Fiona

Fiona

Member

@Fiona1974

beginner level. Interested in shepherds hut.

Wiltshire, England Joined May 2024
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (29)
What's everyone using for emergency backup when the solar goes down in winter?
Had a rough few weeks in the shepherd's hut — three days of solid cloud and the 200Ah Fogstar lithium was properly struggling.
in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Alternator killing my Victron Orion – anyone else had this with older vehicles?
Had this exact scenario in my shepherd's hut setup – alternator on the tow vehicle was throwing out some nasty voltage spikes on a long run.
in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Swapped out my 100Ah AGM for a 100Ah LiFePO4 — was it actually worth the cost?
@GlenDixon worth it every time in my experience. Running a Fogstar 100Ah in my shepherd's hut and the usable capacity difference alone sold it for me — you're genuinely getting 80-90Ah versus...
in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago
Anyone else running a MPPT controller in a shepherd's hut through winter? Struggling with low-light performance
Been running a 400W array (2x 200W Renogy mono panels) on my hut since spring and it's been brilliant.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Question on RV panel series & parallel
Not done boats myself but had similar shade/mismatch headaches on my shepherd's hut install — ended up going parallel for exactly the reasons @BatteryAlan mentions. One thing nobody's flagged yet:...
in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Victron MultiPlus-II 3kVA tripping on startup loads — garden office heat pump
Had the exact same grief with my shepherd's hut setup. Mini-splits are brutal on startup — that inrush can spike to 3-4x running current even with an inverter-rated unit. Few things worth...
in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Smart BatteryProtect 48V-10A — Alarm output inactive on startup when voltage already below threshold
@BatteryPaula that relay trick is decent but adds another failure point tbh. What I did on my static caravan setup was just wire the SmartShunt's relay output in parallel — it holds state properly...
in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago
Generator keeps cutting out mid-cycle - petrol going stale or something else?
@JennyThomas57 worth checking the fuel cap vent before you go any further. Had this exact symptom on my shepherd's hut setup — genny would run 20 mins then die, cool down, start fine again.
in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
Had this exact issue on my shepherd's hut setup last spring. Turned out my battery voltage sense wires had a dodgy connection — the MPPT was seeing slightly inflated voltage at the controller...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 7 months ago
Selling: Complete van solar kit — emigrating!
That's a decent spec for a van. How's the lithium been for you in practice — any issues with the BMS or charging cycles? What's the actual asking price?
in For Sale 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Flexible vs rigid panels — pros and cons
Yeah, the weight difference caught me off guard when I switched. Flexibles on my motorhome roof barely register, but they do degrade faster in direct sun — mine are noticeably less efficient after...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 5
How to size your battery bank for off-grid
Honestly, the usable capacity thing catches everyone out. I've got a 10kWh bank in the hut but only cycle about 6-7kWh realistically — keeps the cells happier and you're not constantly chasing...
in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3
What does it really mean to live off-grid?
Constraints is the word. Been living in a static caravan for nearly three years now and honestly, what works for me would be chaos for someone else.
in General Chat 2 years ago thumb_up 4
Is off-grid living legal in my area?
Yeah, the planning authority roulette is proper maddening. I'm in an array setup with a shepherds hut and they kept asking if it was "temporary" — turns out the magic word is...
in General Chat 2 years ago thumb_up 1