Victron Smartshunt, AiLi and Juntek // Comparing 3 Popular Battery Monitoring Shunts
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
- #victronenergy #shunts #vanbuild
One of the most important devices in your electrical system is a way to monitor your power usage. It can be as simple as a voltmeter but to really keep an eye on the health of your system, a shunt is the way to go. In this video, we look over 3 very popular shunts. 2 of these are very budget friendly and over a variety of features. The third one is more expensive but much more robust and offers some special features not found anywhere else. Hope you enjoy this video.
We Offer Personalized Coaching Sessions!
freelyroaming.com/coaching/
Check current prices on the products mentioned in this video:
AiLi Battery Monitor - amzn.to/2JGLUnG
Juntek Battery Monitor - amzn.to/3kjkIs1
Victron Smartshunt - amzn.to/36biAxi
Victron BMV-712 - amzn.to/3p5qvVH
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:02 AiLi Battery Monitor
06:02 Juntek VAT-1200 Battery Monitor
11:19 Victron Energy SmartShunt w/ Bluetooth
14:57 Conclusion
Support Our Channel:
Buy Us A Coffee: paypal.me/freelyroaming
Buy Our T-Shirts: freelyroaming.com/shop/
Support Us On Patreon: / freelyroaming
Do you have a question about Freely Roaming? Leave us a voice message!
freelyroaming.com/voicemail
Support this project on Patreon and get patron-exclusive benefits!
/ freelyroaming
Listen to Our Podcast
freelyroaming.com/podcast
Find us on social media!
freelyroaming.com/
/ freely.roaming
/ freelyroaming
/ freelyroaming
My Content Creation Gear: (Amazon Affiliate Links)
My Main Camera - amzn.to/2TervJF
My Main Camera Lens - amzn.to/2ZYyHuH
My Favorite Drone - amzn.to/30AY0EP
My Second Favorite Drone - amzn.to/2s4axCm
My Favorite Action Camera - amzn.to/2FrMccV
My On-Camera Micriphone - amzn.to/2uwHsAB
My Camera Gimbal - amzn.to/2s5aV3D
Mini Aluminum Tripod - amzn.to/2umRt2W
Dometic PLB-40 Power Bank- amzn.to/37KrLny
My Video Editing Notebook - amzn.to/2QPNmUA
Best Banks/Credit Cards for International Travel:
Schwab Investor Checking - freelyroaming.com/schwab
Transferwise - freelyroaming.com/transferwise
Revolut - freelyroaming.com/revolut
Chase Sapphire Preferred - freelyroaming.com/chase
Affiliate Link Disclosure:
We use affiliate links on this channel. Their revenue sharing proceeds help support our on-going efforts to produce more location-independent living content for you. We appreciate your support!
Thank you for the information. I recently found your channel and I’m so glad I did. You provide some helpful tips. Keep up the great work!!!
Your a one man university on electrical installations. Just fabulous and thank you.
Thank you for your kind words. 🙏
I 'found' your channel by searching for LiFePO4 batteries. Great channel Dan! Croatia is far from home, eh? You are doing what I'm planning for next Spring. (280AH 4 packs, DIY built). Great work & highly appreciated! Keep it up.
Thanks David, yes we are traveling across Europe for a few years. Our other channel is called 'Mali Mish' and has more of our travel related videos.
Awesome introduction into shunts for me! When I started looking into a more reliable battery for my 24v Wash pump I started looking into lifepo4 vs agm. Boy did I not know that lithium is a whole universe by itself! So after considering solar charging the battery I decided to go with b2b charging and now I’m considering adding a shunt.
You broke it down to its simplest terms which made it easy for me to understand. Thank you ever so much!
The new Bluetooth one i could have used months ago running a wire was a huge pain in my travel trailer thanks for showing a new option .
Very nicely articulated, easy to understand for non main english speakers. Good job. Subscribed.
Really appreciate you making and posting this. Simply explained, educational and very watchable. Thanks.
Thank you!
