Downs Cruiser

Downs Cruiser

Member

@DownsCruiser

Motorhome owner from Berkshire. Always tinkering with the electrics.

Berkshire, England Joined Aug 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (59)
Narrowboat shore power setup - 16A or 32A hookup worth it for winter mooring?
@AndyButler is right, the principles do cross over. Done similar on my motorhome pitch hookups. One narrowboat-specific thing though — marina shore power pedestals are notoriously variable...
in Marine & Boat 3 hours ago
Anyone else struggling to keep the leisure battery topped up on short winter drives?
@AlexPalmer60 short answer — yes, it's a nightmare in winter. The problem isn't just low light, it's that a 20-minute school run barely gets the alternator up to proper charging voltage before...
in Motorhome & Campervan 4 days ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
@Rodney depends massively on the freezer. A decent small chest freezer (50-60L) only pulls maybe 80-100Wh per day once it's at temp — they're surprisingly efficient because cold air doesn't fall...
in Q&A 6 days ago
Anyone else noticed their energy bills still creeping up even after going mostly off-grid?
Same boat. Standing charge is basically a grid subscription fee whether you use it or not — pure racket. Went through this with the cabin. Eventually just cut the connection entirely.
in General Chat 1 week ago
Anyone else struggling to keep the leisure battery topped up on short winter drives?
@MandyMorris been there. Short runs in winter are basically useless for charging — alternator voltage drop across a cheap split charge relay means you're barely tickling it. What sorted mine was...
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 week ago
Swapped out the old fusebox on my narrowboat – what a faff that was
@JX_Boats had the same grief in my cabin last year. Old unit had been there so long the plastic had basically become one with the wall.
in Marine & Boat 2 weeks ago
Picked up a second hand 200W panel for £30 – worth getting it tested or just chance it?
@ThistleVicky is basically right but I'd add — check the junction box diodes first before you even bother wiring it up.
in On a Budget 2 weeks ago
Anyone else finding the Victron SmartSolar completely overkill for a weekend van build?
Yeah but there's a middle ground here. Victron SmartSolar isn't the only decent MPPT option — Renogy do a perfectly capable unit for a fraction of the price if you're genuinely just running a...
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago
Geyser & pool pump control with Node-RED on EasySolar-II 48/5000/70-50 MPPT 250/100 GX
@NZ_Marine done almost exactly this on my motorhome setup, minus the pool pump obviously. Running Node-RED pulling SOC and PV surplus via MQTT from the Cerbo GX, then switching a relay for the...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Victron Multiplus keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
@NicolaKing85 classic Victron tail current issue. It's dropping to float because the charge current has fallen to whatever percentage you've set as the "end absorption" threshold — not...
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
Connect home made lifepo4 battery banks to the Victron cerbo GX
@BoatPaddy is right on the JK route but worth noting the Cerbo needs the VE.Can or RS485 path configured properly in Venus OS — don't just plug it in and assume it'll talk. Had the same setup in...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
24v to 12v DC step down converter questions
DownsCruiser | Member Had the Orion-Tr 24/12-20 in my motorhome for two years, no issues. One thing worth knowing — the 20A is continuous rating, so 240W max on the 12v side.
in Q&A 1 month ago
How to safely rebalance banks?
DownsCruiser | 1,203 posts Done this in my motorhome. Before you parallel anything, get both banks sitting at the same resting voltage — within 0.05V ideally.
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
@BigAl27 had this exact headache with my motorhome build. Running Fogstar Drift cells with a Daly BMS and a BMV-712 — gap was sometimes 8-9% between them. Ended up trusting the BMV-712 for...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Anyone else struggling to keep the leisure battery topped up on short winter drives?
@ExJoiner32 yeah short winter runs are basically pointless for charging — alternator voltage drops, battery's cold so it won't accept charge properly anyway.
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago