Renogy MPPT in use with a Victron Battery Monitor and shunt package?

[Wendy]

8/31/22,

Greetings,

I am setting up my electrical similar to "Self Made Stories" on Youtube. I will attach a screen cap from their video.

The difference is I have Renogy 40 A MPPT Rover, 2000 Watt Inverter, and DC to DC charger—not Victron components. I added a Victron Lynx Distributor 1000 and a Victron Battery Monitor/shunt package like they did in the video.

I am wondering if the Victron Battery Monitor/shunt between the batteries and the Lynx are needed... Does the MPPT function the same as the shunt? Do they both monitor the battery levels? Or is the shunt a safety feature that the MPPT does not offer? I don't want to duplicate, but I also want to protect my system if the shunt is necessary. I will attach a photo/diagram of what my system lays out like now.

Does there need to be a shunt (or fuse? not clear on this part ) between the Solar panels/ on/off switch and the MPPT Rover?

I welcome any suggestions or insights.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Wendy

 

[mikefitz]

You say you have a Victron shunt, it fits as indicated between battery negative and the negative buss bar in the Lunx distributer. Itsysed to display battery status. The MPPT will also display battery status and solar input, however its reading of SOC is very approximate. The Victron shunt will be very accurate if set up correctly.
If you have either a single string of panels in series or no more than two panels in parallel then no fuses are needed in the panel feed.
An isolator is useful.
The Lynx distributer has fuses for the feed cables to the chargers, inverter and low current fuse box.
An important fuse is the 'master' fuse on the battery positive terminal, this is a MRBF fuse and fuse holder from Blue Sea

 

[Wendy]

You say you have a Victron shunt, it fits as indicated between battery negative and the negative buss bar in the Lunx distributer. Itsysed to display battery status. The MPPT will also display battery status and solar input, however its reading of SOC is very approximate. The Victron shunt will be very accurate if set up correctly.
If you have either a single string of panels in series or no more than two panels in parallel then no fuses are needed in the panel feed.
An isolator is useful.
The Lynx distributer has fuses for the feed cables to the chargers, inverter and low current fuse box.
An important fuse is the 'master' fuse on the battery positive terminal, this is a MRBF fuse and fuse holder from Blue Sea

I have two 200 watt Renogy solar panels up top.
So I will keep the victron battery monitor /shunt. Will they be relaying the same overall information, renogy via an app, and the victron via the face plate monitor. Kind of a dumb question, but which do I pay attention to / which has priority?

I do have the MRBF fuse and holder. Thanks for reminding me to use it. lol.

Thanks Mike for replying.

 

[mikefitz]

The Victron will tell you much more, it also has Bluetooth and a app to see what's going on.
The Renogy MPPT will display at any point in time, solar panel volts, current and power. It also estimates battery SOG very badly. Battery volts and current from solar into the system.
The Victron will display battery volts and actual current in or out of the battery. It calculates power Into and out of the battery, and from this will indicate battery SOC and time to run to empty if power is drawn. It's stores history and with the app plots volts/ current/ .
If you have the BMV712 version there is much more. Download the manual from the Victron site.

In practice the Victron will tell you what's going on at the battery, how long it will last and how 'full' it is. The Renogy will indicate panel volts and current , and how much solar power is going into the system.
You have selected one of the best You Tube presentations on a camper system on which to base your system.

Mike
.

 

[Wendy]

Good to know. Thank you.

One more probably dumb question, but I don't know the answer. Will it ruin solar panels to install them on top of your van roof and not connect them to the electrical components in the van for a while? —Like a week to a month?I want to install them on the roof rack, but not sure how soon I will be able to get the entirety of the interior set up for connection. I heard you are not supposed to do that. ?

 

[gerrys]

...The Renogy MPPT will display at any point in time, solar panel volts, current and power. It also estimates battery SOG very badly. Battery volts and current from solar into the system.
...

...The Renogy will indicate panel volts and current , and how much solar power is going into the system...

If the solar charger does not accurately know the state of charge (SOC) of the battery, then how does it know when to switch between bulk and float charging... Etc. ?

 

[Tomthumb62]

If the solar charger does not accurately know the state of charge (SOC) of the battery, then how does it know when to switch between bulk and float charging... Etc. ?

Because the charge controller doesn’t push any charging current. It sends current only if the battery pulls it. And the charge controller can only send the amount of current (at a maximum) it’s rated for. A 30A SCC can only send a max of 30A, assuming there’s enough solar available to produce that much. So the SCC doesn’t need to know the SOC of the battery since it can only give energy when asked for. When the battery is full, it stops asking.