Thanks for the video. Just what I needed to upgrade my van electrics.
Definitely helpful to see this video for it answered a basic question for me. I purchased the Victron SmartShunt, and assumed I would also need a BMV-712, but obviously I do not. I also have a MPPT 100-50 and a Multiplus 2000VA. I did not understand that Victron Connect app would monitor these components via bluetooth. Up until now, I assumed I had to buy a separate bluetooth device to monitor each of the components. So, with Victron Connect, these devices would be connected under the same app. Love it! Your video helped to clarify this. Thank you.
In the past, victron did require a Bluetooth module to be installed. But lately all of them have it built in as long as there is a Bluetooth logo on the unit.
You are a good teacher thanks for helping another DIY type!
Great job Dan. I just spent $4500 for 3 180 ah batteries for my motor home. I’m going to put them all in parallel house and chassis together. I have the roof decked with 700 watts of solar . If I saw your TH-cams earlier I would build my own. Also have a Polaris ranger EV I swapped lead acid for lifep04 bats. Cost $6500 . I drive a Tesla M S P100D cost me 155k in 2016. Now they sell for 100k and go 100 miles further. Just keeps getting better.
Thanks for your info. Got me thinking about getting into battery business.
Wait until solid state batteries go mainstream. Incredible tech coming out every day.
One cool thing that the BMV 712 has is a relay output in the display that I use for turning on a cooling fan on my Orion Dc to Dc when the engine is running. Makes a huge difference and pumps in a lot more current into the battery when it’s cooler.
Very informative. I subscribed to you channel, because you speak the truth and are not influences by manufactures.
Thank you very much!
Excelent review I'm with you Victron all the way
We are off grid all Victron gear, I would use anything else, top notch reviews 👍🇦🇺
Yea fok victron I would use anything else too, mainly cause I'm poor tho
Learning a lot, and I'm a EE major.
Happy to hear that! I'd better make extra sure that everything I say is accurate 😀
Hi MaliMish. Beautiful background.
Good job done on the impartial view on the products, mention the pros and cons. However, its very good you mentioned the user's preference, which is key and cost ! You nailed it!!!
Also good for mentioning the ohms law relative to how many "Ah" one will necessarily pull through.
Excellent.....
Thank you
Nice video. I’ve used the Bogart monitor in the past, but I think the toyhauler I have now will get the Victron. Similar price, but has Bluetooth. I’ll likely opt for the one with the panel display- personal preference, but I’ll mount it near the remote for the Tristar and the rest of the controls.
Excellent review and instructional video.
The higher the Shunt's capacity, the lower the resolution. The Aili is available in a 150A and a 500A version.......The 150A version is more accurate.....But the 500A version is plenty accurate enough for RV use. You also might want to look at the Renogy and it's copies. Around $80 and a few more features (but not too crazy) over the Aili.....Great channel you have! Thanks for doing this for us!
Great review...very clear and thorough...many thanks.
I do have one question though which is this...I have two leisure batteries wired together in parallel and with both batteries separately wired to the vehicle chassis...so there is no single wire through which all the dual battery current flows..so where should one install the shunt to properly monitor the combined battery system?
great comparison, it helps a lot! thks
Thanks, for the excellent review on these shunts!
I'm in the process of building a system for use in an RV for fulltime living and I already have a couple of Victron Blue Solar MPPT 150/35 solar charge controllers and a Victron Venus GX to be used with a 450 amp-hour LiFePO4 battery bank made up of 48 - 150 amp-hour 3.2 volt cells in a 16S3P configuration, providing 23,040 watt-hours of capacity at a nominal 51.2 volts DC. The battery bank and the Victron equipment is contained in a Weigman 36x30x12 14 gauge steel industrial electrical enclosure, along with other components, like DC-DC converters to provide 60 amps at 13.8 volts DC for standard RV 12 volt devices, the required contactors and, of course, the BMS system from REC BMS. I've been looking at the Victron BMV-712, but I also don't have a desire to wire and mount the display. So, I've been intrigued by the Victron Smartshunt. But, I have a question that you might be able to answer:
Since the Victron Smartshunt would be installed inside the 14 gauge enclosure to replace the simple 200 amp 50mv shunt specified by the BMS manufacturer, the Bluetoooth connectivity is going to be unusable, except between the solar charge controllers and the Venus GX that are mounted inside the enclosure. So, can the Victron Smartshunt be accessed through a standard wired LAN using the Victron app on my smartphone connected wirelessly to the LAN? I have a panel mount ethernet connector to connect the Venus GX to the LAN.
I watched the Victron video for the Smartshunt, but comments were turned off on that video. So, I hoped you might be able to provide some insight on this issue. Thanks!
Nice setup! You must have a ton of room in that camper 😀 the SmartShunt has a wired connection as well as bluetooth so I do believe you will be able to connect to it using VE Direct and access it without using bluetooth. I don't have a way to confirm but it theoretically should work.
@@freelyroaming Thanks for your response! The entire setup fits in half the space beneath a standard RV queen sized bed. The battery pack itself is made up of prismatic cells - like the 280 amp-hour cells you recently reviewed, only 150 amp-hour, and purchased from BLS off Ali Express ($4684 including shipping for all of them). That was the reason for installing it in the Weigman cabinet. It also makes it safer and easier to move to a different RV when needed.
I've also installed a battery heating system using after market 12 volt car seat heating pads connected in series to reduce the heat to a safe temperature (about fifteen degrees above ambient temperature) and controlled by a thermostat that kicks in whenever the temperature inside the cabinet drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (adjustable, of course). So, we're safe to charge the batteries unless the temperature drops below about 10 degrees Fahrenheit - and, we're not going to like that temperature any more than the batteries would 😊. The heating system draws only 27 watts when running. Likewise, there are two 14.5 watt cooling fans installed that kick in if the ambient temperature goes above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. And, the battery pack is surrounded by 4 inch foam pads on four sides and 1/2" foam padding underneath to help keep the pack temperature stable.
We're looking forward to when we can get on the road to make use of all that hardware 😊. Thanks, again! Subscribed!
@@richardowens9061but@@richardowens9061 (and by that shielding the Bluetooth from working)? @@richardowens9061 in your RV. @@richardowens9061You can even put it@@richardowens9061 Weizmann@@richardowens9061. Since@@richardowens9061 on the negative side it will be connected to the car chassis more or less. So even if you fumble with a wrench key or any other metal and by accident connect the shunt to the metal of your car chassis, nothing bad will happen.
Great video. Thanks.
Question…. Can these be mounted outside, in the case of a battery box on the front of a travel trailer?
Love it. Good teacher.
Yes thanks for that. Best regards. M
Very helpfull, thanks.👍
Great vid. So clear. Thanks.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Unfortunately this review left one major part out. The victron only logs data while you are bluetooth connected and the app is open. So basically, the logging is useless unless you plan on leaving your phone in the battery bay for a month. I believe the advertising by victron for this product is 100% misleading. Thornwave labs makes a shunt that has actual onboard logging.
Thanks for that information, very helpful to know before buying.
This is not totally true. You are referring to data monitoring and not data logging. Yes, for live data monitoring, you need to connect your phone to see real-time voltage and amperage. But data logging of total amps in/out, cycle life, synchronizations, and several other useful data points do not need phone to be connected. Depending on what level of data logging you need. Refer to my 400 day battery review and you will see how I used the data logging feature of the victron shunt over a 400 day period. Does not require phone to be connected for all of the data I used in that video. It's not what you were expecting but I certainly would not call it useless. With a GX display, you would be able to data log everything you are expecting to but of course it is at an extra cost. Or alternatively, you can do it by connecting it to a raspberry pi running their open source Venus OS software with a $25 cable. It is extremely powerful but unfortunately probably not a beginner friendly setup. I plan to make a video about that in the future.
th-cam.com/video/KlKXdEaTixE/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for that. I'm going to look up & price a 500amp Thornwave.
I just bought an RV with the Victron installed. It has I believe 48 days of historical data saved in it
And that actually isn’t true!! Before bashing a product maybe actually know how it works!
very informative thank you, now i know what a Shunt does.
Glad to help
i ended up buying the Renogy Shunt, which is similar to the Victron one .The thing the Victron has that the Renogy don't is an external input for the Temperature probe.
I just came across your videos and find them very useful. I'm planning to upgrade the power system on a sailboat and envision a system much like your (2 Victron solar charge controllers, LiFePO4 battery bank, DC-to-DC charger from alternator via starter battery, and a shunt for real-time readout of battery capacity. Would you mind sharing a wiring diagram of your set-up? Thanks!
Yes I will be making a video soon to show exactly how everything is configured.
Good explanations man :)
You may find the Raspberry PI version of the Venus OS useful!
I have one connected to my BMV712 and both of my solar charger controllers connected via DIY usb cables (and a GPS sensor) and it gives me the status of everything from the app, even if I’m not near the trailer. Trailer is connected via WiFi or a hotspot at all times.
Yeah I've been considering repurposing one of my pi4 for this. But I don't have a persistent wifi connection in the van yet since we cross a lot of international borders and don't always have internet connection.
Hi. I will be interested in your review of the victron products. My experience so far is mostly positive. For the same reasons you stated I purchased the shunt MPPT controller and power supply for the bluetooth functionality. What I have found is tou have to be less than a meter from the victron devices too connect. Are you experiencing the same?
I love my victron smart shunt.
Thank You for this comparison video. I have two mobility scooters that will be working in close proximity of each other and I want to monitor both. If I buy two shunts will the systems be able to differentiate between the two?
Very good clear info 👍
Victron is the way to go. 👍🏾
The Microcare Energy 400 and 200 amp DC shunts are awesome
Dan, when sizing a shunt do you add up current coming in + current going out, or use them separately? i.e. a 100A shunt will work for 50A coming from the charge controller and 100A going to the inverter?
Wanted to know if you have any additional reviews on the shunts discussed - thx
Thank you. It pays to buy a shunt only once and never again. Only the 500 amp shunt will suffice.
Great explanation on shunts and the different models here. For the Victron data logging, does the app have to remain in the foreground and does the screen on the phone have to be on to be able to data log?
Yes and no. Some of the amperage and voltage tracking is done inside the app so it just tracks when the phone is connected. But the historical data is always running like total Ah and Wh draw .
The most useful and clear videos I have seen so far on YT, thank you.
Question: It seems that the BMV-712 also has an external relay switching option (NO/COM/NC ports), while the shunt still has ports for a temperature sensor like the Smartshunt. If so, could I set the BMV to cut off DC-DC charging in a low temperature? (2x Orion-Tr smart 12/12-30, has a remote on/off switch wire)
And maybe get around using a Smartsense as well, if the MPPT can read the shunt via the BMV.
I think it would work, but maybe I´m leaving out some other important stuff this way (still need high/low voltage cut-off somewhere and so on, ideally wouldn´t want to trigger the battery bms).
I´m building a van, also probably going with a custom battery and everything else Victron. It´s a winter van, so a low-temp cut off is essential. Charging would be mainly from the alternator, but also a small solar panel and a charger-inverter if needed (the MultiPlus 1600W should have a separate low-temp cut-off with a separate sensor anyway, correct me if I´m wrong).
Yes you can get the optional thermistor accessory for the SmartShunt which will give you exactly the same functionality as the battery sense. It is about half the price as a battery sense. Had I not already owned the battery sense, that's what I would have done. I'm not sure about the relay programming aspect of the bmv-712. It seems that it should be able to trigger it on and off based on temperature but I cannot say for certain until I get one too try. Thanks for your support! Stay tuned as I'm currently gathering parts to upgrade my battery pack to have a temperature controlled battery heater. It will greatly improved the van's comfort in cold weather.
@@freelyroaming Thanks! Will do.
@@freelyroaming From the Victron website, the Smart Shunt provides "a connection that can be used to monitor a second battery, for midpoint monitoring, or to connect a temperature sensor". In other words, the auxiliary function is limited to one of these three tasks. I have 2 LiFePO4 batteries. I would like to monitor both of them using the Smart Shunt. Monitoring the two batteries would leave me without the ability to use the optional thermistor to monitor battery temperature so I would prefer to go with a combination of the Smart Battery Sense device and the Smart Shunt with my Victron Solar Charge Controller using the Bluetooth app. Have you experienced any issues using your 2 Victron solar charge controllers in combination with the Smart Shunt and Smart Battery Sense?
@@freelyroaming My apologies. I see that 2 batteries in parallel are to be treated as one. I also believe that the temperature thermistor will allow the shunt to monitor all the other parameters plus battery temperature. I would disconnect the existing wired replace it with the thermistor. Am I correct? Since I already have the Smart Battery Sense, I would consider using it and the Smart Shunt without purchasing the thermistor, assuming that there would be no issues using the 2 devices in combination with the solar charge controller. I look forward to your response. Thanks.
Yes you will have no problems using them together. You can use their Bluetooth networking functionality so that each victron device is aware of and can communicate with the others
Victron have amazing products.
I agree. They also pressure the competition to innovate.
I have the VictronConnect 712 with display, I have installed in a van I converted, it has a metal body that is earthed so some items may nor use an earth from the leisure battery direct. Does this cause a problem not being earthed from the leisure battery via the shunt.
I have the aili battery monitor shunt already installed in the back of my Ute . I am looking to upgrade it to the VictronConnect smart shunt , to be able to use the data logging and remote Bluetooth monitoring . As I already have the Aili display mounted , can this be used with the output socket (ve direct) of the smartshunt?
Questions: I want to use a victron BMV-712 to monitor my starter battery. But the starter battery is capable of 1000amps or more way above the capacity of the shunt that comes with the BMV-712. So my questions are, will that hinder the torque output of my starter motor? Will that burn out the shunt? I really want a BMV-712 with a 2000amp shunt don't I? What I want is that victron dial (the black one) on my dash AND have full throughput for my starter motor. FYI I also have a 400amp alternator so I'm interested in how fast it charges my starter and the current is uses to do it with. This is why I am wanting such a seemingly absurd setup on my starter battery. Great video Thanks!
nice job thank you ,is it good for two litthium battery of 100 amp ,
My Battleborn batteries are under my front stairwell....will that affect the Bluetooth range...the stairs themselves?
How is the Bluetooth range on Victron smart shunt? Someone complained you have to use your phone really close to the shunt in order to keep Bluetooth connection?
Excellent review! How weather resistant would you say these three shunts are? I would like to mount mine in my battery compartment which is on a track under the cab of the vehicle and has a plastic shroud around it so water will not get in, but the batteries do show some road dirt over time. If the shunts are sensitive to that, I would need to create some sort of enclosure. Thanks!
I would definitely keep them enclosed. If not to protect them from fan damage, definitely to make sure the readings are accurate.
Great video thanks
Thank you
Hi Dan, great review! Can you use the Victron Shunt connected to the Sprinter starter battery as well? If so, how and where would you mount it? I'd like to monitor the SoC of my starter battery since I've got my Espar D2 connected to it. Thanks!!
I would be hesitant to do that with the starter battery because the current draw from the starter on a diesel engine could be above it's rated limit of 500A. I know some bigger diesel engine could use 1,000A at initial turn off the engine. Not sure what the sprinter pulls. Have you considered rewiring the D2 to draw from your house battery? That's what I did with my Webasto. The installer in Romania wired it to the starter battery. I didn't bother explaining it and it was easy to route power up and just rewire it.
