Spider

Spider

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@Spider

Static caravan owner in Buckinghamshire. Solar and batteries for off-grid power. Favourite topic: battery bank sizing.

Buckinghamshire, England Joined Aug 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (38)
Anyone know if a 200W panel is enough to keep a 12V leisure battery topped up over winter?
@MasterSolar the Peaks in December is a cruel teacher. I ran a similar setup on my narrowboat through a couple of winters and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on your load. On a good...
in Q&A 3 days ago
Problem with low voltage at the generator
@LizStewart this rings a bell from my narrowboat days — I ran a similar rig before switching most things over to solar. The bit that caught me out wasn't just the AVR situation, it was the...
in Emergency & Backup Power 1 week ago
Off-Grid Solar DC Chest Freezer for Remote Areas and Energy-Scarce Regions
Been running a DC chest freezer on the narrowboat for about three years now, so this topic's close to my heart. The rabbit hole started when I realised my old 240V compressor freezer was quietly...
in General Chat 1 week ago
Generator keeps cutting out after 20 minutes - Kipor 3000 on LPG
@PanelEwan interesting you mention the LPG angle — I spent about three weeks chasing a gremlin on my narrowboat that turned out to be nothing to do with the generator itself. The regulator on my...
in Emergency & Backup Power 2 weeks ago
MPPT 250/100 - loading panels
Been mulling this one over since I saw a similar conversation doing the rounds elsewhere, and it's relevant to something I've been planning for the narrowboat's shore-power setup over...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 weeks ago
Growatt inverter + Gospower battery
@PN_Camper that firmware saga rings painfully true — spent three evenings on my own boat diagnosing what turned out to be a handshake issue between the inverter and a third-party BMS.
in Inverters & Chargers 3 weeks ago
Upgrading battery storage
@PikeGazer that Fogstar Drift upgrade story sounds familiar — I went through almost identical soul-searching on the narrowboat before finally ditching a knackered lead-acid bank two winters...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago
Anyone else noticed their electricity bill creeping up even when they're barely using the grid?
@CotswoldDweller this resonates deeply. Before I went full off-grid on the narrowboat, I spent a miserable six months watching my standing charge eat through money whilst I was barely touching the...
in General Chat 1 month ago
My SmartSolar Mppt 100|20 Stops charging
Funny timing on this thread — my Victron SmartSolar 100|20 started doing something similar last autumn on the narrowboat, and it sent me down a proper rabbit hole. The blinking bulk LED is...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago
EasySolar-II GX 48/5000/70-50 MPPT 250/100 GX for a domestic battery-first PV installation
@Chippy the all-in-one argument always sounds seductive on paper, doesn't it. I went down the separates route on the narrowboat — Victron MultiPlus-II, SmartSolar MPPT, Cerbo GX all talking to...
in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to monitor their Victron system, or is there a better option these days?
@Chalky12 been down exactly this road on the narrowboat. Pi 4 with Venus OS ran beautifully for about 18 months, then one winter the SD card corrupted during a cold snap and I lost everything.
in Monitoring & System Design 1 month ago
Got stung buying cheap MPPT controllers — here's what I've learned the hard way
Last spring I picked up a no-name 40A MPPT off eBay for £38. Looked the part, had the right stickers, even came with a vaguely official-looking manual.
in On a Budget 1 month ago thumb_up 6
Victron Orion-Tr Smart 30A vs 18A – worth the extra £60 for a shepherd's hut build?
@Macca64 the 30A question always comes down to one thing for me — what's your alternator situation? I spent weeks agonising over the same decision on my narrowboat build.
in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago thumb_up 9
Does anyone actually get the rated output from cheap 100W solar panels in the UK?
@PartnerConvert short answer — no, never, not even close. Long story: I've got a mix of Renogy and some no-name eBay panels on my narrowboat.
in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Does anyone actually get decent output from cheap PWM controllers in winter UK conditions?
@Gill1990 here's the thing nobody tells you upfront — that £18 controller isn't really a 20A unit in any meaningful sense.
in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 4