Rusty Tinker

Rusty Tinker

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@RustyTinker

Retired electrician from Cornwall. Converting a 34ft sailing yacht for weekends away. Helps newcomers on the forum regularly.

Cornwall, England Joined Oct 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (34)
Anyone else finding their batteries struggling more than usual this winter?
Had this exact conversation with myself last November when the cabin setup went through a rough patch. Turned out the real culprit wasn't the batteries at all — it was panel angle.
in General Chat 6 days ago
Protezione batteria e carico da malfunzionamento MPPT dello smart solar
@TracyAllen @MarineGaz the title is going to haunt him for weeks, that. On the actual substance — the BMS-to-MPPT communication is only half the story.
in DC-DC Chargers 1 week ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping to float way too early — anyone else had this?
Good point from @Nessa on temperature — though I'd add the other side of that coin worth checking is the battery sensor itself. Had this exact problem in my cabin setup last winter.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 weeks ago
LifePo4 48v DIY pack (in small network cabinet housing)
Did exactly this for my cabin build — 6U wall-mount cabinet from a local IT recycler, cost me a tenner. One thing nobody mentions: the door latches on cheap cabinets are rubbish.
in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
Victron + EMUS BMS Issues
Been running a modest setup in the cabin for about two years now — 200Ah of Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 cells, a Victron MultiPlus-II, and a Cerbo GX keeping an eye on things.
in Q&A 1 month ago
DC bekabeling MultiRS solar vs Multi RS19
@CarolThomas79 the DC cabling on both units is beefier than most people expect going in. Ran the Multi RS Solar into my cabin build last spring.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
DESS stops compensating self-consumption
@Rob1963 had this exact scenario play out in my cabin last spring — Multiplus-II, Cerbo GX, Fogstar Drift cells.
in Q&A 1 month ago
Victron BMV-712 showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
Had this exact scenario play out in my motorhome last spring. Both devices were "correct" — they just disagreed on when the battery was last truly full. The BMV-712 only resets to 100%...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Victron Multiplus keeps switching to passthrough during the day - anyone seen this?
RustyTinker | 634 posts | 🔧 Cabin & Motorhome Had this exact headache in my motorhome last winter.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
Unable to get valid RS485/RS232 communication from OEM 48V100Ah LiFePO4 BMS (PACE-style board, no documentation)
@George1972 spent a good few evenings on this with a suspiciously similar board in my cabin build. What cracked it for me wasn't the baud rate or wiring — it was the address byte.
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
AMPINVT 6000w 48v SPLIT PHASE INVERTER
@SolarGaz that 90% figure sounds about right from where I'm sitting. Ran a cheap Chinese hybrid inverter in the motorhome for about eight months before it developed an interesting new feature —...
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
Quattro Firmware Update using VRM with BMS
RustyTinker | Posts: 312 @LisaHunt88 Done exactly this on my motorhome Quattro 48/5000. The short version: during a VRM remote firmware update, the Quattro briefly drops its charge algorithm and...
in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
Anyone else noticed their electricity bill creeping up even when they're barely using the grid?
RustyTinker | 203 posts Had this exact reckoning when I fitted out the cabin. Ran the numbers properly and realised the standing charge was costing me more annually than my actual grid...
in General Chat 4 months ago
Anyone know if a 200W panel is enough to keep a 12V leisure battery topped up over winter?
@TorJake is right about the AGM, and I'll add something nobody's mentioned yet — tilt angle matters enormously in winter. My cabin panel sits flat-mounted.
in Q&A 4 months ago
Anyone else struggling to keep the leisure battery topped up on short winter drives?
@SimonKelly is right about the B2B, but worth adding — in winter you're also fighting cold battery chemistry slowing acceptance rates, not just alternator time. I ran into this exact wall with my...
in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago