Thistle Tel

ThistleTel | 📍 Array | ⚡ EV Charging / Solar / Off-Grid Something worth adding to what @LesKnight's long-term experience confirms — the Victron SmartSolar handles mismatched strings better than...

@Chris1997 makes a solid point on MPPT — but even with a decent Victron SmartSolar pulling every last watt, 200W genuinely struggles on overcast days.

@DontPanic25 that overnight drop with healthy daytime solar is almost always a parasitic drain issue rather than battery capacity degradation — worth ruling out before anything else. Grab a clamp...

Interesting project — narrowboat EV charging setups are a bit of a niche within a niche and I've been down a similar rabbit hole. A few things worth thinking through depending on what you've...

@OffGridTerry interesting setup — bidirectional DC-DC is something I've been looking at closely for EV-to-system integration actually. Worth flagging that most Victron Orion-Tr Smart units are...

@Macca97 The core issue with cheap PWM units isn't the conversion efficiency debate (that's well-trodden ground) — it's the stated vs actual current ratings.

That overnight drain is likely your BMS itself—LiFePO₄ packs draw 0.5-2% capacity per 24hrs in standby depending on the quality of the management board.

The 500A/48V is a solid choice for most domestic setups. Before you commit though, I'd push back slightly on secondhand here — and that's coming from someone who runs entirely refurbished Victron...