I'm in the middle of an upgrade of the electrical system in my truck camper. I've replaced the single 90W panel and PWM controller with two 150W panels, a Victron Smart MPPT controller and a Victron smart battery sense. I have a Victron DC/DC smart charge controller which I haven't installed yet for charging while driving(currently charging straight from alt with an isolator). I also have 4 270 ah cells en route from China and a cheap Chinese battery monitor on the way which Will recommended.
The goal is to have a system where I can do the following
Nice to have:
I'd love to have detailed historical data from the BMS. I'm not opposed to setting up a raspberry pi or arduino. I've been a developer for decades and don't mind some script kiddie work but I don't want to have to write custom code. I currently use several Raspberry Pis for DNS and homeassistant.
Misc information:
I will likely setup a heating pad for the battery(and my water tanks and plumbing) before winter hits.
The area where the battery will reside doesn't have a lot of room. I don't think I'll be able to get the DC-DC charger in the same compartment.
I haven't picked an inverter yet
I also have a progressive dynamics mighty mini 4045 converter/charger which needs to be upgraded to support lifepo4
BMS Questions:
Is it useful to have a BMS that can communicate with the Victron chargers and temp sensor? If so, what BMS can do that?
What BMS do you guys recommend that will give me access to the data easily and also has a nice windows or chrome app that doesn't require a direct com connection?
The goal is to have a system where I can do the following
- Accurately monitor SOC of the battery
- Accurately monitor health of the cells
- Monitor solar charging status(this is done)
- Run a microwave for a few minutes at a time(Absolute requirement -- this is a huge justification for upgrades)
- Not kill the battery when it gets very cold(working on that solution)
- Not have to run the generator and hopefully dump the generator and reclaim the space.
Nice to have:
I'd love to have detailed historical data from the BMS. I'm not opposed to setting up a raspberry pi or arduino. I've been a developer for decades and don't mind some script kiddie work but I don't want to have to write custom code. I currently use several Raspberry Pis for DNS and homeassistant.
Misc information:
I will likely setup a heating pad for the battery(and my water tanks and plumbing) before winter hits.
The area where the battery will reside doesn't have a lot of room. I don't think I'll be able to get the DC-DC charger in the same compartment.
I haven't picked an inverter yet
I also have a progressive dynamics mighty mini 4045 converter/charger which needs to be upgraded to support lifepo4
BMS Questions:
Is it useful to have a BMS that can communicate with the Victron chargers and temp sensor? If so, what BMS can do that?
What BMS do you guys recommend that will give me access to the data easily and also has a nice windows or chrome app that doesn't require a direct com connection?