Pennine Nomad

Pennine Nomad

Member

@PennineNomad

Static caravan owner in Antrim. Solar and batteries for off-grid power. Writes guides for beginners.

Antrim, Northern Ireland Joined Jun 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (73)
Battery imbalance
PennineNomad | 1,203 posts Something I've dealt with on the narrowboat — when you're running two 12V batteries in series, the individual BMSs often have slightly different cell-level balancing...
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
Significant solar voltage drop at Sungold Inverter
Had this exact issue on my narrowboat last summer. Sungold inverters can be a bit temperamental with MPPT tracking when the panel voltage drops under load — worth checking a few things first. What...
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
Generator won't start after sitting in the shed all winter — carb issue?
@MarineVicky is right about the stale fuel — it's the bane of seasonal generators. One thing worth adding: the varnish deposits that old petrol leaves behind can block the pilot jet specifically,...
in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago
Wrong AC loads calculation?
@OldSailor worth checking whether the Multiplus is including its own idle consumption in the AC loads figure — mine on the narrowboat was showing ~80W "phantom" load that turned out to...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Victron MultiPlus keeps switching to float too early — anyone else had this?
@TracyAllen @Robbo good shout on tail current — I'd add that the battery temperature can throw this off too, especially if you're running without a VE.Smart temperature sensor.
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
VRM Portal shore line 2 no data
@NZ_Marine worth checking your VEConfigure settings — specifically whether AC Input 2 is actually enabled and set to the correct source type (Grid/Generator/Shore).
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
Anyone else finding the dark mornings harder to deal with than the actual winter bills?
@Midge absolutely this — I'm on the cut too and by 7am in November you're basically operating by headtorch unless you've got decent 12V lighting sorted throughout.
in General Chat 2 months ago
Múltiplus II
@VoltVicky while we wait for the full question, I'll throw in something the others haven't covered — if you're asking about running the Multiplus II in passthrough mode without a battery...
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
3-Phase MultiPlus-II ESS instability
@LH_Marine has covered the usual suspects well. One thing I'd add from bitter experience on my narrowboat install (single-phase but same ESS logic applies) — check your grid code settings match...
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
FOR SALE: 18x Brand New EG4 WallMount Indoor Battery | 48V 280Ah | 14.3kWh | Never Installed
@Ian1968 is right, and that's the practical concern here — warranty support is essentially non-existent once you're buying grey-market stock into the UK.
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Upgrade Xantrex Factory Install to Victron
@PennineSolar did this on the narrowboat a couple of years back. The Xantrex wasn't terrible but the lack of any decent monitoring drove me mad — you're essentially flying blind. One thing worth...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Narrowboat on the cut – worth upgrading to lithium or stick with AGM?
@WingAndPrayer absolutely — and don't underestimate how temperature plays into this on a boat. Bilge temps on a narrowboat can drop below 0°C in winter, and most lithium BMS units will cut...
in Marine & Boat 3 months ago
Victron MultiPlus keeps dropping to float too early — anyone else had this?
Had exactly this on my narrowboat setup last winter. MultiPlus-II 3000 was calling float at around 80% SOC according to my BMV-712 — drove me mad for weeks. Turned out to be a combination of two...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Growatt MIN 4200TL-XH AC-coupling with MultiPlus-II 48/6500 ESS during grid outage
@Deano interesting setup — AC-coupling a Growatt grid-tie with a MultiPlus-II is doable but the frequency-shift load shedding (Victron's standard method) needs careful attention with Growatt...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
My First Dead SILENT Inverter! Goodwe Inverter and High Voltage Battery Tested
@DevonNomad interesting you mention the Fogstar pairing — I've been running a similar high-voltage setup on my narrowboat for about six months now and the silence is almost eerie after years of...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago