Battery monitor with bluetooth app (1 Viewer)

[Diabalo]

Anyone using one of THESE ? If so does it do what it says on the tin? I want to monitor my 2 hab batts and this would save running cables to a conventional digital readout gauge.


THIS one would be better as it constantly measures and records battery performance values but far more expensive

 

[funflair]

Welll the first one only reads Volts, is that all you want?

The second one certainly promises to do more but you may need the external shunt depending on your charge and discharge rates.

Martin

 

[Boringfrog]

How much battery power does each device consume?

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[sallylillian]

The victron BMV series are great little units, easy to install and now come with a Bluetooth connection and app, but you don't really need it. Search around for the best deal.
http://www.es-store.co.uk/product_d...ry-Monitor---BMV-Range&cat_id=77&show_menu=24

 

[eddie]

Neither are worth installing. The voltage unit is just that so a toy. The second one has a rating of 30 amps

So you would have to connect the two red wires in series with your existing positive battery lead and 30amps is too low

I would agree that the Victron unit is the way to go, although I am not convinced that having the information on a hand held device via an App is better than having a display mounted.

I do love technology, and I do like App's but to be able to glance at my Battery computer display is easy and I don't have to have a charged telephone to be able to see what is happening lol

 

[sallylillian]

Neither are worth installing. The voltage unit is just that so a toy. The second one has a rating of 30 amps

So you would have to connect the two red wires in series with your existing positive battery lead and 30amps is too low

I would agree that the Victron unit is the way to go, although I am not convinced that having the information on a hand held device via an App is better than having a display mounted.

I do love technology, and I do like App's but to be able to glance at my Battery computer display is easy and I don't have to have a charged telephone to be able to see what is happening lol

I agree Eddie, and as a gadget freak I added the Bluetooth gizmo; one benefit is a quick glance at the live charging statistics when driving, now I needed that when trying to sort the Iveco smart charging issue because asking Sally to get up and look at the N+B main panel was just too much, but as that is now fixed I will have to think of another reason to justify it. (Bluetooth that is)

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[eddie]

I agree Eddie, and as a gadget freak I added the Bluetooth gizmo; one benefit is a quick glance at the live charging statistics when driving, now I needed that when trying to sort the Iveco smart charging issue because asking Sally to get up and look at the N+B main panel was just too much, but as that is now fixed I will have to think of another reason to justify it. (Bluetooth that is)

The BMV 700 allows you to add a 2nd shunt to monitor two battery banks lol

 

[sallylillian]

The BMV 700 allows you to add a 2nd shunt to monitor two battery banks lol

Is it a second shunt or just an additional positive wire from the vehicle battery. I am using the 2 connections on the shunt for temp sense and pos feed from hab bank, I don't remember reading you could add a second shunt? Useful if you could?

 

[hilldweller]

Anyone using one of..........

See all the recent comments to the NASA BM??? bluetooth meter, done to death in the last couple of weeks.

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[Lorryman100]

Personally I love gadgets and the Victron setup works a treat using the app and bluetooth dongle on the BMV700. What I like the most is that when I switch on an electrical item I can see how much power it draws, the app gives an estimated time remaining in the batteries based on their combined Ah and I set the low limit to 75% which gives an alarm once the batteries reach this level which to date has never happened. It also gives an accurate indication of how many Amps are going into a partially depleted battery through the solar panels. Not that expensive a set up compared to everything else to do with Motorhome ownership.

I bought the bluetooth dongle because the BMV700 is mounted in the garage as I did not want additional holes in the hab area.

Broken Link Removed

 

[Gromett]

I can't believe this bluetooth stuff has all cropped up. My main project involves bluetooth for my van. battery and temp sensors etc etc.

I made a start earlier this week on my new battery/solar monitor but just waiting for some parts to arrive before getting into it fully. They arrived today

I will be using hall effect sensors for current so no shunt needed and no long wires running to the meter etc etc.

