Clive Baker

Clive Baker

Member

@CliveBaker

Converted a LWB panel van conversion after retirement. Best decision ever. Part of the local off-grid meetup group.

Bristol, England Joined May 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (50)
Victron multiplus2 and dyness power box 10 kwh
Great points all round, but nobody's mentioned the VE.Bus System Configurator side of things yet. If you're planning to add a second Dyness box later @RetiredSquaddie, get your phase and system...
in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago
WattCycle 12V 314Ah Bluetooth Mini Super LiFePO4 - Active Balancing & DIY Serviceable
@OldSailor and @KentBoater are both right to flag the balancing current, but the other figure nobody checks is when balancing activates.
in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago
Anyone else find their garden office gets unbearably hot in summer even with insulation?
@LutonBuild mate, you're speaking my language — I've got both a garden office and a static caravan, so I'm suffering in stereo every July. The phase change materials route is genuinely interesting...
in Garden Offices 7 months ago
Wanted: Cerbo GX or similar monitoring hub
The Cerbo GX is definitely the way to go for your hybrid inverter setup — the CANBUS integration others have mentioned is genuinely useful, not just a nice-to-have.
in Wanted 9 months ago thumb_up 3
VRM Portal — getting the most out of it
The custom dashboards are genuinely underutilised. What I've found valuable with my garden office setup is creating separate dashboard views for different failure modes — one that surfaces battery...
in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Wanted: Victron SmartShunt — secondhand OK
Looking to pick up a secondhand SmartShunt 500A/48V if anyone's got one gathering dust. Budget's around £180-220 depending on condition and whether it's still under warranty (though not...
in Wanted 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Flexible vs rigid panels — pros and cons
Worth noting the angle of incidence factor that doesn't get mentioned often enough. Rigid panels on a static caravan or garden office are brilliant because you can angle them properly toward...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago
UPS for home office — solar charged
That Victron combo is solid. The MPPT's efficiency really shows when you're trying to squeeze every watt from limited roof space on a van setup. Worth considering your battery chemistry though —...
in Emergency & Backup Power 1 year ago thumb_up 1
My Sprinter van build — 400W solar, 300Ah LiFePO4
400W on a Sprinter's roof is tight geometry-wise. I'd push back on the November gloom concern though—@BaySeeker's right about winter output, but 300Ah LiFePO4 gives you genuine buffer.
in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Victron MultiPlus vs Multiplus II — worth the upgrade?
The efficiency argument only really matters if you're running tight margins on your battery State of Charge.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
What did you do before going off-grid?
Spent twelve years in renewable energy installation before making the jump properly. Mostly grid-tied systems, so I had to unlearn some habits when I went off-grid—turns out demand management and...
in The Lounge 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Second-life EV batteries for off-grid — worth it?
The BMS complexity is genuinely the silent killer here. I've spent the better part of two years tinkering with second-life EV modules in my static caravan setup, and here's what nobody tells you...
in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Highland cabin 3kW system — winter update
The snow duration question @BlownFuse raises is spot on — I've been tracking this obsessively on my garden office system (8x 400W Renogy, similar latitude) and what surprised me is how quickly...
in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 2
How to mount solar panels on a motorhome roof
The roof flex issue is genuinely dangerous — you're not just risking structural damage, you're potentially compromising the seal between roof and walls, which leads to damp ingress.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 years ago thumb_up 1
Monocrystalline vs polycrystalline — which is better?
The efficiency gap's honestly become academic for most domestic setups. What matters more is your actual installation constraints and how you're using the array. I've got mono panels on my garden...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 years ago thumb_up 2