Battery Monitor

[PhotonSailor]

Hi All,

Am building a 400 Watt Solar Package w/ Alternator Charging using Will's DIY Solar Blueprints. I also have his book, Mobile Solar Power Made Easy.

I Have

• 2 Battle Born - 100 Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Batteries
• 1 Renogy DCC50S 12V 50A DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT
• 1 Giandel 2200W Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter
• Bayite DC 6.5-100V 0-100A Battery Monitor with 100A Current Shunt.

Have some concern regarding the battery monitor.
I purchased the battery monitor listed on Will's page Battery Monitor.

It is the 100 Amp shunt that concerns me.

The two 100 Ah batteries are wired in parallel and the 2200 W Inverter. (2200/12 = 183 A)

This exceeds 100 Amps.

Do I need to get a shunt rated for higher amperage or am I missing something?

Thanks for any insights!

 

[snoobler]

Do I need to get a shunt rated for higher amperage, or am I missing something?

Yes, no.

 

[PhotonSailor]

Would be most helpful for me and others if you could elaborate.

 

[snoobler]

Yes, you need to get a shunt rated for higher amperage because you designed higher than 100A current into your system.

No, you're not missing something.

 

[PhotonSailor]

Thank You!

 

[Zil]

My inverter uses 150 amps dc. That shunt is not big enough. Get a 500 amp shunt.

 

[PhotonSailor]

Thank you.

Am now looking at different battery monitors that can handle larger amp loads.

The Simarine Pico Battery Monitor looks pretty nice. Also looking at the Victron...

Note to all beginners (like me)

No disrespect to Will Prowse, but be aware that the links he lists to purchase items (like a battery monitor and bus bar) on Will Prowse's page Building a 400 Watt Solar Package w/ Alternator Charging are not up to handling the amps for the products he recommends, like the Giandel 2200 Watt Inverter. I cannot send them back as the return window is already closed. I am now doing the build though I ordered all the products mid July.

Also, There are other discrepancies regarding products to purchase, like listing fuses to buy while the diagrams showed circuit breakers, leading to buying stuff that is not needed.

Now I have to purchase a different battery monitor due to the insufficient shunt, a larger 250 Amp bus bar as the recommended one was only rated for 100 amps and have fuses that I do not need.



.

 

[Zil]

Yep.

 

[Rogerb]

@PhotonSailor people on this forum have used this monitor/shunt:

AiLi Voltmeter Ammeter Voltage Current Meter Voltmeter Ammeter 100V 350A Caravan RV Motorhome 999 AH - - Amazon.com

AiLi Voltmeter Ammeter Voltage Current Meter Voltmeter Ammeter 100V 350A Caravan RV Motorhome 999 AH - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

I have the Simarine Pico system and it is very nice. Just need to get off my butt and install it. ?

 

[HaldorEE]

I chose the Victron BMV-712. The 500A shunt is more than I need, but that is what it comes with.

I am thinking about installing an integrated control system since the rest of my system is all Victron (solar, alternator and inverter). Want to wait and see how the cell phone over BluTooth experience is. That may actually be enough.

I am looking forward to messing around with this once I get the rest of the van build finished. I am tempted by the idea of implementing my own DIY controller using the Venus OS on top of a Raspberry Pi, but I will probably end up getting a Cerbo GX. The Cerbo is only $200 more than the Raspberry Pi and I know it will do what I want.

 

[HRTKD]

+1 for the Victron BMV-712. Its ability to communicate with the other Victron components sealed the decision for me.

 

[HaldorEE]

Totally agree. You want to be able to see surge current draw. I say 200% of constant max is a good minimum.

 

[snoobler]

Most reputable shunt manufacturers recommend 66-80% rated, so I should have factored at least that in. Shunt resistance is so low, it's really hard to buy one too big even if you go 10X.

 

[snoobler]

I chose the Victron BMV-712. The 500A shunt is more than I need, but that is what it comes with.

I am thinking about installing an integrated control system since the rest of my system is all Victron (solar, alternator and inverter). Want to wait and see how the cell phone over BluTooth experience is. That may actually be enough.

I am looking forward to messing around with this once I get the rest of the van build finished. I am tempted by the idea of implementing my own DIY controller using the Venus OS on top of a Raspberry Pi, but I will probably end up getting a Cerbo GX. The Cerbo is only $200 more than the Raspberry Pi and I know it will do what I want.

Wicked happy with my CCGX and remote monitoring. VictronConnect is limited to only seeing the MPPT. Everything else needs VRM.

 

[HaldorEE]

I will have a Smart Solar and an Orion TR Smart Charger.

The Mulitiplus doesn't have BlueTooth but all three of the other Victron boxes do.

Probably be pretty cumbersome to switch connections on my phone.

If I am planning on using a Cerbus anyway is there any reason to pay for BlueTooth? I could get the non bluetooth SSC and Orion for less.

I have the Victron USB adapter for my Multiplus. I believe I can use that to configure all of the Victron boxes in my system can I not?

 

[snoobler]

Switching devices isn't that bad, but it's different, and not everything is fully implemented. What seems most robust is to use VRM's remote console that essentially shows the same display as your GX device which summarizes info from all the devices:


Other screens to chose from:


As long as they're listed as VRM accessible they usually work. Not all devices are even if they say they are. My smart sense indicates it's supposed to log voltage and temperature to VRM, but it's not supported (yet?).

I like bluetooth while I'm on site, but I could live without it.

 

[HaldorEE]

The Cerbus uses an optional external display, but has extra ports. Since I have at least 4 Victron devices to interconnect, the Cerbus seems like the best choice. Or are you able to daisy chain comm ports?

 

[HaldorEE]

Multiplus Compact 24/2000
Smartsolar 100/20
Orion TR 12/24-15 Smart charger
BMV-712 Monitor.

 

[snoobler]

VE.Bus devices are chained via ethernet cables with terminators at the ends. Not sure about VE.Can.

The Cerbo GX looks like it has more VE.Direct ports than my GX.

Your smart solar and BMV will go to VE.Direct ports, the multi to VE.Bus (probably). Not sure about the Orion. You'll have space leftover.

 

[PhotonSailor]

Am now using the Victron Smart Shunt, available different sizes.

Works great. I particularly like the Bluetooth enabled app to monitor.

SmartShunt - Victron Energy

The SmartShunt is an all in one battery monitor, only without a display. Your phone acts as the display. The SmartShunt connects via Bluetooth to the...

www.victronenergy.com

Note

I also have the Renogy DCC50S charge controller with the Renogy BT2, a Bluetooth transceiver but Renogy app to monitor the controller seems under developed and is not as polished as Victron's app. If Victron ever comes out with a combo MPPT / DC to DC charge controller I would swap out the Renogy DCC50S for it as Victron has their act together (software / apps) regarding monitoring and controlling their device ecosystem.