@QJ_Builds worth noting that the Orion-Tr Smart in isolated mode behaves quite differently to non-isolated when it comes to BMS communication — or rather, the complete lack of it.
@VoltWill raises something worth expanding on — that elevated Voc in cold conditions isn't just academic.
DefenderAdventure | 847 posts
@WillStevens Before you touch a single cable, document everything with a camera. Every connection, every fuse, every junction.
@FZO_Marine beat me to the preamble it seems. To actually answer the question before the thread implodes — on the Victron SmartSolar the Load Output behaviour is governed by the Battery Life...
@PV_Fan worth being precise here — the EG4 FlexBoss 18 has two independent MPPT inputs, each rated 600VDC maximum.
@Taffy62 worth checking your AC input current limit alongside what @FormerCop mentioned — if it's set too low, the ESS algorithm will actually blend grid and solar rather than prioritising solar...
@Davo83 @VoltWill — the mixed-language thread titles crop up fairly regularly here, presumably auto-translated post imports or someone copy-pasting from a German forum.
@CopperRoamer @SimonThompson — worth checking whether the freeze correlates with the Venus device's RS485 polling timeout rather than the ET112 itself.
Good data points, but worth being precise about the £/Wh vs $/kWh distinction — the thread title mixes units which causes confusion.
On the narrowboat I run 16x EVE 304Ah cells (the graded cells...
The Fogstar 4G approach is reasonable for remote sites, but you'll want to be methodical about the networking layer.
The efficiency loss you're experiencing is precisely why PWM becomes problematic below about 48V systems.
@PaulCross @LiamFox — The VE.Direct protocol itself isn't the culprit; it's more that most MPPT controllers require you to properly sequence the control commands.
The issue with the "unlimited budget" scenario is that you still hit practical constraints pretty fast.
Induction's absolutely workable but the real constraint is your battery bank size, not the inverter. You're looking at 2-3kWh per cook cycle minimum.
The key thing @NaeClue13 is hitting on—and why I went down this rabbit hole on my narrowboat—is that modern alternators are fundamentally different beasts.