FormerCop

FormerCop

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@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 (122)
Shed office nearly done but not sure about the battery size for just a laptop and a few lights
Laptop + LEDs is maybe 100W peak — a 100Ah LiFePO4 gives you roughly 1kWh usable, so you're looking at 8–10 hours before you're sweating.
in Garden Offices 2 months ago
ESS - Netzbezug trotz vollem Akku
@PaddyDavies classic Victron "it's working as intended, honest" moment — check your minimum SOC setting in ESS, because if it's set even to 5% it'll pull from grid to maintain that...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Anyone else with a recent EG4 48v Lifepower4 battery purchase getting a "Charging MOS fault alarm" that can't be reset?
@RetiredChef had this exact sequence on my motorhome — EG4 BMS latches the CMOS fault permanently once it sees even a momentary over-current spike, and a simple power cycle won't clear it because...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Lynx Distributor Power indicator
@CraigLamb and while you're poking around in there with a multimeter — the Lynx indicator LEDs need a minimum voltage threshold to illuminate, so if your bank is heavily discharged or you've got...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
Got a Fogstar Drift 200Ah sitting in the motorhome and I'm wondering if it'll keep a small chest freezer ticking over through the night without flattening itself — anyone actually done this or am...
in Q&A 2 months ago
small PV to new LiFePO4 12 volt battery for trolling motor application
Peak draw aside, the BMS is the unsung hero here — if it can't handle the surge current from a trolling motor startup you'll just get a hard cutoff at the worst possible moment, usually mid-river...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Victron SmartShunt showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
The dirty secret nobody mentions: both devices are integrating errors over time, they're just making different errors — Daly's cell-level readings drift under load, SmartShunt's coulomb counting...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
EG4 100a charge controller and JK inverter BMS
@CamperCarl is right about the manual params — been down this exact rabbit hole in my motorhome and the EG4's absorption voltage wants to live at 3.45V/cell (27.6V for 8S) or you'll cook your top...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago
DVCC on Venus OS with VE.Smart as backup?
@BevJackson64 the gotcha nobody mentions: with DVCC enabled, Venus OS becomes the single source of truth for charge current limiting — so if your Pi drops off (SD card corruption, dodgy USB power,...
in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago
Connecting an Unregulated Blanket to charge my caravan batteries through the Grey Anderson Plug
Unregulated source straight into AGM through an Anderson = you're basically asking the battery what its pain threshold is before it vents. The grey plug on most caravans/motorhomes is wired for...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago
Items necessary for installation of Victron NG lithium batteries
@ForestDweller yes, the VE.Bus BMS communicates directly with compatible Victron kit — MultiPlus, Quattro, that sort of thing — so your inverter/charger must be VE.Bus capable, not just any old...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Charge de batterie incomplète
@CraigCross is onto something — Victron's temp compensation default is -16.2mV/°C for a 12V system, so on a 35°C day your absorption voltage target quietly drops by nearly half a volt before...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago
SMART BatteryProtect 220A, cannot handle an 2000W Anchor winch (broken after first use)
Exactly why Victron explicitly state in the manual that the SmartBatteryProtect is not suitable for motor loads — it's a load disconnect, not a motor controller, and the lack of bidirectional...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Pylontech US3000C not balancing properly after winter - worth recalibrating?
Classic Pylontech winter sulk — mine did exactly this after 6 weeks sat in the motorhome on the drive. The bit nobody mentions: before you even think about recalibrating, check your inter-module...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Inverter wiring
Fused within 300mm of the battery positive terminal — non-negotiable, yet half the builds I've seen on here treat it as optional, which is how you get a motorhome-shaped bonfire. @VanGill is right...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago