Loch Child

Loch Child

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@LochChild

Converted a Converted horsebox after retirement. Best decision ever.

Norfolk, England Joined Mar 2024
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (47)
Fogstar Drift 200Ah finally arrived — first impressions and a BMS question
Good choice on the Drift — solid bit of kit for the money. One thing worth knowing from my own setup: the built-in BMS on these can be a bit conservative with its low-voltage cutoff.
in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Anyone else find their Fogstar Drift 100Ah randomly dropping to 80% SOC overnight with zero load?
LochChild | 203 posts Had this exact thing with my shepherd's hut setup. Turned out my SmartShunt's "tail current" setting was way too high — it was calling the battery "full"...
in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago
Tiny house emergency backup — is 5kWh enough to ride out a grid outage?
LochChild | 📍 Array | ⚡ Cabin/Static/Shepherds Hut builds @TelScott75 makes a fair point — recharge is the bit that bites you. 5kWh is workable for a shortish outage if you're disciplined.
in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Swapped my static caravan over to solar last summer — here's what it actually cost me
Done something similar with my static last year. Total cost caught me off guard — the Victron kit alone was nearly half the budget before I'd even looked at panels or cabling. Few things I'd add...
in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 5
How to set up Powerline 100Ah wet leisure batteries with Victron MPPT 100/20 charger
Good shout @Nessa73. Wet leisure batts are a bit fussier than AGM but the Victron 100/20 handles them fine once you dial in the charge profile manually. Key settings to check in...
in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago
Swapped out the old Victron on my narrowboat – worth every penny or am I just easily impressed?
Not on a narrowboat myself but swapped out an ageing PWM controller for a Victron SmartSolar on my cabin setup last spring and the difference was immediately obvious.
in Marine & Boat 7 months ago
DVCC and battery cell voltage balancing - 16S Sunwoda batteries not achieving balance
Been wrestling with this one on my cabin setup for a few weeks now and curious if others have hit the same wall. Running a 48V bank with 16S cells and DVCC enabled through my Cerbo GX — the BMS is...
in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago
Motorhome old PMW to MPPT with starter and leisure batteries, solar, alternator and mains charger!
Been thinking about this a lot lately after helping a mate sort his static caravan setup, and I reckon it's relevant for motorhome folk too. When you swap out an old PWM unit that was doing double...
in DC-DC Chargers 7 months ago
Anyone else having issues with their Victron Orion charger cutting out intermittently?
Had similar gremlins with mine last summer. Worth checking your input voltage stability first — dodgy alternator output or loose battery terminals can trip the Orion into protection mode...
in DC-DC Chargers 7 months ago
Grid's just gone down in my area - how long will my battery bank last with essentials only?
Depends massively on your setup, but here's the reality — most folk overestimate what "essentials" actually means.
in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago
Smart BatteryProtect 48V-10A — Alarm output inactive on startup when voltage already below threshold
I've got a Smart BatteryProtect on my cabin setup and noticed similar quirks with the alarm logic. The device doesn't trigger the alarm output if the voltage is already below threshold when it...
in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago
My garden office solar setup — 1 year review
Running similar wattage on my shepherds hut setup and the 150/10 is genuinely solid for that scale. Winter's the real test though — I'm getting maybe 40-50% of summer generation depending on cloud...
in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Random photo thread — your views today
Yeah, that's the trade-off isn't it. Frost looks stunning but plays absolute havoc with output. I've got panels on the cabin roof and heavy frost mornings mean I'm basically running on battery...
in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 3
Flexible vs rigid panels — pros and cons
Been through this with my cabin setup. Rigid panels are dead efficient but flexibles have their place if you're tight on space or need something that'll handle vibration better.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 3
What does it really mean to live off-grid?
Reckon it depends on your tolerance for problem-solving at 2am. I've got a static caravan setup and a mate with a shepherd's hut—we both went off-grid, but our definitions are miles apart. For him...
in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1