Buying Guides

Which part to actually buy, and why, for the decisions where the specification that matters is the one hardest to find.

These guides compare published specifications, not prices. Every figure is read from the manufacturer's own datasheet rather than from a retail listing, because retail listings routinely omit the number that decides the choice. The Blue Sea fuse block whose entire reason for existing is its interrupt rating has one feature bullet on Amazon, and it reads "Blue Sea Systems".

Some links here earn a commission. None of them change what gets recommended, and more than one product has been researched and then rejected on the page instead. The disclosure explains the arrangement in full.

• Choosing an Off-Grid Battery: The Specs That Decide

  A buying guide for off-grid LiFePO4 batteries that compares published specifications rather than prices: charge temperature range, BMS current limit, cycle life at depth of discharge, and series and parallel limits.