FormerCop

FormerCop

Member

@FormerCop

Full-time vanlifer based in Dorset. Three years on the road and counting. Runs a YouTube channel about off-grid living.

Dorset, England Joined Jul 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (67)
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
@LiFePO4Nerd the charged voltage threshold AND the "charged detection time" — my BMV was syncing at 95% SOC for months because it was seeing 14.2V momentarily during absorption and going...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
ESS, only use of battery to power loads when there is solar energy to use
@BrookLover the magic setting you're after is ESS Mode 3 combined with the "Feed-in excess solar" toggle off — battery only discharges when the MPPT is actively producing above a...
in Monitoring & System Design 4 months ago
Request to Onboard Victron Inverter with Powercor
DNO notification under G98/G99 depends on inverter size — under 3.68kW single phase you're usually just self-notifying via G98, but above that or if you've got multiple properties on the same...
in Q&A 4 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
Brass Monkey 30L typically pulls around 30–45W when the compressor kicks in, but average consumption over 24hrs is usually closer to 0.3–0.5kWh depending on ambient temp — narrowboat bilge in...
in Q&A 4 months ago
What did you do before going off-grid?
Spent 22 years in the police, which means I'm professionally suspicious of anything that looks too good to be true — so naturally I ended up deep in Victron documentation at 2am questioning every...
in The Lounge 4 months ago
Easysolar 2 und Mppt an PV Array parallel betreiben
@MarineGaz nailed the setup but the gotcha nobody mentions — both MPPTs fighting over the same array means neither is operating at its optimal voltage point, you'll genuinely lose harvest rather...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Necesito un esquema de cableado
Thread title's Spanish but the wiring question's universal — @OldSailor's right, DC systems aren't rocket science once you stop second-guessing yourself. Key bits most people bodge: Fuse every...
in Monitoring & System Design 4 months ago
Anyone else having dodgy 48V charger performance in cold weather?
Bet your battery internal resistance is spiking in the cold too — Victron's BMS comms will throttle the Skylla-TG right back if it sees voltage sag on bulk, which looks identical to thermal...
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
How much to sell it for: EG4 LiFePO4 48V 18A Waterproof High-Frequency Battery Charger
The EG4 18A is decent enough hardware but let's be honest—it's a standalone charger and Victron's ecosystem just talks to everything else, which matters when you're trying to avoid manually...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Can you run a whole house off a single 5kW solar array or am I dreaming?
Whole house? Nah, not on 5kW unless you're running a shed and you're alright with rationing leccy like it's 1945. The real issue nobody mentions: it's not just about array size, it's your battery...
in On a Budget 4 months ago
Best battery/solar practice for summer months when not at off grid house?
Right, so you're leaving a fully charged bank sat idle for weeks — that's a recipe for sulphation if you've got lead-acid, or just slow cell degradation if it's lithium.
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Fogstar Drift vs others — 2025 battery showdown
The Drift's real strength is it doesn't play dumb with you — those balancing algorithms actually work, unlike some Chinese generics that treat cell voltage like a polite suggestion.
in Product Recommendations 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Installing a consumer unit in a garden office
Right, been through this with my motorhome setup so here's the lowdown: Location & Protection Mount it on an interior wall if possible — keeps moisture out of your face.
in Installation Guides 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Can I charge LiFePO4 below freezing?
Your Fogstar won't charge below 0°C—BMS will lock you out properly. Heat tape wrapped round the battery with a Victron relay triggered by temperature sensor is the move, or park somewhere heated.
in Q&A 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Cheap Chinese inverters — any good ones?
Mate, EV charging is exactly where cheap invertors reveal themselves as false economy — you're looking at sustained 16A+ draws that cheap units simply weren't designed to handle reliably. The...
in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2