Fogstar Black Friday

[WESTY66]

Dam, can't afford to lose any more storage space.

Really? that’s a poor excuse just carry less, travel light like me

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Anyone know if the 280ah standard size would fit under a seat in a Ford Mk 8 Chausson?
Or do I need to get the seat base one?

See Jim's post #17. Presume it's a Fiat base vehicle?
Note to self,read what's WRITTEN not what you think you can see, plonker.
Mike.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

280 Club it is then. I won't fit it yet, it's to b%$£*"ing cold out there at the moment. I need to order a shunt, and some busbars.
Mike.

 

[suavecarve]

Any user feedback on the under seat variant from Funsters?
Mike.

I put the 280 ah Fogstar on its side under the front seat of a Fiat.

I lost what I thought was a load of battery ah but it worked out to be teething issues and no real concern

 

[Figaro]

I put the 280 ah Fogstar on its side under the front seat of a Fiat.

Was that a ISRI swivel seat or another ?
I've measured my ISRI and the 280 looks to be very tight

 

[Al n Val]

I’m tempted with another 280 which will give me 840a total, but if I buy

8 x MB31 grade A 315ah cells

and

2 x DIY cases with JK 200ah BMS with all the wiring included

It comes out at £820

Decisions decisions

I know i’m right in just buying the 1 x 280 will be a lot simpler and cheaper but just fancy building a couple

Why I really don’t know

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

The Fogstar 280 is capable of nearly twice the cycles of the 300 if that bothers anyone, I double checked this with them before buying a 280 earlier in the year.

 

[ChrisL]

The spec sheet says you can deplete 300A out of it so either there's some extra capacity or the claim is wrong.

I get 243ah out of my 230ah Fogstar Drift if that's a help.

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[suavecarve]

Was that a ISRI swivel seat or another ?
I've measured my ISRI and the 280 looks to be very tight

A swivel, tilting Fiat seat from 2022 on the Dethleffs Trend 7057. I m not the only one to have done it and yes its tight, very tight, but it fits

 

[MichaelT]

Glory seeker

Lazy barsteward more like, when I was at work I always gave 100%, no wonder the country is going down the pan

 

[Raul]

I’m tempted with another 280 which will give me 840a total, but if I buy

8 x MB31 grade A 315ah cells

and

2 x DIY cases with JK 200ah BMS with all the wiring included

It comes out at £820

Decisions decisions

I know i’m right in just buying the 1 x 280 will be a lot simpler and cheaper but just fancy building a couple

Why I really don’t know

The JK bms is is nice with 2A active balance and fully programable; you can virtually adjust -set every parameter. You will need one per each pack, £95 each. I have built few.

 

[rambo]

Got 2 leisure bats under front seat not in the best condition went to replace them but instead i got the bluetti power bank put it in the garage conected solar to it. conected it to the new bluetti 500w i think alternator charger then wired it up to control board job done got about 2048 wh and another 2000wh if i use the expansion battery.sounds a lot of power but we are in the van 4 to 5 nites a week .they have a good sale on at the mo on there website .i think power banks are better value thats my personal opinion

 

[fishplug]

I agree that power banks are great value and they're rapidly becoming better and cheaper since the 'solar generator' days. I've been so close to buying one a few times but...

I just don't need the 240v so my 300Ah battery for £699.99 is significantly cheaper than an equivalent 3,600Wh power bank

Sure, that's a long way from being a like for like comparison but it's all about use cases.

If I didn't have gas for cooking then I'd be seriously looking at a power bank and comparing it to building my own system with an inverter.

It's nice to have the choice and it's great to see pricing becoming more affordable now.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Lazy barsteward more like, when I was at work I always gave 100%, no wonder the country is going down the pan

Lenny HB has still got 20% of the job to do!

 

[nifty fifty]

A swivel, tilting Fiat seat from 2022 on the Dethleffs Trend 7057. I m not the only one to have done it and yes its tight, very tight, but it fits

do you have to remove seat or will it still go through the front. does it fit across or front to rear direction thanks glyn

 

[suavecarve]

do you have to remove seat or will it still go through the front. does it fit across or front to rear direction thanks glyn

Remove seat which is just 4 bolts, lean seat over to side, remove battery then fiddle and twiddle and it somehow goes in. Terminals facing rear and to the offside of drivers seat (RHD) for ease of connections. Connect her up and reattach the 4 bolts. We had to create a different battery holder in place mechanism (bit of wood wedging it in) to make it solid

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[rambo]

Remove seat which is just 4 bolts, lean seat over to side, remove battery then fiddle and twiddle and it somehow goes in. Terminals facing rear and to the offside of drivers seat (RHD) for ease of connections. Connect her up and reattach the 4 bolts. We had to create a different battery holder in place mechanism (bit of wood wedging it in) to make it solid

unplug electric wire that is some times fixed to seat before lifting seat off.and the seat is heavy to lift some times a 2 man job lifting out

 

[rambo]

do you have to remove seat or will it still go through the front. does it fit across or front to rear direction thanks glyn

hi i have done fair few and its been seat out every time on fiats but hey ho theres allways a first go luck dude

 

[nifty fifty]

4 torx and 2 nuts on mine to remove swivel plate with seat plus wires. just trying to make Shure fits before ordering must be tight. also have to find somewhere to put a b2b

 

[suavecarve]

unplug electric wire that is some times fixed to seat before lifting seat off.and the seat is heavy to lift some times a 2 man job lifting out

Fair point well raised, we managed to lean the seat over towards the passenger seat without disconnecting

 

[Helen Ariel]

We took the seat right off to fit the battery. Bit of a hassle but not too difficult. Only 1 tricky bolt from memory.

 

[MisterB]

If I didn't have gas for cooking then I'd be seriously looking at a power bank and comparing it to building my own system with an inverter.

We have a 304Ah Fogstar battery and a 3000w Renogy inverter. We cook everything on 240v. Haven't used the oven or gas hob in 18 months, might even look at removing the oven, though it works quite well as a cupboard for the induction hob ...!

 

[fishplug]

When I first bought the gas tank 5 or 6 years ago the cost of Lithium batteries (and to a lesser extent solar panels) was a lot higher than it is now. If you wanted to be able to draw 300A from AGMs then you need 600A of AGM batteries which was probably something like 150Kg of weight to lug about as well as a decent amount of valuable space, and then you also had to spend a fair chunk of extra money on more solar to top that up with and possibly an uprated alternator or dual DC-DC chargers.

It didn't make sense.

With Lithium batteries today and smaller, cheaper and more efficient solar panels the decision might have been different. That said, I do like cooking on gas more than I do electric but the cost/weight/space equation might have tipped me to an all-electric solution.

However, I've got the tank and just need to get some new bracketry for it to fit the new van and I'll refresh the copper pipe as a safety measure but beyond that it's not going to cost extra to keep it.

I also barely ever use the oven or grill on mine and have wondered about swapping it for just a hob. You can do a lot of things, such as cheese on toast, in a saucepan with the lid on....

Not decided on that one yet.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

We have a 304Ah Fogstar battery and a 3000w Renogy inverter. We cook everything on 240v. Haven't used the oven or gas hob in 18 months, might even look at removing the oven, though it works quite well as a cupboard for the induction hob ...!

Interesting, what sort of dent does that make in your battery when cooking a meal? How much solar do you have to replenish it?

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[MisterB]

Interesting, what sort of dent does that make in your battery when cooking a meal? How much solar do you have to replenish it?

we have 200w of solar plus a folding 120w. i did some tests ages ago and posted them on the forum re how much power it uses, but as a rough guide we can easily go three days off grid with no solar at all, and we would be using electricity in very much the same way as you would at home, kettle, microwave, induction hob, toaster etc. we even take a table top pizza oven away with us and use a george foreman grill for bbq'ing (but dont call it a bbq as i wouldnt want to upset the purists lol). if we wanted to be careful and limit our use, we could go longer, but rarely stay anywhere when off grid for longer than two or three days. Driving for a couple of hours soon tops up the battery and when i get round to fitting it correctly (not happy where its sited at the moment) a 60A B2B will more than cover our usage. Since going down the lithium route, ive realised from practical experience that its not just the size of your battery its how you 'refill' it that is the key and though solar is good, its not the only solution. A smaller lithium battery (subject to decent discharge rates) with the ability to keep it topped up can be just as effective as a massive battery bank and lots of solar!

Suprisingly, it was the starlink, before i converted it to 12v that was a large user of battery power (via the inverter) and i had enough solar to replenish that use on most days in the summer, the vehicle alternator and visiting camp sites to use the EHU were the real heroes.

one real life example

First time at Bitche, Eastern France

Left Eguisheim this morning and have driven North and arrived at Bitche after a couple of hours. Lucky enough to get one of the designated parking places overlooking the Citadel. If we hadn't there is loads of space as you can see from the next two photos There are probably 30...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Tombola]

Unfortunately the buggers won't ship outside of the UK for some reason.

when are you going to the UK and ireland Barrie , Im sure one of us can store it for you

 

[Tombola]

might even look at removing the oven, though it works quite well as a cupboard for the induction hob ...!

good point, Ive been putting mine in the cupboard lOL never even thought

 

[MisterB]

good point, Ive been putting mine in the cupboard lOL never even thought

our oven is a cupboard LOL !!!! The main reason i havent removed the oven (which i would keep for resale) is getting a door to match the original interior, though as i removed a door above the fridge for the microwave, perhaps i should replace the oven with the microwave and reinstate the cupboard above the fridge .......

 

[Al n Val]

Unfortunately the buggers won't ship outside of the UK for some reason.

hi Barrie

whereabouts are you?

 

[Barriesimpson]

when are you going to the UK and ireland Barrie , Im sure one of us can store it for you

Thanks Tombola, a very kind offer. The problem would be the extra weight as we are always on, or slightly over, maximum. So I don't think it would be practical. The option might be to have it installed and set up in the UK, something I'm pondering as we speak.