@@freelyroaming thanks for the info Dan. I'm keenly watching your Lithium battery pack builds. My only house battery is a goalzero yeti 1000 system but want to supplement it with a 48v Lithium pack similar to what Safiery builds then connect the D2 to that battery pack, with a 48v to 12v Victron Orion. Then use alternator charging to charge the 48v Lithium system. Not adding solar since we're up north here in rainy Vancouver Canada.
Are you planning to build your own 48v pack? Probably not right? you would need 16 of them and they will take up a lot of space. Maybe the 16 of the smaller 90Ah cells would make more sense.
So if you have renogy 200 ah smart Bluetooth batteries, do you still need one of these?
Victron has a lot of good products
So I have (3) 500A Battery pack that I will be putting together soon would I need a shunt per pack I should connect all 3 in parallel witch will increase my current to 1500A
2:52 should there be a fuse in that wire? I just got a Renogy monitor and it came with the power wire. But the wire doesn’t have a fuse. Just curious. Great information and explanations as always. 👍
Everything that gets power should be fused. That said, this is an extremely low current circuit and the wire used is very small. Refer to the manual and install an inline fuse wouldn't be a bad idea.
Great vid have the cheaper option alai for now but it's the time to upgrade . I am looking at the victron it looks great . How are you getting on with it
I like it though I do wish there was even more data logging features like they have on their SmartSolar charge controllers.
@@freelyroaming thanks FR
Can the Victron be mounted externally?
How waterproof is it?
Thanx!
Can I run my wire directly to the shunt to power my appliances?
I use this victron shunt and it is brilliant, though i must add the data log is very limited. If you could keep the app open and running indefinitely then yes you can access graphs over time but other than simply recording the max and min warning voltages that need to configure, it does not save any other data internally
I do with it could do more. It would be nice if it kept track of incoming and outgoing current like their SmartSolar controllers does with solar for 30 days. But I like that it tells my number of discharge cycles, last discharge depth and time since full. More would be nice!
@@freelyroaming We all want more, but Victron is using deceptive advertising practices to call this "data logging"
@@BoBurton It logs it in the phone app as long as you stay connected and have the app running the whole time.
@@troy3456789 yes... That's my point. Why would I keep the app running and phone connected 24/7? Other companies offer onboard logging whether a phone is connected or not.
@@JirafaBo I wonder if Redarc or Renogy have such tech. I have not looked. (Renogy is Chinese, and Redarc is Australian)
I bought the 350a version of the first one with the intention of monitoring the (amp) output of my 300a alternator on my Ham Radio Equipped SUV, I thought I could just put the shunt inline between the alternator and battery. Now I am confused as to whether it will work as intended. Can anyone give me advice? Or will installing it per instructions give me the results I am looking for?? Thanks In advance
Dan, at 13:45 of this video, you mention a Victron Battery and temperature monitor... is that the BMV712 you are speaking of, or something else?
I am actually referring to a standalone sensing unit called Victron Battery Sense. However, you can get a temperature sensor lead for either the Smartshunt or BMV712 to detect temperature. I just opted for the standalone unit because it was what's in stock.
Great videoing Dan just subscribed , are you still in Croatia ? Do you enjoy it there
Thanks Steve, we are isolating here for the time being. It's a good place to be while the world is a strange place.
@@freelyroaming yes you are right about isolating ,we are from U.K. but have had a house in A small village in Bulgaria bear Greek boarder for years , and isolating there
That's great! We spent a few months traveling across that area in early 2019.
love the shirt.
Funny, but- I LIKE the 'display dial'. Sure, I like bluetooth access, but- when using an RV/Van/Towable, I plan on using the control panel space to monitor all items. Most displays go blank after 30 seconds and you need to hit a button to light it up. Anyhow- that's the only thing we differ on.
I get it. Thats why its a popular shunt because a lot of people like it. Truth be told, i wouldn't mind having it either. But these control panels add up over time with lots of different things that could be monitored. I am avoiding having a wall inside the van looking like an Apollo capsule. 😊
@@freelyroaming Dan? Are you OK? Real MEN like the look of an Apollo capsule? You keep talkin' like that- you gonna lose your MAN CARD!!! In Croatia- don't they come after you with pitchforks & kerosene wrapped tree branches lit on fire? (Yes, I HAVE drifted out of comments into humor- sorry! Sundays, I get sorta funny.)
Haha yeah i do enjoy getting all of my data at one glance. But you know when you share a little space with your wife and kids, sometimes that what they say goes! When I say they, I mean the wife 😆
@@freelyroaming And any man who sez different- is LYING! Hahaha Buttons, lights, flashing thingys- LOVE 'em all!!! Even little whistles, bells, whizzy sounds- never get enuff of 'em... "Houston, we have a problem"...
I own both the dial and the app. Sooo much easier to use the app. My fingers aren't fast enough to personalize the system using the dial. Dial is up for sale.
What would cause the battery shunt (500A / BMV 712) to reach temps of ~ 85C using 4/0 cables to / from battery terminals (6 X Lion Energy Safari UT-1300 in parallel)? The BMV continue to operate with no issues showing all relevant data even with the high temps during inverting using 2 X multiplus 12V/3000/50. Less than 1,000 watts inverting temperature is reasonable, > 2,000 watts overheating takes place. The POS terminal is reading temps of ~85C - 90C. Below is a photo of the wiring / batteries.
I need to monitor AH usage from my LiFePO4 batteries on a (very) small boat that will be disconnected and reconnected often (almost every time I use it because of transportation in the back of my truck). I'm leaning towards the Smartshunt but it seems like I would need to reconfigure it every time I reconnect it. That seems to be the issue for all of these types of monitors. I can't seem to find a simple monitor that can just tell me how many AH I have used in that trip. I don't have an issue with paying up to about $150 but would like something really easy to use. Any thoughts on something that may fit the bill? Thanks.
The SmartShunt should remember your settings each time you connect and disconnect. However if all you want is a simple coulometer to measure amps consumed then anyone of them will do. Even the cheap $40 one will be plenty good. The historical data logging and state of charge features would be wasted in this application.
Hi Dan, I am kind of confusing for Victron Energy “Smart Shunt” vs. “Small BMS with pre-alarm”, are they working same function or….
I know they are not the same. I'm not 100% sure the difference, my impression is is a BMS is about managing the cells in a battery system, making sure everything is balanced and controlling that. While the Shunt is super basic: monitors every electron going to and from the bateey. It's my impression that all the VE products can be configured to talk with one another and I get the impression everything else will use the SmartShunt as a gauge to do whatever they do. Mind you, I could be totally wrong on all this!
Does the solar charge controller not do the job of the shunt?
I've watched a few solar build videos and this is the first time I have seen a shunt mentioned so I am confused.
No the solar charge controller can calculate how much power comes in but cannot tell how much is drawn from the pack. Only a coulometer such as a shunt can accurately calculate the precise state of charge both coming in and going out.
I will be buying a MPPT for my solar system. Would it be OK to oversize the MPPT for the 100 watt panel I now have and then add addition panels in the future?
Yes will do the same. But make sure your additional panels will fit well with the MPPT as well.
Also make sure you buy the same make and model of panels for best results.
What are the shunts themselves made from?
I am in the design phase to transform a Sprinter 211 cdi, new (2021), L1H1, all a little tight !!!!, but perfect for use here in Europe and exploring small towns, easy to park ... etc
But now I got to the point of doing the electrical project, which I'm not used to doing, I'm a civil engineer, I understand 110 / 220v AC circuits.
I wish you could help me with that part.
I'm Brazilian, but I also live a lot here in Portugal, where I'm going to do the conversion.
Well, I started making a spreadsheet, with the equipment, the necessary power and time of daily use, I have no intention of filling the motorhome with things, not least because it is a Sprinter L1H1, and I would like to have a simple electrical installation, but I would not like have gas inside, so I would prefer a stove with only one induction zone.
To heat the water it would be a D6 truma, which is diesel.
But from the calculations I made and compared with others I saw on the net, it seems that it ends up consuming a lot of energy, making the electrical part more expensive.
