Wi-Fi battery monitoring

[Camper634]

Could anyone advise of a device that can be fitted to the leisure battery and be accessible through an app using the vans mifi to monitor the state of the battery when away from the van please?Thank you.

 

[Pausim]

WiFi and MiFi are different systems, it looks like you are seeking a MiFi solution. At present I get remote voltage readings from my Truma iNet box. It would be useful to find a device that could check in on the bluetooth readings from charger, inverter and battery and be accessible by App via the mobile network. I suspect clever Raspberry Pi users could find a way to do it but I am not Pi literate.

 

[LithiumConvert]

I use GPS trackers to monitor the state of both both batteries.

With GPS switched off but voltage reporting switched on.

Sensor 04: (Q GV500)

Van Engine Battery Voltage

13312mV

Sensor 05: (Q GB100)

Van Leisure Battery Voltage

13581mV

 

[StitchUp]

I use a Victron Battery Sense and Raspberry Pi.

 

[Millcourt]

WiFi and MiFi are different systems, it looks like you are seeking a MiFi solution. At present I get remote voltage readings from my Truma iNet box. It would be useful to find a device that could check in on the bluetooth readings from charger, inverter and battery and be accessible by App via the mobile network. I suspect clever Raspberry Pi users could find a way to do it but I am not Pi literate.

I understand that the Truma system’s 12v supply is from the leisure battery and will remotely allow you to check the voltage (usually the same with Lithium, unless you drop to a very low state of charge). If you have a MetaTrak tracker/alarm system (or similar), this will be powered by the engine/starter battery and will give a voltage reading. As this battery will most likely be an AGM, changes in the voltage reading will give an indication of the state of charge.

As our MoHo is in storage, I thought I would just check the status of the batteries. Using the Truma iNet Box, I sent a “Vehicle Status” SMS and the reply SMS reported the Lithium battery bank as 14.5v (? a bit high/? Accuracy of the Truma report….may check with multimeter when next at MoHo, if I remember!) Using my MetaTrak Plus App, the vehicle battery is shown as being at 13.2v, which seems fine for an AGM.

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[Two on Tour]

I use a Victron Battery Sense and Raspberry Pi.

That setup will only tell you what the battery voltage and temperature of the battery is, not the state of charge.

 

[LithiumConvert]

That setup will only tell you what the battery voltage and temperature of the battery is, not the state of charge.

That is correct. But, even with LiFePO4, being able to remotely monitor battery voltage tells you a lot.

We may not (easily) be able to see the differernce between 70% and 30% SoC, but knowing that the battery is on charge from the solar is very important - as is a battery running down, approaching 12 volts.

 

[Two on Tour]

That is correct. But, even with LiFePO4, being able to remotely monitor battery voltage tells you a lot.

We may not (easily) be able to see the differernce between 70% and 30% SoC, but knowing that the battery is on charge from the solar is very important - as is a battery running down, approaching 12 volts.

Bit of a contradiction between your two sentences there.

You can only get a good idea of a LiFePO4 battery SOC with a shunt.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

WiFi and MiFi are different systems, it looks like you are seeking a MiFi solution. At present I get remote voltage readings from my Truma iNet box. It would be useful to find a device that could check in on the bluetooth readings from charger, inverter and battery and be accessible by App via the mobile network. I suspect clever Raspberry Pi users could find a way to do it but I am not Pi literate.

Victron Smart Shunt, connected to a Raspberry Pi running Victron’s Venus software. It’s not too difficult and fairly cheap, certainly cheaper than a Cerbo GX. I would suggest buying the Victron USB cable to connect to the shunt.
I was a complete novice with Raspberry Pi, bought a Pi 4 and case from eBay, then followed the video tutorials below. Image of my dashboard

 

[Two on Tour]

Victron Smart Shunt, connected to a Raspberry Pi running Victron’s Venus software. It’s not too difficult and fairly cheap, certainly cheaper than a Cerbo GX. I would suggest buying the Victron USB cable to connect to the shunt.
I was a complete novice with Raspberry Pi, bought a Pi 4 and case from eBay, then followed the video tutorials below. Image of my dashboard






View attachment 1052238

Plus with the RasPi you can monitor your water and LPG levels, plus various temperature on your van as well as your van's location on a map.

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[AdrianChen]

Could anyone advise of a device that can be fitted to the leisure battery and be accessible through an app using the vans mifi to monitor the state of the battery when away from the van please?Thank you.

Our system uses the vans Netgear M3 MiFi connected to our Cerbo GX via the vans wifi network. (Cerbo S or Rpi are cheaper options with the same functionality once set up). The Cerbo transmits its information to Victrons VRM monitoring site, so then you can view whatever data your Victron kit has collected either through the Connect App, or through a browser. A Victron smartshunt can give you the leisure battery details such as State Of Charge, Voltage, current in out and/or the temperature of the battery, or the starter battery voltage. The Smartshunt can be supplied with a monitoring gauge if you want that facility, but I just use my phone! You can set up alarms for stuff like low voltage etc, but I haven't bothered with that.

If you have other Victron or compatible kit then that can also be monitored.

You can even build your own dashboard to monitor and control just the bits you want - if you really want to.....

There are other ways of doing it I guess, but this was simple enough for me and accurate.

 

[LithiumConvert]

Bit of a contradiction between your two sentences there.

You can only get a good idea of a LiFePO4 battery SOC with a shunt.

Only because I did not explain myself at all well.

A high voltage (say 14) tells me the battery is on charge
A low voltage (say 12) tells me the batteries need attention
Anything in the high 12s or 13 says everything is OK - and remotely nothing to worry about.

 

[LithiumConvert]

You can only get a good idea of a LiFePO4 battery SOC with a shunt.

It is not a shunt (per se) which tells you anything, but the clever electronics connected to it.
A 'shunt' is actually just a big lump of metal.

A shunt is a device that is designed to provide a low-resistance path for an electrical current in a circuit. It is typically used to divert current away from a system or component in order to prevent overcurrent. Electrical shunts are commonly used in a variety of applications including power distribution systems, electrical measurement systems, automotive and marine applications.

However, on these forums the word has become commonly mis-used to refer to the whole electrical measurement system.
Quite possibly started because Victron refer to their Battery Energy Monitor as a SmartShunt.
or more completely as the Victron SmartShunt 300A IP65 Battery Monitor- SHU065130050


I use an NDS Dometic Energy meter on my motorhome to check the battery SoC.

Nowhere in their documentation do they refer to it as a shunt - although it has a shunt as part of it.


Similarly the Sterling Power battery monitor on my mobility scooter does the same job.

But nowhere in their documentation do they refer to the monitor as a shunt - although it does have a shunt of part of it and they do show the shunt bottom left in the picture - a big lump of brass.

Another example is the Advanced Mobile Power Systems Battery Monitor 2
It also has a big lump of brass as part of it.

 

[AdrianChen]

Some battery monitors are not shunt based - some are - nice to be clear I guess....