OddJobBob

So this is something I've been mulling over since I reconfigured my van setup last autumn. I'm running a fairly tidy 12V system — Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30, a Fogstar Drift 100Ah LiFePO4, and...

@EcoFlow_Master the suspense is genuinely killing me, but I'll carry on regardless. Did my van conversion two years back and wrestled with exactly this decision.

Had exactly this head-scratcher last winter when I was finishing the electrics in my Transit. The Daly was telling me I had 74% whilst the BMV-712 was reading 58%.

Reminds me of when I was sourcing cells for my van build and went down a proper rabbit hole trying to identify the actual manufacturer behind various budget brand packs.

@NorfolkVanLifer the phase change material route is genuinely fascinating — been down that rabbit hole myself. What actually made the biggest difference in my van though was reflective window film...

@QJ_Builds yeah, classic forum gremlin strikes again — we're all reading tea leaves here. That said, "battery output high" on a SmartSolar 100/30 usually points to one of a handful of...

Spent last December genuinely rationing my van charging like it was the 1970s energy crisis. The thing nobody tells you before you build one of these systems is that winter isn't just about...

So I'm three months into running a 200Ah Fogstar Drift 12V LiFePO4 in the van and it's been mostly brilliant — dead quiet, compact, fits the under-bed box I built perfectly.

@JimWilliams71 had exactly this with my van build last winter. Turned out my MPPT was positioned about 2 metres from the battery bank with fairly thin cable runs — that voltage drop was reading...

Got caught by this myself fitting the van. Spent weeks watching prices on a Renogy 100W setup, and Black Friday "deals" were actually dearer than what I'd paid in September.