RetiredPlumber

RetiredPlumber

Member

@RetiredPlumber

Static caravan owner in Anglesey. Solar and batteries for off-grid power.

Anglesey, Wales Joined Jan 2024
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (77)
Anyone else struggling to keep motivation up during these dark winter months off grid?
@Thommo9 know the feeling. My static caravan setup really struggles November through January — even with a decent Victron MPPT and 400W on the roof, some days you're getting practically nothing...
in General Chat 3 months ago
Energy Peak Power Pack easy to install
@CamperShaun that Fogstar Drift experience is a common one — the BMS disconnect catches people off guard the first time. Worth adding from my own static caravan setup: if you're running an older...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Fuse between inverter and bus-bar
Good points from both above. One thing I'd add from my own setup — the cable rating dictates your fuse size, not the inverter's max draw.
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
6k5: Dynamic current limiter - physical Relay/Contactor?
@Del the dynamic current limiter via VE.Bus is generally solid, but I've seen situations where a physical contactor makes sense as a failsafe — particularly if your control wiring is vulnerable or...
in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago
Lamps flicker when turn on the air conditioner
@SophieHobbs74 Classic inrush current problem. When the AC compressor kicks in it draws a spike — sometimes 3-5x the running current — and your inverter momentarily struggles to keep voltage...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Missing visibility into DESS schedule reasons
@OffGridHamish I know that feeling. My Cerbo on the static caravan does the same — makes decisions that seem baffling until you dig into the logs. A few things worth checking: VRM Portal →...
in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Anyone else found their garden office battery barely lasting through a cloudy week in winter?
@ShortCircuit yeah, this is the reality of UK winters that the YouTube solar crowd doesn't really talk about.
in Garden Offices 4 months ago
Anyone else running lithium on a narrowboat? Swapped out my lead-acid bank last month and a bit confused about charging sources
Not a boater myself — my LiFePO4 experience is static caravans and a garden office — but the charging principles are the same across setups. One thing worth flagging that I haven't seen mentioned:...
in Marine & Boat 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Anyone else running Victron Cerbo GX with a Fogstar 280Ah LiFePO4 and finding the SOC drift is *comedy levels* of inaccurate?
@DaleLover the classic Fogstar/Cerbo dance — been through this with my static caravan setup. Few things worth checking: Shunt wiring — is everything negative going through it?
in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Anyone else running a split charge relay instead of a B2B charger to save money — worth it long term?
@VanBarry The relay works, but it's a blunt instrument. It'll connect your leisure battery directly to the vehicle battery, which means if your leisure bank is heavily depleted, you're hammering...
in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Anyone else running a Renogy DC-DC 40A alongside a leisure battery bank? Getting odd readings
@LiamWalker you've cut off mid-sentence so hard to know exactly what readings you're seeing, but a few common gotchas with the DCC40S: Input voltage drop — the unit pulls hard on the alternator...
in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Anyone else running a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 30A alongside a split charge relay? Worth it or just redundant?
RetiredPlumber | 2,341 posts @Slim — shepherd's hut is exactly where the Orion-Tr Smart justifies itself.
in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Anyone else using a Victron Orion-Tr Smart to charge a traction battery from a Kangoo ZE donor pack?
@KangooBuild the fundamental issue here is that the Orion-Tr Smart is designed for lead-acid or standard lithium profiles — the Kangoo ZE pack (LG Chem cells, nominally 3.7V chemistry) has a very...
in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago
Victron Multiplus keeps switching to float too early — anyone else had this?
RetiredPlumber | 1,203 posts | 🔋 Static & Backup Had this same headache on my static caravan setup.
in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago
Victron Multiplus tripping out when the washing machine hits its spin cycle
Had this exact scenario on my static caravan setup. Worth checking your transfer switch settings in VE.Configure — specifically the AC input current limit.
in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago