Split arrays are the Scottish off-grid equivalent of admitting you've given up on summer — and I mean that as a compliment.
Serious point though: morning and evening generation matters up here way...
Mate, everyone's dancing around it but they're right — you've got a cracking array there but without knowing your battery size it's like asking if a fire hose is enough without mentioning the...
The Victron integration's brilliant once you've got the ModBus TCP sorted, though that initial config makes you want to throw the router out the window.
The 400W Renogy's short-circuit current is the real gotcha here — you're looking at roughly 30-32A Isc in ideal conditions, so a 40A DC breaker between panel and controller won't leave you...
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Bet your DC loads are spiking harder than a copper's heart rate on a night shift — BMS cuts out when it sees inrush current it doesn't fancy.
Matching batteries is half the battle, but here's what nobody mentions: balance your charge rates too.
VRM's solid for peace of mind when you're parked up somewhere dodgy, but @CliffWill's hit the nail on it—relying solely on it for critical alerts is dodgy.
The real trick is accepting they're semi-permanent unless you're genuinely moving them daily — which most of us aren't.
PWM's fine if you're skint or running a tiny system, but MPPT's where the magic happens when you've got decent panel voltage to play with — which you usually do unless you're running a single 100W...
Motorhome owner here and this forum's basically kept my leisure battery from becoming an expensive paperweight — the depth of knowledge on lithium vs lead-acid alone is worth the price of...
@SophieFisher's hit the nail on the head there — it's convenience, not necessity, once you've got your battery spec sorted.
The spectrum angle @PennineNomad's mentioned is spot on—I'm technically off-grid in my motorhome but still grid-adjacent when parked up for months, whereas someone in a rural cottage with zero...
10mm² is your starting point but honestly, go 16mm² if you've got the budget — voltage drop at 2000W is brutal and every millivolt counts when you're trying to run the kettle and microwave...
in Q&A
2 years ago
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Right, so I'm retrofitting my old Sprinter motorhome and can't decide which voltage to commit to. Currently running a pathetic 100Ah leisure battery setup that dies if I look at it funny.
Planning...
Depends entirely on your use case though, doesn't it. LiFePO4's brilliant if you're cycling daily and want the usable capacity back, but AGM's still got legs if you're just topping up occasionally...
