Battery Monitor (1 Viewer)

[irnbru]

I would like to monitor what I will be using from my battery bank. Looking at monitors that will tell me how many amp hrs Ive used and state of battery level.

Why is the difference so great between these two for example?

Do you have one thats easy to use and can be recommended.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-90V-30...090671?hash=item2118542daf:g:P4AAAOSweWVXcph4


http://www.force4.co.uk/nasa-bm-2-c...YeGsgma-5e7O7a-vwncD6BoCWH3w_wcB#.WAj7gqOZPBI

 

[JeanLuc]

I don't know anything about the cheapo, but the Nasa is well regarded. Also consider Victron and Votronic but they'll all be over £100. If it were me, I would not go anywhere near a product claiming to be a battery computer at £12.50

 

[Robert Clark]

We've got the Victron battery monitor

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282178038252

It displays;
Voltage
Amps in/out
Watts in/out
How many hours remaining based on current consumption
Percentage of battery remaining
Total amps consumed since last recharge

Its not the cheapest, but being Victron it's a great bit of kit.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Khizzie]

I know the condition of my batteries. : Starter battery: ,won't start so must be flat. Leisure batteries: No lights so must be flat ..so don't need expensive monitor . Lol

 

[34127]

I would like to monitor what I will be using from my battery bank. Looking at monitors that will tell me how many amp hrs Ive used and state of battery level.

Why is the difference so great between these two for example?

Do you have one thats easy to use and can be recommended.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-90V-30...090671?hash=item2118542daf:g:P4AAAOSweWVXcph4


http://www.force4.co.uk/nasa-bm-2-c...YeGsgma-5e7O7a-vwncD6BoCWH3w_wcB#.WAj7gqOZPBI

I looked into this a while ago and the first one you have listed got a lot of poor reviews. The Nasa BM1 seems to be the one to go for, sometimes can get cheaper ones on Ebay - mine cost £59 ex demo but as new.

 

[zac]

We've got the Victron battery monitor

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282178038252

It displays;
Voltage
Amps in/out
Watts in/out
How many hours remaining based on current consumption
Percentage of battery remaining
Total amps consumed since last recharge

Its not the cheaters, but being Victron it's a great bit of kit.

This looks intersting, did you add this as an extra to your MH? how easy is it to wire in to a vehicle with multiple batteries?
May look at getting one myself.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Robert Clark]

This looks intersting, did you add this as an extra to your MH? how easy is it to wire in to a vehicle with multiple batteries?
May look at getting one myself.

I had it fitted by Vanbitz but it's possible to fit DIY
It has a shunt that needs to be connected to the main neutral battery terminal and the neutral cable. All power in and out goes through this shunt
Check out the Victon website for full info and fitting guides

 

[Camping Gaza]

The 12 quid one has no shunt, you'll need this to connect (bridge) between the neg terminal of your battery bank and the load. This shunt will have smaller (remote if you will) cables that connect to the meter, and a pos wire from the meter you can tap into a live (pos) supply Its this shunt that carries the high current and give a reading to the remote meter. Otherwise you would have to take big cables up to the meter placing it "in circuit" for it to tell you what amps you are using. This 12 quid one will work fine on small loads but not in a Mohome (in my opinion, if I read what you want to use it for) The victron or Nasa will come with a shunt (probably, cos I'm too broke to ever own one)

Well I think thats correct about shunts!! (robert clark beat me to it by 4 mins Ha ha)

 

[zac]

I had it fitted by Vanbitz but it's possible to fit DIY
It has a shunt that needs to be connected to the main neutral battery terminal and the neutral cable. All power in and out goes through this shunt
Check out the Victon website for full info and fitting guides

Thanks, just found a manual for it. I will get them to install one on my visit down there when i get the new van.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gromett]

I have had both the NASA and the VICTRON one ones. The victron was a huge margin better and worth spending a few Extra £'s on..

I have my eye on doing a battery monitor once my fridge fan project is done.

