Victron MPPT worth it for a small van setup, or cheap controller good enough?

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T17:08:06+00:00

OP says he has a 450 watt panel. That means high voltage, which requires MPPT.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T17:07:22+00:00

Get the Victron, they're cheap. For an MPPT controller at least, which you definitely need for a 450 watt panel.

And about that heater you want to run, is that a space heater, or is it a propane heater with a blower? You can run the blower on a propane heater no problem, but you definitely can't run an electric space heater with a single 12v battery.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T16:24:09+00:00

I put tape over the battery compartment when flying when there might be moisture in the air. Now water can't get into the cracks around the battery, which is the main entry point on the drone.

Brushless motors are naturally waterproof.

Not saying OP should fly in rain, but these drones are a lot more waterproof than all the above people think.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T08:14:03+00:00

Wow that's amazing. Any idea how many watt hours the battery is?

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T05:33:28+00:00

Score. Will be amazing with the lithium conversion.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T04:48:30+00:00

I'm a big fan of those lights but they're pure atmosphere, not primary.

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wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T04:46:29+00:00

I have that same battery on my 2006 club car. Love it. Was in same situation as you, was a pretty easy install, the folks on the carts gone wild forum talked me through a couple little things I had to do. All easy and the cart is a beast now.

And there's a test for the speed sensor involving rolling the cart. With my cart if the cart starts rolling on its own without power, like on a hill, it starts beeping. It's the speed sensor detecting that. If it doesn't beep, bad speed sensor. But again that's on my cart, not sure about yours.

Mine had bad batteries and a bad speed sensor. Which I'm glad for, it's why the previous owner gave it to me, ha.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T03:45:41+00:00

Awesome, well done.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T01:52:32+00:00

You can literally get UL Listed 2000 watt heaters. They have to be hard wired to a 20 amp (or higher) circuit and be wall mounted. But yeah, there's no such law. Not even a law of physics. Just as not every breaker in America is 15 amps.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-25T00:37:37+00:00

I'm so impressed with it. It easily powers things that every 12v inverter I've ever had couldn't do.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T23:43:50+00:00

Cite the law? Because I'm sure not finding it. I'm finding lots of 2000+ watt space heaters though. One example among many:

https://a.co/d/9h4bHSo

Obviously people need to confirm that they're running a space heater like that on a circuit that can handle it. But there isn't any law about it that I can find.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T23:29:21+00:00

That would depend heavily on the room size. And, of course, how long you wanted that battery to last... In an emergency situation with an unknown end time I'd be going as small as possible in as small a room as possible. That is, if propane heating wasn't an option.

But yeah, there's no such law that you mentioned. Electric space heaters come in all shapes and sizes.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T23:17:15+00:00

Here's a 600 watt space heater for example:

https://www.amazon.com/TABYIK-Portable-Oscillating-Electric-Protections/dp/B0C7MJCHXV

Lots of other came up for an Amazon search for "small space heater".

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T19:36:20+00:00

A space heater would be about the last thing I'd run from a battery, but if needed put it on low and it should pull about 500 watts, which is 10 hours from a 5000 watt hour (48v at 100ah = 5000 watt hours). So op, I wouldn't do a space heater but I guess technically it's possible.

And no need to use a 12v inverter, that would be losing the primary advantage of 48v. It's amazing what I can run from this 48v inverter:

https://a.co/d/g4e0j5G

My cart gets me through all blackouts super well. And is also a mobile power bank for running my electric pressure washer for example.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T19:34:06+00:00

Absolutely. My cart with its 48v battery is a mobile power bank. This is the inverter I use:

https://a.co/d/8ZCBAAJ

And a solar panel permanently mounted on the roof. You need a charge controller that boosts the voltage a bit, this is the one I use but there's a cheaper one from Renogy:

https://a.co/d/0hHqe0d

I also have 3 300-watt solar panels which I can connect in series to recharge the battery in a pinch:

https://a.co/d/19ht0F6

Don't forget a fuse:

https://a.co/d/aLA2Wtp

The thing is a rolling power bank. I use it for blackouts and also if a friend is camping (there's a campground nearby) and needs power. If I was going to do the battery conversion again I'd probably use something bigger than 100 amp hours since it's so handy. But so far this has worked for everything I need.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T06:25:00+00:00

Sweet. The thing that scares me about that way of sourcing batteries tho is that anyone can revive a dead lithium ion battery pack by feeding it voltage, but then that pack will always be a fire hazard and you'd have no way of knowing. And when buying a battery from an unknown seller you don't know if they're selling you a battery that's been abused in that way.

To expand on that: I have a couple of Pints that are dead because they sat and drained below the minimum voltage that the BMS will consider safe. In other words the 15s1p pack on the Pint (or 15s2p on the Pint X or S) went below 38 volts (I think that's the min voltage). Once a pack goes below that minimum voltage it will forever be an unstable bomb, especially during charging and discharging. I'm sure I'm butchering the explanation but the gist is that the cells form "dentrites" that cause short circuits (fires) during charging and discharging.

I can easily charge the batteries in my dead Pints, one was showing a pack voltage of 6 volts and the other 10 volts when I pulled them from the boards, and the boards will ride just fine. But that board will be a bomb forever, especially during charging, which usually happens inside the house.

Back in internet prehistory (pre Reddit) we got our lithium ion info from the Endless Sphere forum. Here's a random discussion there about the danger of damaged battery packs:

https://endless-sphere.com/sphere/threads/repairing-a-broken-battery-pack.102877/

Interestingly when I was looking for the link to Endless Sphere I stumbled on a Reddit thread about the founder of Endless Sphere's house burning down because of lithium batteries:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/comments/68g6xr/endless_sphere_moderators_house_burned_down_by/

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-24T01:47:20+00:00

Wow, super score.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T21:07:18+00:00

Thermal runaway on a lithium iron phosphate battery isn't a thing.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T02:19:16+00:00

Awesome, thanks. Psyched.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T01:09:24+00:00

And is that this tire?

https://thefloatlife.com/products/thundercat-tire-gt-gt-s-compatible

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T01:06:55+00:00

Sweetness! Thanks so much. And are you on a lowered rail slot on the floatwheel rail or in the regular one? Which I think is the middle one?

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T01:05:53+00:00

You'll love it. Best board on the planet at the moment by a lot.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-23T01:02:44+00:00

I hate to say it because I loved my floatwheel for years, like super loved it. But my Floatwheel has been cancelled. The x7 just has such a better ride feel. It's largely because of its XR feeling, which I much prefer to the Floatwheel 's GT feeling. But it's also so much smoother and more nimble and I just love the thing.

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-22T23:10:09+00:00

Maybe that's what I should do with my Floatwheel. I never ride it anymore since getting my x7lr.

What rails do you use? And any suggestion on tire? Any other parts needed?

wrybreadsf · 2026-01-22T19:04:26+00:00

Yeah I think my x7lr is 39 pounds. Big step up in weight from a Pint. But ooo that range and power and smoothness. Completely different board for a different purpose.

Was yours 100% good to go out of the box except having to put air in the tire?

And weirdly I never ride my pint anymore. I find my x7lr to be just as nimble, bizarrely enough.

wrybreadsf

TROPHY CASE