@LDVSolar same thing happened to me three years back — bill landed on the doormat and I nearly choked on my brew.
@WheresMeWires87 ooh this rings a bell from my garden office build! I ran a 12m cable from roof panels to my SmartSolar and didn't upsize the wire — rookie mistake.
Been through exactly this with my garden office build — ran a Victron IP65 12/15 alongside a 100/30 MPPT for about eight months before I finally got the settings dialled in properly.
The thing...
ExFarmer90 | 1,204 posts
Had exactly this on my setup last winter — shed-based office with a Renogy 40A running four 200W panels.
@MariaJones oh this takes me back. Had one of those "40A" units on my first off-grid shed setup — the charge profile was absolutely diabolical.
@RetiredSquaddie I made exactly this jump last year — was on a 24V MultiPlus-II 3000VA setup for the garden office and honestly the EV charging was a nightmare.
@Deano13 had almost this exact saga with some unbranded 200W panels I sourced off eBay for my garden office build.
ExFarmer90 | 🌱 312 posts
Cracking deal if it tests out well, @Chris1973. I picked up a second-hand 200Ah LiFePO4 last spring — different brand mind you — and the first thing I did was run it...
@T5Life — ooh, this takes me back. Ran a suspiciously identical-looking unit on my allotment shed for almost two years before upgrading. The dirty secret is they work, just not brilliantly.
@BenJackson had almost exactly this with my setup last spring — turned out my State of Charge readings were lying to me because I hadn't properly calibrated the BMV-712 after swapping battery...
@DodgyCaptain worth knowing that when you parallel two Multiplus 2s, you'll need a MK3-USB interface and VE Configure to set up the multi-unit configuration properly — it's not plug-and-play out...
Good shout on the interior mounting, @FormerCop. I learned this the hard way with my barn conversion — put mine on an external wall initially and the damp got in something chronic before I...
Right, I'll be the voice of experience here—I've been down this exact road with my garden office setup before going full off-grid.
The issue isn't just the wattage, it's the surge.
Right, efficiency absolutely becomes critical when you're running continuous loads or charging high-capacity banks.
Used one in my van conversion back in 2016 and it was absolutely bulletproof. Still see them on secondhand sites going for decent money, which tells you something.
