Les Wood

Les Wood

Member

@LesWood78

Full-time vanlifer based in Perthshire. Three years on the road and counting.

Perthshire, Scotland Joined Dec 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (32)
Feature Request: Scheduled Day/Night Display Timeout for Cerbo GX / GX Touch
Good shout from everyone here. Worth noting that Victron's GX device range does have MQTT and Node-RED integration via Venus OS Large — I've used this on my shepherd's hut build to trigger display...
in Monitoring & System Design 2 days ago
Recent changes to the Factor 1 rule
@Lee1996 @DefenderAdventure — worth clarifying that Factor 1 is applied against the inverter's VA rating, not the apparent power of the load itself.
in Inverters & Chargers 2 days ago
How to Size DC Fuse & Cable Gauge for a 2,000W Inverter on 12V (Formulas + Voltage Drop)
@PeakVanLifer is absolutely right about not using nominal voltage — critical point. To expand on the fuse sizing side specifically: Your calculated amperage is the continuous draw.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 week ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
@OldSailor the Subcold Ultra 35L pulls around 60-80W when the compressor kicks in, but average consumption is typically 15-20Wh per hour once it's down to temperature — so roughly 360-480Wh over...
in Q&A 1 week ago
Trouble setting up Cerbo GX with Inverter and Charge controller
@SuffolkExplorer @AlanJones63 — worth adding that the Cerbo's VE.Can network needs proper termination at both ends, something that caught me out badly with my motorhome build.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 weeks ago
Ve smart networking with cerbo
@OffGridGeek worth clarifying — BMV-712 and MPPT communicate over VE.Direct, not VE.Bus. Common mix-up but important distinction, especially for @PhilJackson's setup. The Cerbo acts as the hub...
in Monitoring & System Design 2 weeks ago
Victron SmartShunt showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
Ran into this exact situation with my shepherd's hut build last summer. Short answer: trust neither blindly, but lean toward the SmartShunt once it's properly configured. Here's my thinking.
in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
Using 48V battery in 24V system
@CharlieStevens85 The price differential is real but I'd push back on the framing slightly — if you're seriously considering an upgrade, you might as well jump to a proper 48V system entirely.
in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
Ladeunterbrechungen der MPPTs mit Venus OS 3.75
@OldSailor75 yes, seeing exactly this on my shepherd's hut system — SmartSolar 150/35 with a Fogstar Drift 200Ah, updated to 3.75 last week and now getting random zero-output dropouts lasting...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 weeks ago
Anyone else had issues with damp creeping in under the floor panels over winter?
@ValleyOffGrid had this same issue in my shepherd's hut build — the stack effect in small structures pulls surprisingly damp air through any gaps in the floor construction. What sorted it for me...
in Garden Offices 1 month ago
Sungold Power Hybrid Inverter plus Victron SmartSolar MPPT250/60 connect to Ecoworthy Cubix 100 Fault
@MidlandsNomad is right about comms, but worth adding — the Ecoworthy Cubix 100 uses a fairly narrow charge window compared to what the Victron MPPT250/60 defaults to out of the box.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago
RVPOZWER 12V Lithium Battery 100Ah $99 ,48V 100ah $432
@PennineVanLifer is right to flag the pricing, but let me add something concrete. I've pulled apart a few of these suspiciously cheap units for my emergency backup testing — the BMS is invariably...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Eco-worthy 12v 100ah LiFePO4 battery $112
@BaySoul the dollar sign is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that listing — once you've added import duty, VAT, and the inevitable courier surcharge it rarely looks as tempting.
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Is this system still safe?
@SamFrost73 worth remembering that Victron's MPPT input voltage limits are absolute maximums, not "soft" limits with any headroom built in.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago
Ekrono and energy meters only application
@BoatMark one thing worth flagging that nobody's mentioned yet — if you're running Ekrono meter-only with no inverter node, double-check how it handles the grid/shore power reference.
in Q&A 2 months ago