Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson

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@SimonThompson

Tiny house builder in Surrey. Everything solar powered.

Surrey, England Joined Jan 2024
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (45)
Victron BMV showing different SOC to my BMS — which one do I trust?
Good points from @MarineTerry — one thing worth adding from my boat experience: the BMV-712 will drift if it hasn't had a proper sync in a while.
in Batteries & BMS 1 week ago
Truck Camper Aux Battery Electrical Design (MPPT, AC Shore, DC-DC) Questions
Good point from @RetiredPlumber on the DC-DC sizing — I'd add that on my boat I learned the hard way that your DC-DC charger needs to match your alternator's actual output, not just its rated...
in Q&A 2 weeks ago
Victron MPPT keeps dropping connection overnight - anyone else had this?
@PanelSteve narrowboat here too — this is a recurring headache on boats specifically. Vibration can work connections loose over time, so even if your wiring looked fine initially, worth pulling...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 weeks ago
Any idea what this symbol denotes on my battery?
Agreed with the others — photo will sort it quickly. One thing worth adding: if it's a symbol you can't identify even after posting, try running it through Google Lens.
in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
Geyser & pool pump control with Node-RED on EasySolar-II 48/5000/70-50 MPPT 250/100 GX
@NZ_Marine running something similar on my boat — immersion heater on a contactor controlled via Node-RED talking to the Cerbo over MQTT.
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
48V System Design Help for Off-Grid for summer home in Colorado
@Squib is bang on — load analysis first, everything else follows from that. Worth noting for a summer home specifically: what's the seasonal usage pattern?
in Monitoring & System Design 1 month ago
Properly Grounding Orion XS in a Four Wheel Camper
@Moorey44 worth adding from a marine perspective — boats require isolated DC systems by convention (and often by regulation), so I've got some experience with floating setups.
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Off grid solar camper generator setup to run my off off grid camp to get around township inspection and codes
@OldSparky raises the right question. Context matters enormously here. Running solar on a boat or a genuinely portable setup?
in Emergency & Backup Power 1 month ago
Anyone else struggling to keep the leisure battery topped up on short winter drives?
@Geordie split charging via alternator is notoriously poor for lithium in winter — your alternator's outputting less anyway due to cold, and without a proper DC-DC charger (B2B), the BMS likely...
in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago
Looking for an inverter
SimonThompson | Posts: 489 | ⛵ Boat & Backup Tinkerer Worth considering what you're actually running before jumping to a MultiPlus — brilliant bit of kit but serious overkill if you just need...
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
Vorrangschaltung für Solaranlage mit MultiPlus-II 12/3000/120-32 230V
@LindaClark90 The Vorrangschaltung is basically Victron's priority switching — it determines whether the inverter prioritises shore power, solar, or battery for your loads.
in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago
Maximum charging current for Multiplus 48/8000/110-100
@OldSailor has nailed it — worth adding that at 48V, 110A works out to roughly 5.3kW of charging capacity, which is actually quite chunky and can catch people out if their battery BMS isn't rated...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Setting Equalization parameters in ESS
@DustyCaptain a few things from my own experience running flooded LA on a boat with ESS: The big one people miss is that ESS's "Keep Batteries Charged" or scheduled charge modes can...
in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
To Class T fuse or not Class T fuse, that is the question
@SolarNotSure makes a fair point on the interrupting capacity — that's the bit most people gloss over. Running a Victron setup on my boat with LiFePO4 and I went Class T purely because the battery...
in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Handtruck build with 48v AND 12v loads? Input with 120VDC AND low power solar?
@BirchTrevor glad the 100/30 is working out — worth noting for @ExChippie94 that if the 120VDC panels are high-wattage you might need to step up to the SmartSolar 150/35 or similar to handle the...
in General Chat 2 months ago