 

[Camping Gaza]

@Khizzie

That's how I monitor my on board power...!

 

[Robert Clark]

Just found this on YouTube

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

The 12 quid one has no shunt,

Yes it does....an internal shunt rated at 30 amps

NASA haunts are rated at either 100AMP or 200amps depending on version.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Handy to know, they do do bigger ones with an ext shunt up to 600a.... quite cheap considering

 

[pappajohn]

Handy to know, they do do bigger ones with an ext shunt up to 600a.... quite cheap considering

I think your confusing shunt capacity with battery bank capacity.

BM1 shunt is rated at 100 amps
BM2 shunt is rated at 200 amps

Both are rated at a battery capacity up to 600 amps

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[irnbru]

I think your confusing shunt capacity with battery bank capacity.

BM1 shunt is rated at 100 amps
BM2 shunt is rated at 200 amps

Both are rated at a battery capacity up to 600 amps

Now Im really confused. Which one would I need for 4 batteries?

 

[34127]

100 amps as your charging rate will be much less than that

 

[Camping Gaza]

@pappajohn... not the BM Nasa ones the 12 quid ones on ebay

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

I use one pf thecheap Chinese ones and it works very well. I don't bother setting it up for capacity just use it to monitor current and voltage.

 

[Camping Gaza]

@ Irnbru... 1 or 4 batteries makes no odds its one big battery in parallel, its how much in total in amps will you be expecting to draw in one go. ie if you have a 2000 watt inverter running a microwave you will pulling a lot of amps.

Some one will be along to clarify no doubt, better than i can

 

[pappajohn]

@pappajohn... not the BM Nasa ones the 12 quid ones on ebay

Corrected....but can it cope with 600amps, I doubt it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camping Gaza]

Only the shunt surely?

 

[andy63]

The cheap Chinese jobs can be bought complete with shunts of various ratings I believe...
The only problem I found was to use them to their full potential the set up procedure to calibrate them was a pain,but I see @Lenny HB says they can be used for basic monitoring of voltage and current and ignore the battery capacity function...
So Sandra @irnbru it's yours if you want it lol... been lying around the house for over a year...
Andy..

 

[Stealaway]

Do you have one thats easy to use and can be recommended.

The cheap one will be all you need, in fact, I think I'll buy one myself.
You'll rarely have more than 30A in or out unless you have an hair dryer ect
Really all you need is an accurate volt meter, whats going in or out is useful but an accurate voltage reading tells you what you have left in the batteries. Never have less than 12.2V ------- IMHO

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Neilfg]

We have the cheap one on a setup for an seperate battery and inverter. It works well, has a separate shunt 300A, easy enough to wire up, but we have not managed to calibrate the current, so like @Lenny HB just use to monitor voltage.

The reason we cannot calibrate current is because we do not know what we are doing and need something that draws 280Amps, lots of head scratching.

 

[andy63]

We have the cheap one on a setup for an seperate battery and inverter. It works well, has a separate shunt 300A, easy enough to wire up, but we have not managed to calibrate the current, so like @Lenny HB just use to monitor voltage.

The reason we cannot calibrate current is because we do not know what we are doing and need something that draws 280Amps, lots of head scratching.

That's what put me off trying it out..ie the high load toget it calibrated
Andy

 

[peterc10]

Another vote for the Victron here.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camping Gaza]

I do believe you would need to to burn 3360 watts to draw 280 amps at 12v to calibrate your meter if ohms law is right. (or mr google!)

 

[Bart]

Really all you need is an accurate volt meter, whats going in or out is useful but an accurate voltage reading tells you what you have left in the batteries. Never have less than 12.2V ------- IMHO

See this is where i need some help , when you say never have less than "X" amount of power in the battery , is that the reading when its under load or is it say like 30 mins after the battery was under load.
If its after it has rested after being under load , then how can you ascertain figure "X" when using it ( e.g. under load )

 

[Camping Gaza]

Do what I do, use you battery, then hang a bit of seaweed out of your window to see what you have used (not helpful is it!)

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}