Spot on about the time cost. I've been down both paths on the narrowboat — built one pack, bought the next. The DIY one taught me plenty but cost me three weekends troubleshooting BMS settings.
Not ideal, mate. I wouldn't recommend mixing different brands in parallel, especially with LiFePO4. Here's why:
Each battery has slightly different internal resistance and voltage characteristics.
in Q&A
1 year ago
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What's the chemistry on those panels — are they monocrystalline? Worth confirming because degradation matters over time, especially on a vehicle that sits unused for stretches.
The real bottleneck...
@DodgyRoamer - the inrush is definitely brutal, but there's a practical workaround most don't mention: delay start functions.
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Have you actually got the space constraints that make the SmartShunt worth considering? That's the real question.
The BMV-712 needs proper cabling runs and a dedicated display location—not an...
Been running a Fogstar 5.12kWh paired with a smaller LiFePO4 unit in the narrowboat for about eighteen months now.
The deciding factor for me came down to actual usage patterns rather than specs on a sheet.
With AGM on the hut, I was constantly babysitting charge cycles—couldn't safely pull below 50% without...
Been mulling this one over myself given my narrowboat setup. Currently running a DIY box with a 200Ah LiFePO4 and Victron kit, but I'm wondering if I've overcomplicated things.
The portable...
The limiting factor isn't really safety—it's performance. You'll hit thermal throttling well before anything dangerous happens, and @RustySkipper's spot on about the 40°C ceiling.
What I'd add:...
in Q&A
2 years ago
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The cable gauge thing is crucial, and it gets worse with 12V than higher voltages because you're dealing with such high currents.
@ExBrickie94's right about the matching — can't stress it enough. I've seen the chaos when someone thinks "close enough" works with parallel banks.
The bit that catches people out...
The weight constraint is genuinely the narrowboat killer, yeah. What I've found is that you need to be ruthless about what actually needs battery power versus what can run off the engine...
The weight thing on a narrowboat is brutal, isn't it? I've been running a 100Ah Fogstar LiFePO₄ bank with a Victron Multiplus and it's been solid, but that's after accepting I can't run a proper...
Had a thought on the thermal side—has anyone actually measured their battery temps under load during summer?
