The real question is whether you've got the system dialled in properly before offloading it. A 3kVA Victron with 10kWh lithium is solid kit, but configuration is everything and most folk don't...
The Phoenix handles inrush far better than Renogy kit I've tested—it's built for exactly this scenario. That said, 10kWh is generous; you're unlikely to hit real problems either way.
The shunt's only half the problem though—it's the monitoring software that matters. I ran a Fogstar unit for two years before switching to Victron.
Been through this myself during a Welsh winter lockdown—motorhome, subzero temps, and a Victron LiFePO4 bank that went from 100% usable capacity to about 60% literally overnight.
Spot on about the lessons learned the hard way. Three days is rough going.
Worth adding to your list: a dedicated leisure battery monitor (I use a Victron BMV-712) so you're not guessing state of...
The issue you'll hit at £300 is that you're buying a compromise device. Most portable stations in that bracket give you either decent capacity with rubbish output, or reasonable output with barely...
The value proposition with Fogstar really depends on your discharge profile. I'm running two 5.12kWh units in the motorhome and they've been solid for 18 months, but I'd push back slightly on the...
The live-in phase everyone's emphasising is dead right, but I'd add: instrument it properly from day one.
The efficiency gains are real but honestly overshadowed by what @RetiredChef's mentioned — the GX integration on the II is genuinely transformative if you're building a proper monitoring setup.
The generator vs battery question plagued me for years in the motorhome. What finally clicked was thinking about duty cycle rather than just capacity.
Generators excel at sustained load — running...
The modular approach is spot on for boats, though I'd flag one thing that caught us out on the motorhome conversion—ventilation around lithium banks is critical, especially in the damp environment...
The cable gauge conversation is spot on, but I'd add that voltage drop is the sneaky killer most people ignore.
The sequencing point is crucial, but there's another layer that catches people out: voltage sag under transient loads.
@Lefty72 I'd actually push back on that a bit. 400W isn't peashooter territory if you're realistic about duty cycles in a van.
I've run a similar spec in my motorhome (430W Renogy, 280Ah LiFePO4)...
Garden offices are genuinely the sweet spot for getting off-grid right. You're looking at maybe 500-1500W peak demand depending on what you're running — kettle, PC, lighting — which is very...
