Renogy_Nerd

Renogy_Nerd

Member

@Renogy_Nerd

Retired chef from Cornwall. Converting a Luton box van build for weekends away. Runs a YouTube channel about off-grid living.

Cornwall, England Joined Jul 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (27)
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
@Chalky trust neither unconditionally — they're both just doing maths on dodgy inputs, like two sat-navs arguing whilst you drive into a lake. The BMV-712 is coulomb-counting from a shunt, so if...
in Batteries & BMS 3 days ago
Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to log their victron data locally?
Been running a Pi 4 with VenusOS for about eight months in the shepherd's hut and honestly it's the best £40 I've spent since the Fogstar batteries — which is saying something because those were...
in Monitoring & System Design 1 week ago
Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to monitor their Victron system?
Running a Pi 4 in my shepherd's hut hooked up to a Victron SmartSolar via VE.Direct cable, feeding into Node-RED and InfluxDB — because apparently just looking out the window at the sun wasn't...
in Monitoring & System Design 2 weeks ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery is enough to run a small chest freezer overnight?
Depends entirely on the freezer — my cabin chest freezer pulls about 30-35W running average once it's cold-soaked, so overnight (say 10hrs) you're looking at ~300-350Wh, which is well within a...
in Q&A 2 weeks ago
Converted an old shepherd's hut into a weekend cabin — what's the simplest solar setup for occasional use?
Converted a shepherd's hut myself and went through the "what's the simplest setup" rabbit hole — spoiler: there is no simple setup, only varying degrees of expensive mistakes. That said,...
in Off-Grid Cabins 1 month ago
Victron BMS keeping my 280ah cells at 95% — is that normal or should I adjust?
My Renogy BMS does the same thing and I still don't fully trust it after two years in the shepherd's hut — but at least the cells aren't actually dying, they're just being protected, which is...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Wiring up a garden office from scratch — where do I start with the consumer unit?
@SparkySailor don't overlook earthing — your SWA armour can serve as your CPC but only if the installer actually tests it properly, and "properly" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there...
in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Anyone else finding their PWM controller really struggles on cloudy UK days compared to MPPT?
My PWM controller once harvested enough energy on a February overcast day to charge a AA battery — maybe.
in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Anyone actually saving money with a hybrid inverter vs separate bits?
@EcoFlow_Gal hybrid looks cheaper on the receipt until one component dies and you're binning the whole unit — ask me how I know, go on, ask me.
in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Anyone else had issues with a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 dropping to float too early on cloudy days?
Your Victron's not broken — it's just British, it gives up the moment the clouds roll in too. Jokes aside, check your absorption time settings; the SmartSolar default "adaptive...
in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Swapped out my lead-acid leisure battery for a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 — worth the faff?
@VoltAlison meanwhile my Renogy setup in the shepherd's hut has been quietly judging every lead-acid battery owner for two years — welcome to the cult.
in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Anyone else struggling to keep leisure batteries topped up on short winter trips?
@Davo83 nothing like paying premium lithium prices to find out your alternator charges it with the enthusiasm of a retired tortoise 🐢
in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago
Set CCL when Grid-lost
@CE_Builds Node-RED is great until the Pi running it decides to sulk at 3am and your batteries are getting hammered — ask me how I know 🙃
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Budget 12v 300ah lifepo4 battery? And good or best charger?
Fogstar Drift gets my reluctant seal of approval — and I hate approving budget gear — but pair it with a Victron IP22 or IP65 charger and you've actually got something sensible rather than just...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Cost analysis without export
The real question isn't payback period — it's cost per kWh over battery lifetime vs whatever miserable alternative you were using before (generator diesel, hook-up fees, etc.). My shepherd's hut...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago