Renogy Smartshunt 300 & Renogy ONE Core (G3)

[d95gas]

Morning All,

Just after getting my camper, I invested in the "Renogy Smartshunt 300 & Renogy ONE Core", this would give me visual display of my battery status (Wet battery).

Jump forward 6 months or so, and the Renogy products are still sat in their boxes as delivered, due to various circumstances. However, during that period I have swapped the 110Ah Wet Battery for a "Fogstar Drift 230Ah" which has Bluetooth and works with the Fogstar application.

So now I am stuck..... Should I still go ahead and fit the Renogy products, OR save space & cutting and just run with the Fogstar application, which I believe will give me all the info I need, including when I add solar.

Any opinions / advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[headlight]

Morning All,

Just after getting my camper, I invested in the "Renogy Smartshunt 300 & Renogy ONE Core", this would give me visual display of my battery status (Wet battery).

Jump forward 6 months or so, and the Renogy products are still sat in their boxes as delivered, due to various circumstances. However, during that period I have swapped the 110Ah Wet Battery for a "Fogstar Drift 230Ah" which has Bluetooth and works with the Fogstar application.

So now I am stuck..... Should I still go ahead and fit the Renogy products, OR save space & cutting and just run with the Fogstar application, which I believe will give me all the info I need, including when I add solar.

Any opinions / advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

The BMS on your battery, I have the same battery, can't detect loads below 1.5AH.
Therefore the SOC on the app can drift off a fair bit until the battery is next charged to 100% when the SOC will reset.
I use a shunt, mine detects 0.1AH loads, and ignore the app SOC.

 

[AdrianChen]

Morning All,

Just after getting my camper, I invested in the "Renogy Smartshunt 300 & Renogy ONE Core", this would give me visual display of my battery status (Wet battery).

Jump forward 6 months or so, and the Renogy products are still sat in their boxes as delivered, due to various circumstances. However, during that period I have swapped the 110Ah Wet Battery for a "Fogstar Drift 230Ah" which has Bluetooth and works with the Fogstar application.

So now I am stuck..... Should I still go ahead and fit the Renogy products, OR save space & cutting and just run with the Fogstar application, which I believe will give me all the info I need, including when I add solar.

Any opinions / advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

In practical terms I think the FS app will give you a fair indication of where your at, as long as you are using the van and cycling the battery, importantly that you do reach 100% SOC often enough, since that will be the point at which the BMS resets any discrepancy that will otherwise get worse over time.

Over the winter for example when the van is just sitting, perhaps with a few milliamps being drawn, and small solar currents, the BMS will soon be quite a way off.

A decent shunt based monitor will do much better because it should capture more of these low currents.

So as long as you are aware that the BMS might be very inaccurate over time, and only rely on it when the battery is regularly charged to 100% its fine.

Personally I have a Victron Smart Shunt, takes up very little space and can be checked on the Victron Connect app on my phone, there are other alternatives of course.

 

[oldiesontour]

The battery app will only tell you what is going in and out of it( not always very accurately) it won't tell you what the solar is producing..IE if you're using 10amps and the solar is producing 15amps the BMS will show a 5 amp charge.

 

[MisterB]

ive never had a shunt in the motorhome and hope i never have one ....


seriously though, i have had a Fogstar lithium now for over three years, for the first year or so i slavishly checked the BMS every time we used an appliance (with a 3000w Renogy inverter) - but i now dont bother at all. i prob check it on arrival or soon after and when we leave. i know from experience how long it lasts for our standard usage.

if you fit a shunt, and im not saying you shouldnt, be careful about becoming addicted to checking it all the time .... just get used to what you use then forget about checking it all the time, just do it when you arrive or leave ,,,,

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[AdrianChen]

ive never had a shunt in the motorhome and hope i never have one ....


seriously though, i have had a Fogstar lithium now for over three years, for the first year or so i slavishly checked the BMS every time we used an appliance (with a 3000w Renogy inverter) - but i now dont bother at all. i prob check it on arrival or soon after and when we leave. i know from experience how long it lasts for our standard usage.

if you fit a shunt, and im not saying you shouldnt, be careful about becoming addicted to checking it all the time .... just get used to what you use then forget about checking it all the time, just do it when you arrive or leave ,,,,

Pretty much what I do - rarely get to the point it's critical, so once a day before bed! Having said that if we go away in winter, and are without ehu it is handy to know accurately the state of affairs....

 

[Gromett]

A 300A victron smart shunt is only around £60 now and the app is pretty good from what I have seen. Mine is just waiting to be fitted in the new battery.

 

[herald_400rl]

A 300A victron smart shunt is only around £60 now and the app is pretty good from what I have seen. Mine is just waiting to be fitted in the new battery.

JK BMS doesn't account for the drain from the smartshunt, ironically.
Nor does it for my 600w inverter, but it does for the Renogy 2kw inverter.

 

[d95gas]

Thanks all for the feedback, really useful info. I certainly dont want to go down the route of getting OCD about stats and spending my leisure time constantly checking.

I think initially I will just go with the FS and see how I get on. The vehicle is my daily drive, so is constantly being used. I just dont want to start adding things..... It also means I have to find more mounting positions and drilling holes.

Thanks again.

 

[fred_jb]

I have the Renogy shunt and the One Core display which also connects to and displays the data from my Renogy combined B2B and MPPT. When the router in the van has an Internet source, either from my Starlink or the tethered mobile phone which is the backup, the Core One's wifi connectivity also means that I can look at the data even while away from the van.

I definitely find this useful, but having said that, as I have become used to the system and more confident in how it performs, I find I look at it less. However, I have used the electronic levelling guage on the One Core display, though just to confirm that we are reasonably level, as neither of us find it necessary to be absolutely level and rarely bother with the levelling blocks.

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[Lenny HB]

if you fit a shunt, and im not saying you shouldnt, be careful about becoming addicted to checking it all the time

I take a laid back attitude with mine and never check it more than once every 10 min.

 

[d95gas]

I think I will take "Lenny HB" approach and save myself getting into the OCD Stats loop (which I have a habit of doing).

I did forget about the levelling feature mentioned by "Fredd_JB", but I also very rarely need to level the van and have never used levelling blocks, so I guess thats my mind made up

Thanks to you all for your thoughts and opinions.

 

[Ian_H]

ive never had a shunt in the motorhome and hope i never have one ....


seriously though, i have had a Fogstar lithium now for over three years, for the first year or so i slavishly checked the BMS every time we used an appliance (with a 3000w Renogy inverter) - but i now dont bother at all. i prob check it on arrival or soon after and when we leave. i know from experience how long it lasts for our standard usage.

if you fit a shunt, and im not saying you shouldnt, be careful about becoming addicted to checking it all the time .... just get used to what you use then forget about checking it all the time, just do it when you arrive or leave ,,,,

I too have a fogstar. The app is fine for when we use the van. When its just sitting on the drive I know it uses about 10% a week on topping up starter battery via ablemail and other small drains. So I just make sure I turn the solar back on for a few days before we use it and/or use the b2b on the way to first night, so we start at 100%.

 

[Lenny HB]

I too have a fogstar. The app is fine for when we use the van. When its just sitting on the drive I know it uses about 10% a week on topping up starter battery via ablemail and other small drains. So I just make sure I turn the solar back on for a few days before we use it and/or use the b2b on the way to first night, so we start at 100%.

I find the Fogstar app pretty useless apart from checking cell balance. If the van has been sitting on the drive with only small drains the app can register the SOC 20% higher than it actualy is.

 

[Ian_H]

I find the Fogstar app pretty useless apart from checking cell balance. If the van has been sitting on the drive with only small drains the app can register the SOC 20% higher than it actualy is.

Yes, as I said, for me it loses 10% a week. Not a problem if you are aware and fully charge before/while going to first site.

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[MisterB]

I find the Fogstar app pretty useless apart from checking cell balance. If the van has been sitting on the drive with only small drains the app can register the SOC 20% higher than it actualy is.

I just plug it into the mains overnight and let Octopus sort it out as they also sort out the fridge for me lol!

I never disconnect the solar .... As I don't see the advantage in doing so, but happy to change that if necessary, but it keeps the alarm powered up and keeps the vehicle battery topped up aswell....

 

[StillGoing]

I never disconnect the solar .... As I don't see the advantage in doing so, but happy to change that if necessary, but it keeps the alarm powered up and keeps the vehicle battery topped up aswell....

Me neither. I can’t see the point. I just let the systems get on with it. It may reduce the battery life by a few cycles but it’s got 3500+ cycles and a 10 year warranty so I’m not worried. As you say, it also keeps the starter battery topped up.

 

[MisterB]

Me neither. I can’t see the point. I just let the systems get on with it. It may reduce the battery life by a few cycles but it’s got 3500+ cycles and a 10 year warranty so I’m not worried. As you say, it also keeps the starter battery topped up.

Mines three years old and has done 38 cycles through me mis using it

 

[headlight]

I just plug it into the mains overnight and let Octopus sort it out as they also sort out the fridge for me lol!

I never disconnect the solar .... As I don't see the advantage in doing so, but happy to change that if necessary, but it keeps the alarm powered up and keeps the vehicle battery topped up aswell....

When I first got my LifePo4 I religiously made sure it was at about 50% SOC when my van was not in use and that my solar was turned off.
However after speaking to Fogstar and Vanbitz, and based on my use of the van ie it doesn't stand for months on end not being used, both said that for the amount of extra cycles I would get it wasn't worth the precautions.
If however I parked the van up for winter, as some people do, I would store at about 50% SOC and turn my solar off.

 

[headlight]

Mines three years old and has done 38 cycles through me mis using it

I've had my 230AH for 18 months now and have 20 cycles on it

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[Lenny HB]

Had my 2 x 230Ah for 11 months one showing 22 cycles & the other 23 cycles, when I remember I turn the solar off but that's not very often.
Supposed to have a life of over 4000 cycles I'll be 214 at that rate.

 

[MisterB]

to be fair, i think most of as motorhome funsters are pretty much all testing the waters at the moment, its new technology to lots of us and its a lot of money to misuse/damage etc so we try to follow the instructions or advice given by the seller or installer.

over time, i think we will all get used to our own systems and how to use it or what to do when not using it. i am certainly not advising anyone on best practice, i am just stating what i do and in a couple of years i may find out i have been doing it wrong, or in six and half years i may find out ive been doing it correctly ....

 

[MisterB]

Had my 2 x 230Ah for 11 months one showing 22 cycles & the other 23 cycles, when I remember I turn the solar off but that's not very often.
Supposed to have a life of over 4000 cycles I'll be 214 at that rate.

are you having them buried with you ...... ???

 

[headlight]

Mine has been a game changer.
Coupled with solar and B2B, and a 2,000 watt inverter, I can use my van exactly how I want to with no compromises.
I no longer have any battery anxiety, which I did used to have.

 

[Speve]

Mine has been a game changer.
Coupled with solar and B2B, and a 2,000 watt inverter, I can use my van exactly how I want to with no compromises.
I no longer have any battery anxiety, which I did used to have.

So has ours I don’t have any worries I leave the solar on and hardly ever use EHU at home in fac yesterday I used our mains vacuum cleaner off the inverter hardly used any power and solar recharged very quickly. a really good investment

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[growly_bear]

So has ours I don’t have any worries I leave the solar on and hardly ever use EHU at home in fac yesterday I used our mains vacuum cleaner off the inverter hardly used any power and solar recharged very quickly. a really good investment

Did the same yesterday and vacuumed using the invertor. I also used it to power the heat shrink gun when finishing the adhesive crimps for the solar! Absolute game changer!

 

[CAB96]

are you having them buried with you ...... ???

Cremated

Oh wait, wrong battery chemistry