diy solar

diy solar

shunts and monitors

Bill 112

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Jul 28, 2021
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How do you figure out what size shunt to use for a battery monitor. I bought an AiLi monitor and it came with a 500amp shunt. Seems to work ok.
Now I have bought a Epevers 12v 40amp SCC...I don't see a shunt with the separate MC50 monitor I bought for it. I am also installing an Aims pure
sign wave inverter/charger with a separate Aims monitor. No shunt with it either. Do these two devices have built in shunts ???? I believe the Aims
inverter/charger was to also have a auto transfer switch. I'm guessing that is internal also. Gee life gets complicated...lol tks for the help.
 
A shunt type battery monitor will show TOTAL energy IN and OUT of the battery bank......Very important! The "monitors" we get with various CCs and other devices simply show how the battery / solar panels are reacting to that device. It does not take into account ALL energy draw. With a shunt, absolutely ALL negative leads need to go through the shunt to get an accurate picture of our systems health.
 
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That is understandable, however the monitors that I got with the inverter/charger and the solar controller have no where to plug in a wire from a smart shunt. So I'm confused how the info from the smart shunt gets to the monitors.
 
If therte is no shunt, there is no way for the system to to see IN and OUT energy. What you have is simple panel- battery voltage monitors. Your AiLi monitor is the real deal. Hook it up, program it, and it will show you true SOC (State of Charge) in Amp Hours and percent charged. A great device and EVERY system should have one or something like it.
 
The 'monitors' on the inverter/charger or the charge controller are NOT designed to work with an external shunt. They have only a rough relationship with the actual power in your batteries. Don't believe the readings.
 
Quick question about that shunt, does it reset if you disconnect the power for a long time? I'm looking to set up my cabin so I can disconnect all the load from the batteries other than a little MPPT with a couple panels to keep it topped up while I'm gone. I'm hoping I don't have to feed the shunt power draw or reprogram it every time I head over and turn the solar system on.

I assume you guys are talking about This Alil 500a shunt?
 
That is understandable, however the monitors that I got with the inverter/charger and the solar controller have no where to plug in a wire from a smart shunt. So I'm confused how the info from the smart shunt gets to the monitors.
I don't think the shunt plugs into the charge controller or inverter. Most shunts I have seen come with their own monitor or use bluetooth. The monitor you got with the charge controller is for the charge controller.
 
Hhhhmmm I thinking now.. I have an Ali monitor I have been using it is hooked to a smart shunt 500amp. It is hooked to my lead acid batteries that I have been using. Now I am setting up solar with 2 lithium 206 ah batteries. Maybe I just need to switch that shunt and monitor over to my new battery set up ....and just use the two new monitors to set the controller and inverter/charger for the system I'm using.
 
Quick question about that shunt, does it reset if you disconnect the power for a long time?

I have the one you linked,and it remembers settings when disconnected. You may have to reset 100% thought (one button press).
 
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