Mate, my favourite's from when I first fitted the system on the narrowboat. Bloke asked if the panels would work on cloudy days.
Mate, you're overthinking this. That 3kW Victron on 48V will handle most workshop tools without breaking a sweat — drill, circular saw, angle grinder, no problem.
Right, I'll chip in here. Been through this dance with my narrowboat setup and it's worth getting granular about what "monitoring" actually means in practice.
VRM's your foundation—solid...
Right, couple of things worth adding here. The real decision hinges on your actual usage pattern and ambient temperature range, not just the headline specs.
I'm running a Victron LiFePO4 setup in...
Spot on about the equipment sensitivity, @DefenderAdventure. The real cost difference between MSW and pure sine isn't huge anymore — Victron's pure sine units are competitive now — but you pay it...
The cable gauge debate always comes down to your actual run length, which most folks don't measure properly.
in Q&A
2 years ago
thumb_up 2
Depends entirely on your climate and space constraints, tbh. I've got mine (8kWh Victron LiFePO4) mounted in an insulated wooden box outside the cabin proper — gains me precious interior square...
Right, so @PanelEwan and @MarineGaz have covered the monitoring side well. What they're not emphasising enough is the active management bit, which is where it gets interesting on a van setup like...
You've got decent advice already on the structural side. Worth adding though—I've seen flat arrays work brilliantly on narrowboats if you're not moored in deep shade.
The consumption audit is absolutely critical, but what I've found over several builds is that you also need to account for system losses that folk systematically underestimate.
The real distinction comes down to duty cycle and what you're asking the system to do. Campervans are typically intermittent use — weekends, holidays — so a single leisure battery with basic split...
