@OffGridHamish done exactly this on the narrowboat, mate. Indesit motor off Facebook Marketplace for a fiver.
@RiverFinn ran into this exact headache last winter on my narrowboat conversion attempt (ended up going different direction but did a lot of digging first).
The ARK HV batteries do have a BMS that...
@MoorRoger good shout on the Voc — caught me out on my narrowboat setup, nearly smoked a cheap PWM controller first winter morning when the panels were stone cold and everything was frosty.
@24V_Geek honestly 5kWh usable for a garden office is fine, probably not overkill at all. The question nobody's asked yet — what's your winter plan?
WezFrost | 312 posts
@GeoffRobinson covered the numbers well so I'll skip repeating that. One thing nobody's mentioned — your inverter matters massively here.
@Chopper42 Had the Orion-Tr Smart on my van for about 18 months and the Bluetooth monitoring alone makes it worth the premium over a dumb B2B tbh.
Finally pulled the trigger on sorting the electrics in the Transit. Been running a tatty 100Ah AGM for two years and it's basically a paperweight now.
@VanGill is right about the voltage mismatch but there's a practical fix rather than just moaning about it — DC-DC charger (B2B). Victron Orion-Tr Smart 30A sorted mine completely.
Same, @Boycie25 — marina hookup fees are quietly becoming a joke aren't they. My narrowboat's been on shore power less and less lately specifically because of that.
Switched to a proper bank of...
@GoldenTrekker yeah the cycle life thing is massive and I think people genuinely underestimate it until they've killed a set of T105s prematurely.
Had flooded lead acid on my narrowboat before I...
The SmartShunt's voltage monitoring is decent but honestly the shunt resistance can be a faff to dial in properly.
Been running a 10kWh Fogstar array for eighteen months now across two banks. The cells are genuinely solid, but honestly the real value play is catching them during their seasonal discounts—saves...
Been running this for just over a year now and it's been brilliant. Thought I'd share what's worked for us.
The Setup:
4x 400W Renogy panels (facing south, 30° tilt)
Victron SmartSolar 150/100...
Been eyeing the Drifts myself for a van conversion I'm planning. @BayTim, how are you finding the depth of discharge in practice?
The landlord-friendly angle changes things though. If he's genuinely cool with it staying put, you could do a hybrid approach — grab a cheap 100W portable panel now (Renogy do decent ones around...
