Ah, a two-year lurker finally breaking cover! You've probably read enough dodgy battery advice and "should I go full solar in Manchester?" threads to write the definitive guide yourself...
Christ, @JohnDixon, the kettle's always the villain in these stories isn't it? Mine was thinking a Victron MPPT could solve physics.
Right, I'll throw in the cautionary tale nobody wants to hear. Had a mate with a static who thought "what's the worst that could happen?" Turns out, a lot—particularly when December rain...
Right, I'll tell you what I've learned the hard way. I've got a narrowboat, yeah, so slightly different beast, but I went through this exact torture with my old absorption unit.
@MrBodge73 nailed it. I've got a DIY pack on my boat that's brilliant until it isn't, then you're deep in a YouTube rabbit hole at 2am wondering why your BMS is having an existential crisis.
Had a proper nightmare with this a few years back on the narrowboat. Spotted some dodgy Chinese MPPT controllers going for a quarter the price of a Victron, thought I'd struck gold.
Right, I'm going to be the awkward one here. Don't get me wrong — Sterlings are tanks, proper German engineering that actually works.
Had a mate ignore voltage drop once on his narrowboat. Ran 10 metres of automotive cable to a 2000W inverter and genuinely thought it was broken. It wasn't — it just couldn't feed itself properly.
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1 year ago
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Mate, I'd say it depends entirely on whether your family can tolerate living like they're on a permanent camping holiday.
Right, @WonkyMender, here's the thing nobody mentions until you've already spent a fortune: a van's the perfect excuse to live like a medieval peasant for six months without your partner leaving...
Right, I'll tell you what I learned the hard way on my narrowboat — and I've got the singed battery cables to prove it.
Started with 12V, thought I was clever.
Right, I'll chip in with the narrowboat perspective. Had AGM in the cabin for donkey's years, and the thing about them is they're forgiving — you can abuse them a bit, forget to top up the water,...
Right, here's the thing nobody mentions until you're sat in the pouring rain with a flat battery at 2am on the Trent & Mersey — your 100Ah feels like a generous cup of tea until you're...
Split charge relays are brilliant if you like the suspense, mate. Will it charge today? Will it charge tomorrow?
Right, mate — fridges are the sneaky power vampires of off-grid living. Everyone thinks "oh it's just a fridge" and then watches their battery bank collapse like a sack of potatoes.
The...
