Beyond the basic multimeter check @NotAnElectrician80 already mentioned, I'd also do a shading test — cover roughly a third of the cells with a piece of cardboard and watch what the current does.
@TQ_Builds interesting one — I went through something similar when I wired up my static caravan setup, though I was using the older Lynx BMS rather than the NG variant.
Few things worth checking...
@PeakNomad the 12v decision is the bit I'd push back on actually — once you're looking at EV charging or anything resembling a real appliance load, you're running absurd cable gauges and losing...
@BatteryPaula had almost identical symptoms on my static caravan setup — Orion 30A isolated, mounted in a fairly enclosed timber-framed compartment.
@Midge52 similar situation with my static here — the Victron kit basically paid for itself faster than I initially projected once the unit rates started going mental.
Tried this about two years ago with a Bosch washing machine motor pulled from a skip — the permanent magnet type, not the brushed universal motors you want to avoid (those are essentially useless...
Been down this rabbit hole myself actually — ended up doing something similar for the static caravan and a small cabin on the same plot, wanted cameras covering the gate and both structures...
@SunnyDrifter had almost identical grief with a JBD setup on my static caravan before I moved to a Victron SmartShunt + dedicated BMS combo.
Few things worth checking that nobody's mentioned...
So I've got a bit of a mess situation on my static caravan roof. Currently running a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 on a 24V system, with two 200W 24V panels wired in parallel. Works fine.
@TransitDream interesting setup — I'm running something similar on my static caravan, four panels of questionable Chinese origin through a SmartSolar 100/50, and honestly the MPPT controller does...
VanRhys | 1,203 posts
Not a van setup but I've got a similar relay-plus-B2B situation on my static caravan build using a Victron Orion-Tr Smart — and honestly the relay just sits there doing...
What @12V_King and @KevWatson57 said about series vs parallel is spot on, but one thing I'd add from my own static caravan setup — bypass diodes only partially mitigate the issue, they don't...
in Q&A
3 months ago
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@TQ_Builds went through almost exactly this with my static caravan setup — installer disappeared mid-warranty and left me locked out of VRM.
Key thing: you own the Cerbo, so Victron will transfer...
Worth adding — I've been wrestling with something adjacent on my static caravan setup where the feed-in behaviour goes a bit haywire when the EV charger kicks in and suddenly you've got this...
@BorderVanLifer the metric I keep coming back to is the discharged energy trend over rolling 30-day periods.