 

[PhilandMena]

I have this installed recently, by myself and happy with the end result.
http://www.nasamarine.com/product/bm-1-bluetooth/

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[KeithMak]

Aren't gauges wonderful,of course you need to know what they are showing and whether they are telling the truth.

ps. amp hour, SOC meters tell lies.

 

[Gromett]

Aren't gauges wonderful,of course you need to know what they are showing and whether they are telling the truth.

ps. amp hour, SOC meters tell lies.

tell me more? Providing they Coulomb count, Take account of Peukert's Law and allow for ageing then they are accurate enough for day to day use.

 

[Diabalo]

Thanks for the replies, I will probably go down the road of a simple 12v LED Digital gauge and have a button for each of the batteries, only doing this as I'm not convinced the Autotrail panel is giving out the correct info on the batteries.

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[Gromett]

Thanks for the replies, I will probably go down the road of a simple 12v LED Digital gauge and have a button for each of the batteries, only doing this as I'm not convinced the Autotrail panel is giving out the correct info on the batteries.

A simple volt meter will tell you nothing I am afraid.

As soon as the sun comes up your solar panels will raise the voltage on your battery terminals to put some charge in. Your simple 12v LED Digital gauge will only be telling you the solar controller output voltage not the state of charge of your battery.

 

[Diabalo]

A simple volt meter will tell you nothing I am afraid.

As soon as the sun comes up your solar panels will raise the voltage on your battery terminals to put some charge in. Your simple 12v LED Digital gauge will only be telling you the solar controller output voltage not the state of charge of your battery.

I realise that, I'm just wanting to know the state of the batteries during the night while off hook up so I don't take them down too low, I don't trust the sargent panel.

 

[PhilandMena]

I have found my Sargent panel to be very accurate. (2011 EC 5000 PSU).

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[ukdw]

A couple of questions for any experienced Vitron BMV700 users.

I have had a Victron BMV700 with 2 x 100AH leisure batteries and a 100W solar panel for about a year and am pleased with it - as it removes most of the guesswork out of running of hookup (or so I thought).

Just fitted a Victron bluetooth adaptor this weekend so that I could monitor charging progress during journeys between sites and also from inside the house at home.

Slightly strange results from my first test.
After 2 days away off hookup using plenty of electricity - (compressor fridge which uses the most) - I was down to 73%
Before I started driving home the solar panel was putting in about 1-2A.
At the beginning of the journey the input was around 25A, towards the end of the journey the input level was down to around 15A.
When I got home the charge level was 88% which seemed to tally with the charge rates - but based on previous experience I expected to get up to 100% easily on this length of journey.

The strange result was that a few minutes after getting home the charge level had jumped to 100% - a presume as a result of a resync.
Settings are - Battery Capacity 200ah, Charged Voltage 13.2V, Tail Current 4%, Charged Detection Time 3m, Peukert Exp 1.25, Charge Eff Fact 95%
Batteries are both <1year old LV25MF - 100Ah Numax Sealed Leisure

My questions are:
1. Do you think my batteries really are 100Ah - it says 100Ah on the labels - but a google search of LV25MF comes up with 90AH quite a few times? Would this difference explain where the extra 12% of charge came from - not sure it would? I originally ordered only 1 battery to match my existing fairly new 90AH battery - but had to buy a second one when the came labeled at 100AH.
2. Why did my input charge rate reduce down to 15A from 25A earlier in the journey - I also think I have seen it at closer to 40A before. Does the charge state of the starter battery have any impact on the number of amps to alternator puts out?

 

[PhilandMena]

Yes and Yes! Your leisure battery is probably quoted at a different amp/ hour rate in order to arrive at a higher spec. All leisure batteries should be quoted at the 20 amp/ hour rate but as there is no agreed or recognised standard in the UK or Europe for leisure batteries the manufacturer takes license. One of the reasons why so many customers get ripped off
Your batteries will call for less amps as their capacity is increased and when full your panel will show very little if any amps at all going into them. Just like filling a tub with water, you can only put so much in.