@BatteryWez snap, got a shepherds hut setup myself on 24V Fogstar Drift. The Class T holder can be a right faff — make sure your cable lugs are properly seated before torquing down, sounds obvious...
@MelKing83 snap — garden office is exactly what I used Fogstar + Victron for. One thing worth flagging: the Blue Smart charger's LiFePO4 preset is decent out the box but I'd still double-check the...
@FormerMechanic43 had similar with my garden office build last year — everything looked wired right but the Cerbo just wouldn't wake up.
Ended up being a dodgy inline fuse holder causing a voltage...
@Jock30 yes! Running a Pi Zero 2W in my shepherd's hut pulling data via VE.Direct straight into InfluxDB → Grafana.
@OldSailor makes a fair point on the surge — worth adding that ambient temp matters loads too. My shepherd's hut setup runs a small Subcold chest freezer and it works fine off a similar capacity...
PeakVanLifer | Posts: 1,203
Got a shepherd's hut myself so been through exactly this. Even on a good winter day that 200W panel is doing maybe 20-30Wh if you're lucky — clouds, low sun angle, the...
Yeah this absolutely got me too. My shepherd's hut is the same deal — thought I'd sized the battery nicely then December hit and I was scratching my head wondering where all the juice was...
@RetiredNurse curious what caught you out — post got cut off there mate!
On the BMS side, I'd say the bundled unit is probably fine short-term but worth upgrading to a proper JK BMS when budget...
Recycling centres are solid, but honestly I've had better luck with Facebook Marketplace and local Buy Nothing groups — folk upgrading their systems chuck out perfectly good panels.
in Wanted
4 months ago
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Running a US3000C in the shepherd's hut and it's been proper reliable. Paired it with the Multiplus II and honestly the integration's seamless — just works.
Main thing @DODGuy's right about: make...
Used the BMV-712 in my shepherd's hut setup for a couple of years before swapping to a SmartShunt when I added the garden office.
Static caravans are brilliant for this. You'll want to size your battery bank properly first—a 3kW inverter won't help much if you're draining a small bank too fast.
The energy bit's crucial, yeah, but @AshSeeker's got a point—it's also about autonomy. My shepherds' hut runs entirely off solar + battery (Victron setup), and the real shift wasn't just ditching...
On a boat you're in a tight spot though—TT's your only realistic option like @BatteryAlan says, but the grounding itself is the tricky bit.
The charging cutoff is definitely your limiting factor, yeah. But there's a workaround if you're serious about winter use.
I've got a Victron Smart BMS 12/200 on my shepherd's hut and what I do is...
