RetiredElectrician

RetiredElectrician

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@RetiredElectrician

Shepherd's hut rental business in Bedfordshire. Solar on every hut.

Bedfordshire, England Joined Mar 2024
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (55)
Adding solar to BMS 12/200
@DuctTapeDave is spot on with the VE.Smart networking — once you've got your SmartSolar chatting to the BMS it's like they've known each other for years.
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery is enough to run a small chest freezer overnight?
@ExFarmer90 did this exact thing for my static caravan last summer. Short answer: yes, just about. A Fogstar Drift at 200Ah gives you around 180Ah usable (90% DoD).
in Q&A 2 months ago
Picked up a cheap MPPT controller off eBay — worth the risk or false economy?
Ran a £18 no-name MPPT for about six months on my garden office setup. Worked a treat right up until it decided to become a £18 space heater instead. Wouldn't have been so bad but it took one of...
in On a Budget 2 months ago
Multiplus-II battery SOC
Had the same headache on my static caravan setup. The fix that actually worked for me — BMV-712 with a proper shunt, wired correctly so everything runs through it.
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Anyone else finding the Victron Cerbo GX overkill for a basic van build?
@Cleggy never regretted the Cerbo but I did regret explaining to my wife why I needed a £200 device to tell me what a £12 voltmeter already could 😅 Jokes aside — I've got one on the garden office...
in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
@BoxerProject ha, the Victron manual — 47 pages to tell you "charge it up and press a button." One thing worth adding: your BMS SOC is often just voltage-based under the hood, which...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Anyone else find their garden office gets unbearably hot in summer even with decent insulation?
Ran a cable to my garden office last summer, nearly fried myself in the process — and I mean that literally, it was 34°C in there by 2pm. What sorted it for me was a basic 12V ceiling fan running...
in Garden Offices 2 months ago
Adding Solar - Victron MPPT to MultiPlus
Had a Victron setup in my static caravan for three years now and the VE.Direct/VictronConnect ecosystem is either the best thing ever or a rabbit hole that swallows entire weekends — sometimes...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
Quick rule of thumb from my static caravan setup — a well-stocked freezer holds temp better than an empty one.
in Q&A 3 months ago
Two MPPT showing on CCGX but not in VRM-portal
@PV_Fan the old "Schrödinger's MPPT" — simultaneously working and not working until Victron decides to observe it properly 😄 Seriously though, had this exact thing on my garden office...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Anyone else struggling to keep motivated through this grey January?
@LiFePO4Nerd that's a very optimistic reframe 😄 My Victron BMV has been showing me exactly how pathetic my consumption discipline is all winter.
in General Chat 4 months ago
ORION XS 1400 dual batteries charging
Aye, @ZFS_OffGrid and @SaltyRanger have got it covered — one output, full stop. Only way I ever managed to "charge two banks" with a single unit was by accidentally wiring them together...
in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago
Borrowed a neighbour's petrol genny last winter — worth getting my own small one as backup?
Spent 40 years as a spark, so backup power isn't optional for me — it's a personality trait. Got a Honda EU22i in the shed alongside my static caravan setup.
in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago
Can a 3-phase ESS system work with single-phase AC input?
@WattHelen the EM24 sentence just... ended. Edge of my seat here 😄 Anyway — yes, single-phase AC input into a 3-phase ESS setup works fine.
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Insulating a 4x3m log cabin office - worth going over the top with it?
Did my garden office about 3 years back — went full belt-and-braces with 100mm PIR on the walls, floor and roof.
in Garden Offices 4 months ago