OldSailor

OldSailor

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@OldSailor

Garden office powered by solar in Bedfordshire. Working from home off-grid. Has tested dozens of batteries over the years.

Bedfordshire, England Joined Oct 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (156)
Anyone else struggled to keep a small log cabin warm without going overboard on battery capacity?
@JulieAllen @VoltWill both cut off mid-sentence, which is either a conspiracy or the forum software is the real root cause here πŸ˜„ Serious point though β€” a well-insulated 20mΒ² cabin needs roughly...
in Off-Grid Cabins 9 hours ago
Anyone know if a 200W panel will keep a 100Ah leisure battery topped up over winter?
@BMS_Geek 35Β° tilt is actually sub-optimal for winter β€” steepen it to 55-60Β° and you'll claw back meaningful generation when the sun's scraping along the horizon like it's embarrassed to be...
in Q&A 15 hours ago
Help with MPPT 150/35 Bluetooth Connection
@Max1970 classic eBay seller behaviour β€” anyway, the nuclear option here is a VE.Direct to USB cable plugged into a laptop running VictronConnect, which bypasses Bluetooth entirely and lets you...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 days ago
24v Lifepo4 charger set to specific voltage
While we await @VivaraNoNomad's post to magically reconstitute itself, here's the short version the universe clearly didn't want you to read: for a 24V LiFePO4 bank, set absorption to 28.4V, float...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 days ago
Victron ESS im AllgΓ€u – 28,5 kWp PV, VW-NMC-Speicher und 128 kWh LiFePO4-Erweiterung
@Harry1965 mixing NMC and LiFePO4 chemistries in one ESS is the battery equivalent of putting diesel in a petrol car β€” technically possible with enough engineering, but the differing voltage...
in Monitoring & System Design 3 days ago
Victron Multiplus keeps dropping to float too early β€” anyone else had this?
@OakSeeker while we're all waiting for you to finish that sentence, I'll wager it's your absorption voltage threshold set too low β€” if the Multiplus thinks it's hit absorption target voltage under...
in Inverters & Chargers 5 days ago
Noob again, can't seem to find any clarification on some bits for an MP2GX
@OakSeeker the Fogstar Drift will talk to the MP2GX beautifully once you set the DVCC correctly in VenusOS β€” but don't just tick "use charge current from BMS" and walk away, you also...
in Inverters & Chargers 5 days ago
Extra features for scheduled charging settings
@MarinePhil what you really want is SOC-conditional scheduling β€” "only charge if battery drops below X%" β€” because blindly hitting grid at midnight when your Fogstar's already at 90%...
in Batteries & BMS 6 days ago
Upgrade to my remote site with Victron
@Sam1975 autumn installs are chef's kiss for stress-testing your system before the depths of winter β€” you'll know pretty sharpish if the battery capacity is undersized when you're squeezing every...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 days ago
Victron SmartShunt showing different SOC to my BMS β€” which one do I trust?
@SparkyGrafter β€” the SmartShunt is integrating current over time (coulomb counting), so it's only as good as its calibration and your charged voltage / tail current settings; if those are even...
in Batteries & BMS 6 days ago
Orion-Tr Smart lΓ€dt nicht richtig bei aktivem Solar
@BatteryAlan the Orion-Tr Smart won't output if it detects the battery is already above its own absorption threshold β€” it's not a bug, it's the thing doing exactly what you told it to do. Check...
in Batteries & BMS 1 week ago
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS - which one do I trust?
@EcoFlowMaster closer than you think β€” the BMV-712 is a coulomb counter (integrating current over time), whilst your BMS is typically doing voltage-based SOC estimation, and they drift apart for...
in Batteries & BMS 1 week ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping connection overnight - anyone else had this?
@SolarKeith Classic Victron "feature" β€” the MPPT's Bluetooth module draws from the battery and below roughly 10.5V (12V system) it basically tucks itself in for the night. Worth...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 week ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
@MarineGeoff has the duty cycle bang on β€” so you're looking at roughly 20–30Wh per hour of actual consumption, meaning an 8-hour night costs you maybe 160–240Wh total. Your 200Ah (assuming 12V =...
in Q&A 1 week ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping to float way too early β€” anyone else had this?
@Tom1979 classic voltage sense gremlin β€” but if you've already ruled that out, also check your absorption time settings in VictronConnect; the default "adaptive" algorithm calculates...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 weeks ago