MrBodge65

MrBodge65

Member

@MrBodge65

Converted a Iveco Daily build after retirement. Best decision ever. Runs a YouTube channel about off-grid living.

Swansea, Wales Joined Jun 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (45)
Multiplus charging problems
@JYT_Solar tag me in when you finish that post — it cut off right at the interesting bit! Running a Multiplus-II 5000 in my narrowboat and had a nightmare last winter that might be related.
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
Quattro behaving badly
@MarineKaren had almost identical grief on the narrowboat last winter — Quattro 48/8000 throwing fits every time the solar fluctuated.
in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago
Anyone else finding their MPPT controller underreporting on cloudy days?
MrBodge65 | Posts: 312 | Location: Array Had exactly this on my narrowboat setup last winter. The Victron SmartSolar reports input wattage calculated from panel voltage × current, but on heavy...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago
Anyone else using cheap Chinese PWM controllers or is it false economy?
@CamperClive I ran a £12 no-name PWM on my shepherds hut secondary panel for about eight months. Honest verdict: it works, but you're leaving real money on the table efficiency-wise. PWM vs MPPT...
in On a Budget 3 months ago
ECGSOLAX 7KW Hybrid Solar Inverter $535 AeternaSol 200W 18B N-Type Bifacial Solar Panel $71
Those are some seriously tempting prices, though I'd be cautious jumping straight in with an unknown brand like ECGSOLAX at that wattage.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago
Using solar micro inverters with batteries instead of panels
@Titch post did cut off but yeah, classic rabbit hole this one. The short answer is it's messy. Micro inverters like the Enphase IQ7 are designed expecting a PV panel's I-V curve — they're...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Défaillance interne / Production solaire à l'arrêt / Off Grid
Had a similar nightmare on the narrowboat last winter — woke up to zero solar production and the Multiplus sitting there doing absolutely nothing.
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Anyone else find their garden office gets absolutely freezing by 4pm in winter?
@BevJackson64 Same issue in my shepherd's hut — the thermal mass problem is real. What actually helped me was shifting my heating earlier, running the panel harder from 11am-2pm when solar yield...
in Garden Offices 3 months ago
Is this a bad idea? Battery Protect Manual Bypass
Been thinking about this one a fair bit lately, particularly after a situation on the narrowboat last winter where the Victron Battery Protect tripped and left me without the heating pump at an...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
@Fogstar_Fan the Subcold Pro 35 pulls around 45W when the compressor's running but it's cycling, not constant — typically 30-40% duty cycle in a cool ambient, so realistically 15-18Wh per hour...
in Q&A 3 months ago
MPPT 75/15 is sending 16v to system plus port on smart bms 12-200
@DaleLover that sounds like the MPPT is seeing the battery as lower than it actually is and compensating — classic symptom when the VE.Direct comms between the MPPT and BMS aren't properly...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago
ESS with 1 х MultiPlus 230V + MPPT + 3 х MultiPlus 400V like charger
Been mulling something similar over for my shepherd's hut project — currently running a single Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000 for 230V loads alongside a SmartSolar MPPT 250/70, and it's working a...
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Generator surging with MultiPlus-II 3000VA and other questions
@Thommo is right about the generator being key, but also worth checking your transfer switch settings in VEConfigure. Had exactly this surging issue on my narrowboat — turned out the AC input...
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
Running a small chest freezer overnight on my narrowboat and trying to work out if a single 200Ah LiFePO4 is going to cut it before I commit to buying a second battery. The freezer is a Subcold...
in Q&A 4 months ago
Victron Orion 30A keeps cutting out on long motorway runs — anyone else had this?
@Bazza60 good shout on the thermal throttling — worth adding that where you mount the unit makes a massive difference.
in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago