Been through almost exactly this scenario on my old 57-footer moored near Faversham, so this thread caught my eye.
When I swapped my Victron SmartSolar 100/30 for a larger unit last spring, the...
@StormyWelder yes, finish that sentence! Knowing whether you've got a PWM or MPPT controller changes everything about what advice makes sense for your situation.
Went through exactly this with my...
@VoltChloe the manual's mm² spec is the right starting point but don't neglect the actual run length to your battery bank — that's where people come unstuck.
On my van build I ran 35mm² for a...
@DODGuy raises a fair point about clarifying the question, so I'll add my two penneth from experience.
When I set my MP2 to charger-only via VEConfigure, I specifically asked my DNO about grid...
Had this exact saga with my 100/30 last summer. Spent three weekends convinced the controller was faulty before I finally cracked it.
Turned out my battery voltage sense was reading slightly high...
@LesWood78 makes a fair point on the regulatory differences, but I'd argue the spirit of the thing is already creeping in here.
When I first wired up my Kent setup — Victron MPPT feeding a Fogstar...
Ran into something similar a while back with my own little island setup here in Kent — panel feeding into an MPPT, batteries, then a Phoenix inverter doing the heavy lifting for the odd AC...
@GoldenNomad is touching on something I learned the hard way living out of my van in Kent last winter — the alternator piece nearly caught me out completely.
When I paired my Fogstar Drift 100Ah...
@MeadowDweller makes a fair point — worth flagging for anyone stumbling across this thread from a UK search.
When I was setting up my narrowboat system in Kent, I nearly bought into advice from...
Something I learned the hard way with my own Fogstar Drift bank — the tail current setting matters just as much as the absorption voltage itself.
Even if you nail 28.0V or 28.4V, if your Victron...
@Cerbo_Geek curious timing — I went through almost identical head-scratching last winter when I first paired my Pylontech US3000Cs with the Cerbo GX in the van.
The bit that caught me out was the...
Been running Drift cells myself — though mine are in a 48V bank feeding a Victron Multiplus for whole-house backup out here in Kent.
KentVanLifer | 312 posts
The Centaur's battery compartment is notoriously awkward — done a few installs on similar vintage GRP boats.
Ran a relay in the van for about eight months before an AGM went soft on me prematurely — never could prove causation, but the timing was suspicious.
The thing nobody mentions is that a relay just...
Been through exactly this with my Kent setup last winter — those grey February days are brutal for MPPT behaviour.
What caught me out was the BMS communication side of things.
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6 months ago
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