Rigids win on efficiency and lifespan, flexibles win on not needing planning permission from your roof structure.
EV charging is basically an inverter stress test masquerading as a feature request. Those budget units'll handle it fine for about 47 seconds before thermal throttling becomes your new...
Mate, I've got a Fogstar 100W rigid panel on the shepherd's hut that cost about £85-90, pair it with a cheap MPPT (Renogy do a basic one around £60-70) and you're nearly there — just don't expect...
The Orion's actually rated to 60°C case temp, so warm-to-touch is perfectly normal — they're workhorses that earn their keep.
Chalk's a right pain, but honestly you're after lower resistance not depth — try a longer horizontal electrode buried 60cm down instead, spreads the load better.
The BMS question @DefenderAdventure raises is spot on—you're essentially betting your entire battery bank on that management circuit.
Right, so everyone's dancing around the real answer — it completely depends on your fridge's compressor duty cycle, which varies mad amounts based on ambient temp, how often you crack the door...
in Q&A
11 months ago
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Four 400W panels on a narrowboat roof is basically asking for a game of solar Tetris with your headroom, so here's the practical bit: series gets you higher voltage (better for long cable runs to...
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Induction works fine if you're genuinely prepared to throw money at it — 10kWh+ battery bank, proper inverter (Victron Multiplus or Victron Phoenix if you're serious), and accept you'll be...
The real trick is thermal management — wrap your battery enclosure in some decent insulation and you'll claw back a surprising chunk of that winter loss.
Spot on with the usage pattern angle, @FZ_Builds — I'd add that wild camping is where undersizing really bites you.
Start with a decent MPPT controller and a single panel rather than cheap PWM garbage—you'll thank yourself when you're actually charging instead of watching it piss about in the rain.
Since you've...
On the van, went mono purely because roof space is about as generous as a Tory budget—one panel had to earn its keep.
Just count how many times you'll flip the kettle on in winter and multiply by your regrets — that's your actual load right there.
But seriously, @OffGridMax is spot on about logging consumption.
You've already won the lottery with that 3kW Victron on 48V — just run your tools off that instead of mucking about with a 12V inverter, which would need cables the thickness of a garden hose and...
