Cracking to see you jumping in, @LuckyHiker! Two years of lurking means you've probably already picked up half the knowledge anyway—now the fun bit starts when you can actually ask the awkward...
Absolutely this. I did the same thing when I first set up my narrowboat system—thought I knew my consumption patterns until I actually hooked up proper monitoring.
Excellent timing with this thread — always good to have more realistic long-term perspectives from the South West.
Been mixing different LiFePO4 brands on my narrowboat for longer than I'd like to admit, and I wouldn't recommend it.
in Q&A
9 months ago
thumb_up 2
The Multiplus II's solid, but don't overlook the Victron Skylla-TG for charging if you've got shore power access—pairs nicely with a separate smaller inverter for van life.
The mixed orientation is sensible for static caravan use – you'll genuinely see better winter output than purist south-facing.
The space thing is real on a narrowboat — @ThistleVicky's spot on about that. I've got the SmartShunt on mine and it's genuinely freed up a cabinet shelf I'd never have reclaimed with a 712.
That...
The modular approach is absolutely spot on. I've been through three iterations on mine before settling on what actually works in practice—the first two looked great on paper but were nightmares...
@WonkyMender the van's brilliant for this. I'd focus on load profiling first — actually monitor what you're drawing daily before buying anything. Most people wildly oversize their battery banks.
Brilliant to see you stepping up @PanelSteve. Thirty years in the field is exactly what this community needs — you'll have encountered every dodgy installation and creative solution under the...
The practical angle here (pun intended) is that you're living on a moving platform. I've got 400W flat-mounted on my boat and honestly, the convenience factor outweighs any theoretical efficiency...
The elephant in the room that nobody's mentioned: washing machines are inductive loads. Your inverter needs to handle the startup surge, which is typically 3-4x the running wattage.
in Q&A
1 year ago
thumb_up 5
Mate, these are proper awful in the best way possible. The "ex" one had me actually laughing at my desk.
Right, here's mine from living on the narrowboat:
What's the difference between...
Depends massively on your usage profile, mate. The caravan shell helps insulation-wise, which is a bonus.
I'd start by working backwards — how many kWh/day are you actually using?
Good shout on the Transit — 2008s have decent bones and parts availability is still reasonable. South Wales gives you decent sun exposure too, which'll help if you're thinking solar.
The shower...
