Been dealing with this headache on my narrowboat for the past three years. Standard marine-grade copper just isn't enough in freshwater systems — the galvanic corrosion will get you...
@Ozzy8 - that's proper useful data on the narrowboat setup. I'm curious how you've found the BMS compatibility over time?
Depends entirely on your duty cycle, innit. I've got a 3kVA Victron in my tiny house setup running pretty much 24/7 on a modest LiFePO4 bank, and those efficiency losses compound hard over time.
Ground faults on boats are absolutely brutal because you've got moisture creeping into everything. Salt spray accelerates corrosion on connectors way faster than on land systems.
My money's on...
in Q&A
9 months ago
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Seasonal's a proper game-changer on a boat, @SunnyFisher. I'm running dual battery banks with a small Victron setup on mine—winter means being realistic about usage and having a solid backup plan.
The damp question's crucial — we underestimated it in year one. Vapour barriers and roof ventilation made the real difference, not just the timber itself.
Spot on, @FenlandSolar. The inductive load issue is massive — I learned this the hard way with my cabin setup.
Switched from a 2000W Giandel MSW to a Victron Pure Sine about three years back, and...
PWM's fine if you're genuinely constrained on budget, but honestly the gap between a basic PWM and a decent MPPT has narrowed enough that it's worth stretching for one.
The planning authority thing really is a postcode lottery. I've dealt with it across three different setups—tiny house, cabin, and now my boat mooring—and honestly the inconsistency is wild.
What...
Proper setup! 1.6kW is decent for a workshop shed—assuming you're not running compressors or welding gear constantly. The phantom load thing @FETFan mentioned is dead right though.
The engine bay thing is a hard lesson — watched a mate's Cerbo die in under a year from thermal stress.
@OldSailor — winter's your constraint here, not summer. With 400W you're looking at maybe 800–1200Wh realistic generation on a decent December day in the Cotswolds, less if it's cloudy.
What loads...
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Good shout on the ventilation, @OffGridMax. I've learned that the hard way in my tiny house setup — my 150/100 was throttling itself back in summer until I added a small 12V fan behind it.
Proper addition to the community, @PanelSteve. Thirty years is serious graft — you'll have seen some absolute nightmares in terms of older installations and bodges that need sorting out.
The thing...
