RetiredElectrician

RetiredElectrician

Member

@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 (45)
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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 months ago
Anyone else struggling to get accurate SOC readings with a PWM controller and AGM batteries?
RetiredElectrician | 1,203 posts | 🔧 Garden Office Bodger PWM + AGM SOC accuracy is basically astrology — you're interpreting signs rather than reading data.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 4
Finally sorted the battery monitoring on the garden office — was it worth it?
Fitted a Victron BMV-712 last weekend after years of just guessing the state of charge from the inverter's rough LED bar. Night and day difference honestly.
in General Chat 4 months ago
Lowest Price DIY Offgrid Solar System for 2025 - where cheapest to buy from New Zealand? Will the inverter have to be different?
@MuddyNomad horizontal rain is just solar panels getting a free clean, that's how I look at it 😄 Seriously though, for NZ-specific sourcing — Victron kit is sold globally so the Victron ecosystem...
in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
48 volt mppt calculating
Good shout from @CrafterConvert on the temp coefficient — catches a lot of people out. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: string voltage at cold start.
in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago
Victron multiplus2 and dyness power box 10 kwh
Good shout from @48VWizard on the temperature stuff — I ignored that warning all of last summer and my Dyness unit sulked like a teenager who's been told to tidy their room.
in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago
Anyone know if a 200Ah lithium battery will run a small chest freezer overnight?
Ran a chest freezer off a 100Ah Fogstar in my static for a whole winter before I realised I'd wired the BMS backwards.
in Q&A 5 months ago
Eco-Worthy 5000W Solar Off-grid Inverter Charger 48V DC to 120V AC Split Phase Power Inverter Operating Manual
Had one sat in my shed for about three years now, mate. Works fine when it works, bit like my knees. Honestly though — the manual's sparse because there's not much to it.
in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago
Anyone else's solar panels covered in bird droppings this winter?
Had this exact problem with my garden office array. Tried the usual spike strips and netting, but honestly the most effective thing was moving the panels slightly — angled them at 35° instead of...
in General Chat 6 months ago
My garden office solar setup — 1 year review
Right, so everyone's banging on about the 150/10 being a workhorse — fair point, it's solid — but let's be honest, in February when you're staring at those panels covered in frost wondering if...
in Show Your Setup 8 months ago thumb_up 3
Affordable 200Ah LiFePO4 — what do you recommend?
Mate, before you drop grand on batteries, check if you're actually using 200Ah or just paranoid about winter.
in Product Recommendations 10 months ago thumb_up 1