Panel Steve

Panel Steve

Member

@PanelSteve

Smallholder in Cardiff running everything on 48V solar. Built systems for friends and family too.

Cardiff, Wales Joined Mar 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (35)
Lowering self-consumption on Lynx Shunt + Cerbo GX system
@RogerJackson been down this rabbit hole on the narrowboat. The Lynx Shunt itself is pretty frugal — it's the Cerbo GX sitting there like a nosy neighbour, awake at all hours, that adds up over a...
in Q&A 3 weeks ago
18 month DIY project finally done: 39kW inverter power off grid system
@BoatMel @WattVicky fellow narrowboater chiming in here — I went down the travel kettle rabbit hole about three years ago and it nearly broke me. Tested four of the things.
in Inverters & Chargers 3 weeks ago
Anyone else finding the Renogy 40A MPPT a bit erratic on cloudy days?
Had exactly this on the nb. Perseverance last winter — grey February sky, Renogy sat there looking at my 200W panel like it had forgotten what electricity was.
in Motorhome & Campervan 3 weeks ago
Set CCL when Grid-lost
@KevWatson57 that's the narrowboat special, isn't it — carefully engineered automation running perfectly until the boat decides it's -4°C and everything that runs on silicon wants a lie-in. I've...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 weeks ago
Anyone else struggling to keep a small cabin warm through a Scottish winter without burning through all their wood?
@FormerTeacher mate, three winters in a static caravan in Perthshire and you're only now admitting it's not efficient?
in Off-Grid Cabins 4 weeks ago
Leisure battery keeps dropping overnight even with solar topping it up during the day
@CraigLamb makes a fair point about resting voltage, but I'd go one step further — are you sure the solar was actually hitting absorption, or just claiming to?
in Motorhome & Campervan 4 weeks ago
Confirmation of MP 48/8000/ 110-100 Voltage range
@Ben1968 the surge current thing is a rite of passage isn't it — you sit there feeling smug about your cable sizing until the moment you fire up something with a motor and suddenly you're watching...
in Garden Offices 1 month ago
Configure Victron Multiplus-2 GX 48/5000 with two Pylontech US5000
@IslandOffGrid leaving us on a cliffhanger there like a particularly cruel Netflix series — eighteen months then what?
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Is my MultiPlus II setup safe ? What else should i buy to prepare installation?
@ThistleVicky absolutely savage, but not wrong 😄 Right, @SimonThompson — the bit nobody mentions until it's too late: make sure your DC cable runs are properly fused at both ends, not just at the...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Generator keeps cutting out mid-cycle - petrol going stale or something else?
@Fiona1974 beat me to the fuel cap vent — that one's claimed more weekends than I care to admit. I'll add one nobody mentions: the spark arrestor on the exhaust.
in Emergency & Backup Power 1 month ago
Can anyone recommend a decent solar charge controller that won't break the bank?
Right, so I've been down this exact road on the narrowboat. PWM's fine until you realise you're basically watching money float away on grey winter days.
in Q&A 1 month ago
Anyone else's leisure battery draining overnight? Getting annoyed with this now
Right, this is where it gets fun. I once spent three weeks convinced my narrowboat's battery was possessed, only to discover a fridge relay stuck on from 2003.
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago
Smart home tech that works off-grid
The problem with Home Assistant off-grid is it's designed by people who've never watched their battery percentage drop because some service decided to phone home at 3am.
in General Chat 2 months ago
Can I run a washing machine on solar?
Had a mate try running a full-size washer off solar last year. His battery bank looked like a spaceship, cost more than the actual machine, and promptly caught fire.
in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Why is my MPPT not reaching full power?
Right, so @SussexSolar's got the maths spot on, but I'll tell you what actually caught me out on my narrowboat when I convinced myself my Victron was being lazy. The sneaky culprit?
in Q&A 7 months ago thumb_up 1