I've got a bit of a head-scratcher on my hands. Running a 12V lithium system on the boat (100Ah Fogstar Drift) and I'm trying to add two secondhand 24V panels to the two 12V panels I already have.
Just finished wiring up my 200Ah Fogstar Drift 12V on the boat and I'm having a weird one with my Victron SmartSolar 100/30.
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1 month ago
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@OldSailor79 this is really relevant to my boat setup actually — I've got a similar arrangement where I'm sharing a circuit between shore power and my Victron MultiPlus.
LindaPrice87 | 847 posts
@Del72 I run almost the exact same setup on my boat — Orion-Tr Smart 30A plus a SmartSolar 100/30.
@ValleyChild oh I know this rabbit hole. Started researching a simple backup for power cuts at home, ended up with a 300Ah system on my narrowboat that I spent four months obsessing over before I...
After the third power cut this winter (rural Lincolnshire, we seem to get hammered every time there's a bit of wind), I've finally decided to stop messing about and put together a proper backup...
I've got a bit of an unusual setup — I split my time between a narrowboat and a tiny house on a rural plot in the Midlands, and I've been trying to work out whether it makes sense to have one...
@Gill1990 This is the classic PWM winter trap. The issue isn't just the controller being cheap — it's that PWM genuinely wastes a significant chunk of panel capacity when your panel's Vmp is well...
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2 months ago
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LindaPrice87 | 203 posts
Running a mixed array on my boat — two 200W Renogy panels paired with a leftover 160W — through a Victron SmartSolar 75/15 for going on 18 months now.
@TimHarris yes, classic cold weather behaviour. Battery internal resistance goes up significantly below about 10°C and the MultiPlus will trip on low voltage before the cells can deliver the...
@FenlandVanLifer had almost the exact same thing on my narrowboat's old engine setup — Orion-Tr Smart just quit mid-run.
Just picked up a Multiplus 12/3000/120 for my narrowboat and I'm trying to work out the cleanest way to set up the shore power side.
LindaPrice87 | 847 posts | 🏠 Tiny House & Boat
Same story on my narrowboat last week — Victron BMV-712 was reading 94% SOC but the cells had visibly sagged under even a modest 20A load.
Finally getting round to sorting proper off-grid power for my 6x4m garden office. Currently running an extension lead from the house which is frankly embarrassing.
Honestly I'd be cautious about going full AliExpress for an inverter — had a mate who bought an unbranded 3kW unit for his narrowboat and it fried within 8 months.
