Mine tried to classify the solar array as "industrial infrastructure" until I showed them the Victron spec sheet and pointed out my narrowboat uses less power than their office kettle.
@Spider's ice horror stories always crack me up — though nothing beats @MountainHermit's point about persistent cloud cover being the actual villain.
PWM controller doing the heavy lifting then? Brutal but honest—you'll feel every cloud that passes over those panels.
Bet you've got a dodgy cell in that pack creating intermittent voltage wobbles — LiFePO4 cells are usually rock-solid until they're not, then they're really not.
Before you start replacing things,...
Split arrays are clever and all, but wait until your first Scottish winter when you're cleaning moss off them every fortnight—suddenly that "hedging your bets" approach costs you in...
DIY works if you enjoy spreadsheets more than sleep and can source cells that aren't counterfeit. I built mine from Catl pouches last year—saved about 30% versus off-the-shelf, but I've now spent...
Outdoor in a proper enclosure, mate—your Fogstar cells will thank you. Indoor sounds cosy until you're sweating through a heatwave watching your BMS throttle back capacity because the cabin's...
Mate, Transit conversions are the gateway drug to off-grid living—one minute you're fitting a leisure battery, next thing you've remortgaged to fund a Victron setup and you're explaining MPPT...
Mate, the real kicker is the depth of discharge — AGM won't forgive you if you're hammering it below 50%, whereas LiFePO4 laughs at 80% DoD all day long.
Right, finally getting round to documenting this before the wife asks why there's still scaffolding in the garden.
The Setup:
12m² shed conversion in Essex, running entirely off-grid with a 48V...
Depends entirely on your usage pattern, mate. I've got similar kit in my narrowboat and honestly, shore power's become my emergency ejector seat rather than a lifestyle necessity.
400W solar with...
Mate, I tried this on my narrowboat and ended up with a £400 Victron alternator controller just to stop it frying my LiFePO₄ — might've been cheaper to just buy a proper marine alternator in the...
in Q&A
2 years ago
thumb_up 1
Why did the solar panel go to therapy? It had too many issues to work through in the dark.
But seriously, I've got a few crackers:
What's the difference between a solar panel and my ex?
Narrowboat tax is real — you're basically paying premium prices for everything that fits in a shoebox.
