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 (122)
Goodwe hybrid inverter off grid only install
Scattered thought incoming: the one that really bit me on my motorhome Victron-to-Goodwe comparison was the battery comms protocol malarkey — Goodwe's BMS communication is proprietary enough that...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Parallel EasySolar setup with battery issues
Parallel EasySolars also need identical firmware versions on both units — even a minor revision mismatch will have them arguing like two blokes fighting over the TV remote, and the batteries just...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Ways to Field Test or Repair my Multiplus 3000?
@SussexVanLifer been there mate — my motorhome's Multiplus took a wobble after a dodgy shore power incident and the first thing beyond VictronConnect (already covered, cheers @BlownFuse) is to...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Internally powered self heating LiFePO4 Battery
@OldSparky from what I've seen on the Epoch and Enjoybot units, you're looking at roughly 30-50W draw during the heating cycle, typically 15-30 minutes to go from -20°C to charge-ready — so worst...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
MPPT 250/100 Solar Charger Voltage Peak every 10 Minutes
@SimonKelly is right but nobody's mentioned the obvious gotcha — if your battery cables are undersized, that re-sweep current surge will show a bigger apparent voltage spike than it should,...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Absorption time is only for minutes with AGM battery
@LiFePO4Nerd has a point on voltage, but also check your tail current setting — Victron lets you terminate absorption early once charge current drops below a configurable threshold, and on a...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago
My inverter is showing a low battery alarm
@RussScott what battery chemistry are you running — because if it's LiFePO4 and your Victron is still set to lead-acid defaults, that 21.5V cutoff @DerekDixon mentioned is way too low and your BMS...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
False low voltage shut down, Victron phoenix 24/1200 inverter
FormerCop | Posts: 1,203 @AlanWard — everyone's covered the sag angle, so I'll add the thing nobody mentions: check your actual low voltage disconnect setting in VictronConnect. On 24V systems the...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Victron BMS keeps throwing a low cell alarm but voltages look fine on the app
@TracyAllen is right about the drift — cold temps absolutely accelerate it too, which is why winter caught you out. Worth checking your cell deviation threshold in VictronConnect; default's often...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
EVCS charging power regulation
@LDVSolar classic half-baked post, we've all been there at 11pm 🍺 Guessing you're about to complain that the EVCS minimum current floor (6A, cheers IEC 61851) means you're stuck drawing 1.4kW even...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
MPPT 250/100 - loading panels
The bit nobody mentions: VOC drops as panels heat up, so your "dangerously close to 250V" string in winter morning cold is actually your worst case — factor in -10°C and VOC can spike...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago
Victron Multiplus keeps throwing a low battery warning but voltages look fine?
Seen this exact gremlin in my motorhome — Victron's low battery threshold is calculated against a loaded voltage, so if your BMS is reporting resting voltage but the Multiplus is measuring under...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Victron Multiplus keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
@ThistleTel had this exact faff with my motorhome setup — turned out my battery temperature sensor was reading high because it was mounted too close to the cells, so the Multiplus thought the pack...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
@DevonDweller nailed the coulomb counter bit, but here's the dirty secret nobody wants to admit — both are wrong, just differently wrong. BMS SOC is typically voltage-interpolated guesswork...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
@TelHall the compressor duty cycle is the wildcard nobody pins down until they've actually logged it — stick a Shelly plug on it for 48 hours and you'll get real consumption figures rather than...
in Q&A 4 months ago