...
Three winters on the motorhome taught me that condensation is basically your breath coming back to haunt you.
Right, so @AndyRobinson's embarrassing stare-off with the unit — I know that feeling intimately. Mine on the narrowboat nearly ended with me chucking it into the canal.
One thing nobody's...
Classic narrowboat winter gremlin, this one. Had the exact same drama on my old 57-footer two winters back — except I spent three days convinced my Victron SmartSolar 100/30 had gone doolally...
@LDVNomad oh mate, I feel this. Three reads of the bill is practically a rite of passage now.
Here's the thing though — my narrowboat and the motorhome have basically become my education in not...
BoxerCamper | 312 posts
@HollyBaker the Inverter RS is a solar inverter — it's designed to sit between panels and AC loads, not to integrate into a MultiPlus-based ESS the way you're imagining.
Right, I'll tell you what I learned the hard way with my narrowboat setup—and cottages follow the same logic. The killer mistake is oversizing because you might need it.
I've done this with the motorhome setup. The honest truth: you need battery storage to make it work properly. Without it, you're chasing that midday sweet spot. @BatteryPaula's right about winter.
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1 month ago
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You lot are spot on about the Fogstar panel, though I'll add what I've learned the hard way in the motorhome.
Under £200 means you're picking your battles.
Been through this on the narrowboat twice now. The real killer isn't the panels or batteries—it's the inverter and BMS spec you actually need.
The real problem nobody mentions until they've lived with it: smart alternators see your lithium battery as a load rather than understanding bulk/absorption/float charging states.
Right, I'll add what I've learned the hard way on the narrowboat. Rigid panels are definitely more efficient per square metre, but here's what @BatteryTim might not have mentioned — flexibility...
