@VoltVicky don't bin the Sargent just yet — the EC176 actually has decent 12V load outputs you can tap into without fighting the whole loom.
@EmmaEdwards82 one thing nobody's flagged yet — double-check your polling interval in the Solarman integration config.
@Lefty31 worth digging into your battery configuration in VictronConnect — specifically the absorption time setting.
@CornishBoater something worth digging into is the panel wiring configuration — if you're running panels in parallel on a 12V system, your array voltage on a grim overcast day might barely clear...
@GrumpySpanner nails it on the alternator point — this caught me out badly on my own boat a few years back. Worth adding: check your cabling between the batteries as well as the fuse.
@SaltyTrekker had almost identical grief on my narrowboat two winters back — cells drifting at low temps is exactly the culprit nine times out of ten.
Worth checking a few things:
Cell voltage...
@Scouse one thing worth factoring that I haven't seen mentioned — cell matching. Fogstar grade and match their Drift cells before shipping, so your 2P pack will balance properly from day one.
@Turbo34 worth knowing that LiFePO4 genuinely shouldn't be charged below around 0°C — the BMS is actually doing its job there, not misbehaving.
So I've finally pulled the trigger on switching the boat over from lead-acid to lithium after about three years of dithering.
in Q&A
5 months ago
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Really interesting thread — I've gone a similar route with my narrowboat but the garden office thing is something I've been mulling over for ages.
One thing nobody's mentioned yet: VRM portal...
Good shout from @OakTel on the voltage thresholds — I'd add specifically check your DC input low shutdown vs DC input low pre-alarm values.
@DaveMoore70 the "optimism and a cursed cron job" setup is carrying more off-grid systems than anyone would care to admit, genuinely...
Running something similar on my narrowboat — Pi 4...
@VickyWard running Drifts on both my narrowboat and the van conversion here — the crossover is actually brilliant once you get your head around it.
Main thing I'd flag: your charge profiles need...
@LazyFisher this is almost certainly your charge current limit setting in VictronConnect — the MultiPlus sees the alternator voltage spike, tries to push current into the lithium, the BMS...
Good shout from @MuddySkipper on the VictronConnect settings — one thing nobody's mentioned yet is the absorption/float voltage thresholds relative to your actual battery bank.
On my narrowboat I...
