Remote PV Panel and Battery Monitor

[45North]

What's a good, inexpensive way to remotely monitor charging and discharging cycles on a 12v system.

I see Automotive Bluetooth battery monitors available or about $40. Are these any good?

TONWON Car Battery Tester, Bluetooth Wireless Automotive 12V Battery Load Tester Charging System Diagnostic Analyzer Monitor for Android & iOS Device : Amazon.ca: Automotive

TONWON Car Battery Tester, Bluetooth Wireless Automotive 12V Battery Load Tester Charging System Diagnostic Analyzer Monitor for Android & iOS Device : Amazon.ca: Automotive

www.amazon.ca

Or there's the Renogy Wanderer with the optional add-on Bluetooth monitor for a little more.

Renogy Wanderer 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Negative Ground Solar Charge Controller Regulator Compatible with, 10A and Bluetooth Module: Amazon.ca: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Find products from Renogy at low prices. Shop online for barbecues, mowers, garden tools, generators, snow blowers and more at Amazon.ca

www.amazon.ca

Does anyone have experience with these?

 

[Darkstar]

Bluetooth has a very limited range. If you are truly remote from your battery you would not be able to monitor.

I have been using a Victron Venus GX connected to a Victron BMV-700 battery monitor to see what's going on with my system. It is not a perfect solution as It can't really monitor input and output separately. It only shows how many amps are going in or out at the present time. You also need a LAN and internet connection at the remote location to monitor when you are away. I also bought a cheap wifi internet camera from amazon and I have that trained on my charge controller display... That helps me monitor how many watts are being dumped to my air heater dump loads which gives a pretty good indication of system status.

 

[45North]

OK, thanks. That gives me a couple of ideas.
I should have mentioned that this is just a small hobby system in my backyard so both WiFi and Bluetooth are available and in range.
(The only thing Remote about it is I don't want to go out into the snowy yard to check!)
I would prefer WiFi because the range is greater and it's more flexible, but the only ones I saw were for Bluetooth.

I'm inclined to prefer the Automotive ones because;

1. Parts are widely available and directly compatible with my 12v system, and
2. I'd prefer not to get locked into a proprietary system like Renogy or Victron (and have to pay their prices!)

 

[fat_old_sun]

OK, thanks. That gives me a couple of ideas.
I should have mentioned that this is just a small hobby system in my backyard so both WiFi and Bluetooth are available and in range.
(The only thing Remote about it is I don't want to go out into the snowy yard to check!)
I would prefer WiFi because the range is greater and it's more flexible, but the only ones I saw were for Bluetooth.

I'm inclined to prefer the Automotive ones because;

1. Parts are widely available and directly compatible with my 12v system, and
2. I'd prefer not to get locked into a proprietary system like Renogy or Victron (and have to pay their prices!)

WF-2030 from Bogart Engineeringworks with their TM-2030 and offers WiFi based remote monitoring - http://www.bogartengineering.com/products/wf-2030-wifi-remote-tm-2030-monitor.html

 

[45North]

So, I got this Bluetooth clamp multimeter but it's not really very suitable for this project:

BTMETER BT-570CAPP Digital Clamp Meter Multimeter, Auto-Ranging Bluetooth Amp Meter for AC DC Current Amperage Voltage Resistance Temp Electrical Tester with Backlit Continuity, Multi Testers - Amazon Canada

BTMETER BT-570CAPP Digital Clamp Meter Multimeter, Auto-Ranging Bluetooth Amp Meter for AC DC Current Amperage Voltage Resistance Temp Electrical Tester with Backlit Continuity in Multi Testers.

www.amazon.ca

It will save up to 4000 readings and make a graph, which is nice but there's a few things I don't like:

• The slowest repeat rate for sampling data is once per minute - too fast for Solar work - a few times an hour would be good enough.
• The clamp-on ammeter seems to be intended for higher amps than my small hobby size panel. Even if I wrap the wire around the clamps a few times to multiply the reading, it's still too low to read.
• Also, it's very big and bulky. I wish it was more compact so it would fit in the toolbox with the rest of my system.
• It takes a 9v battery of its own. I wish it ran on 12v so I could hack it onto my panel battery - or even 5v so I could run it off the USB output from my controller.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll find a use for it on other projects.

 

[Craig]

for about 70 bucks you can connect one of these to a raspberry pi and monitor away

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32916675597.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.35a54c4d6pdIFS

 

[45North]

Actually, this little round automotive voltmeter is much more useful.

CyanHall DC 12V LED Digital Display Voltmeter Waterproof for Boat Marine Vehicle Motorcycle Truck ATV UTV Car Camper Caravan Round Panel Red, Voltmeter - Amazon Canada

CyanHall DC 12V LED Digital Display Voltmeter Waterproof for Boat Marine Vehicle Motorcycle Truck ATV UTV Car Camper Caravan Round Panel Red in Voltmeter.

www.amazon.ca

I've mounted it to the front of the toolbox and I can see it from the house so I don't have to go outside to tell the state of charge.

 

[45North]

for about 70 bucks you can connect one of these to a raspberry pi and monitor away

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32916675597.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.35a54c4d6pdIFS

Well thanks for the suggestion @Craig. I'm sure that would be great if I only knew about Raspberry Pi and could read Italian!

 

[davissd]

for about 70 bucks you can connect one of these to a raspberry pi and monitor away

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32916675597.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.35a54c4d6pdIFS

Is there a download IMG that has the pre-configured monitoring application already installed?

 

[Craig]

Is there a download IMG that has the pre-configured monitoring application already installed?

No but I can send you a file with my python script