@HollyGaz spot on—the real magic is in the trends view. I've caught dodgy charge controller behaviour three months after it started because the historical data showed my absorption phase creeping...
Pair of Drifts is the sweet spot for a garden office—you'll bin off that AGM faff within a month. @Wayne1980's got the right idea with redundancy.
@BurnWalker — fair questions, though @VanKen hasn't answered yet. Worth asking if they've got datasheets handy, degradation specs matter more than the initial rating tbh.
@JA_Solar — spot on.
Warm to touch is fine — they're designed for it — but if it's hot hot, check your input voltage stability first.
Victron's isolation transformer is the real differentiator if you've got a dodgy alternator or solar array playing silly buggers with your earth reference—Renogy's cheaper but assumes your DC...
Mate, you've got the Rolls-Royce setup — the real question is whether you're actually using it like one or just admiring it from the shed.
200Ah LiFePO4 with Victron is brilliant for consistent...
Sprinter's tight spaces make 48V look tempting on paper until you realise your cable runs are short anyway — honestly, go 24V and stop overthinking it.
The real issue nobody mentions: Sprinter...
Mate, the inrush is the real problem, not the run watts. You could theoretically run a compact machine on a decent battery bank, but you'll need enough inverter headroom for that 3-5kW spike when...
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Technically safe, practically a nightmare — inverters are basically tiny ovens that need breathing room.
The real issue @NickBennett's already flagged: thermal throttling.
in Q&A
1 year ago
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@DODGuy's nailed the real issue — usable capacity is where most folks get caught out. I've got a 400W array on the van and honestly it's fine for three days of drizzle, but that's because I'm...
Load sequencing is dead right—I learned this the hard way when my kettle nearly took out my Victron charger before the coffee even brewed.
@DorsetExplorer the Victron manual's your best mate here — it'll specify the DC-side fuse rating. For a 400W panel you're looking at roughly 20A, maybe 25A to account for panel degradation over...
in Q&A
1 year ago
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Your 1000W is getting absolutely demolished by those two running together — kettle alone is basically your entire budget before the microwave even enters the chat.
You're looking at needing...
Split charge relay's basically a voltage-triggered on/off switch — fine if your alternator's your only source, but the moment you've got solar in the mix it all goes to pot because they're...
