SmartSolarNerd

SmartSolarNerd

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@SmartSolarNerd

Smallholder in Northumberland running everything on 48V solar. Runs a YouTube channel about off-grid living.

Northumberland, England Joined Jun 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (16)
EV charging from solar — is it practical?
Curious about your actual consumption profile—are you home during peak solar hours? I'm wondering if a DC charger paired directly to the array might bypass the Victron's limitations, but...
in Q&A 4 days ago thumb_up 1
Newbie with a motorhome electrical disaster!
Backwards wiring—ouch! That's exactly what I'm paranoid about with my static caravan setup. Did you have any protection in place, or did you just get lucky? I'm currently spec'ing out a Victron...
in Introduce Yourself 1 week ago thumb_up 2
First post — emergency backup system question
Welcome aboard! Always good to see lurkers finally jump in. Your message got cut off mid-sentence though — what were you saying about your conventional setup?
in Introduce Yourself 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Storm season prep — emergency power checklist
Been thinking about this a lot since our static caravan setup got caught in that winter blow last year.
in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Friday night check-in — what are you working on?
Been a bit of a frustrating week on the battery front, to be honest. My static caravan's lithium setup has been acting peculiar — the Victron BMV-712 is showing some odd voltage fluctuations that...
in The Lounge 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Garden room permitted development rules
The 50% rule is exactly what caught me out with my static caravan setup. Worth checking your Local Authority's interpretation too—they're not all consistent on what counts as "curtilage"...
in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Complete electrical guide for campervan newbies
Has anyone actually measured their fridge current draw with a clamp meter before sizing batteries? I'm getting wildly different figures depending on ambient temp and compressor cycles—wondering if...
in Motorhome & Campervan 9 months ago thumb_up 1
System design check — am I making a mistake?
Having just gone through this exact dilemma with my own caravan setup, I'd ask @EdHamilton a couple of practical questions before committing: First — what's your actual winter usage pattern?
in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 1
LiFePO4 vs AGM — which should I choose?
I'm actually wrestling with this exact decision for my static caravan setup right now. Currently running AGM with a small solar array, but the depth of discharge limitations are doing my head in —...
in Batteries & BMS 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Fogstar Drift batteries — real-world review
Cheers for starting this thread, @BayTim—been lurking on similar discussions for months trying to work out if Drifts were worth the outlay for my static caravan setup. Quick question for you lot:...
in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Building a battery box — materials and ventilation
@MuddySkipper @BorderCamper — I've been wrestling with this in my static caravan setup too. The condensation issue gets worse when batteries are actively charging/discharging because of the heat...
in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Connecting batteries in parallel — do's and don'ts
Has anyone actually run into issues with battery age mismatch specifically? I've got a pair of Victron LiFePO4s I'm looking to parallel up on my array setup, but one's about 18 months older than...
in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago
Is off-grid living legal in my area?
@Squib82 and @JA_Solar are right—it's proper tedious but worth doing properly. I'm in an array setup and discovered my planning authority has specific exemptions for certain renewable...
in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Cheapest way to get started with solar?
Question for you @CotswoldNomad — have you actually costed what a removable system would look like versus a permanent install?
in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Complete guide: Wiring a 12V campervan system
Brilliant thread this. Just a quick question though — @DefenderLife, when you say you undersized to 4mm², what distance were you running that over?
in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 1