I don't want to spend so much just because of induction.
I don't know what other electrical equipment I would still need for everything to work, still using the car's alternator and an external 220v point when stopped at a camping site.
In your opinion, which a good configuration sufficient to have a quick meal, with induction and stay out of the network for a day or two?
Well, the result of the spreadsheet was:
220V equipment
notebook - 65w - 1 hour of use - 5.4 Ah
induction cooker - 1800w - 0,4 hour of use - 60 Ah
12V equipment
USB - 50w - 1 hour of use - 4.2 Ah
refrigerator - 45w - 8 hours of use - 30 Ah
lights - 15w - 3 hours of use - 1.3 Ah
water pump - 42 w - 0.5 hours of use - 1.8 Ah
exhaust fan wc - 40 w - 1 hour of use - 3.3 Ah
I will be very grateful if you can help me by presenting an wiring electrical diagram with the necessary equipment.
I appreciate if you answer.
my address is: joaolp55 @ gmail com
Thanks
Hi Joao, I think your computer use might end up being more than you budgeted but let's just go with what you have. It seems to be roughly about 110Ah of 12v power. Consider some efficiency losses, between 5 to 10%, we can base it on 120Ah of daily consumption. I like to go by the rule of threes. That mean, have at least 3 times the number of watts as you do daily Ah consumption. That will give you some safety in knowing you can recharge to full, or nearly full each day. And if budget allows, have 3 times the total usable capacity in your battery bank. This second part is a nice to have as it can get expensive but it will give you some reassurance that 3 consecutive days of rain won't cause major problems. That means, I would go with at least 360 watts of solar and as much as 360Ah of battery capacity. If you need more advice, I am also available for hire for private sessions here:
freelyroaming.com/coaching
@@freelyroaming Thank you very much, it helped a lot. I am thinking of abandoning the induction cooker idea, I would need to make a high investment for that. I think I will study the hypothesis of having gas, but in a portable way. only use when you are offline. And when I am in the hammock, in a camping, I can use induction, as it is more practical, I save propane.
I will redo the consumption calculations, but it will certainly be a lighter project.
Thanks.
How does it monitor whats coming from battery vs solar?
So if I build my LiFePO4 battery, could I use the Juntek shunt with it´s automatic shutoff options in combination with a seperate balancer isntead of a bms? My problem is that that a 300A BMS costs a fortune compare to the shunt.
I would not recommend going without a BMS. A shunt with low voltage cutoff could protect you from overall low voltage but not individual cell low voltage.
The critical function of the BMS is balancing the cells during both charge and discharge. A smart shunt cannot do this.
I have been using the Victron shunt in my soler system off grid cabin. Now switching to Lifepo4 batteries in my motorhome and using the Victron shunt. I purchased the Daly 120 A BMS that you eferenced, it turned out to be a total pile of trash, so waiting for a new USA manfacture BMS I hope is a better quality, and more reliable. There seems to be zero support for Daly products in the U.S.
That's too bad. Good luck with your new BMS.
Have you actually used the Juntek 1200 200amp model. Doesn't this one have the programming error in the readout programming for charging and discharging? After 40 or so discharges/charges the readout will always show that the battery is 100% charged ALL the time, even when the battery has been completely discharged. If the firmware hasn't been corrected, this model is not recommended.
I'm very interested in the Victron Smart Shunt but I hear a lot of people complaining about Bluetooth range. How's that working out for you?
Anyone who complains about the range is expecting too much from bluetooth. It is no better or worse than any other bluetooth device. 30 ft is what you can expect without any signal blocking surfaces like metallic walls.
Should the fuse go on the 12 volt battery before the shunt and is the shunt always wired on the negative from battery to fuse to shunt to inverter.
No, read your instructions they all are easy to wire.
If you have two AGMs in parallel where do you install the shunt to measure the correct info?
Both battery negative terminals go to the battery negative connection on the shunt. All loads and chargers go to the "System negative" terminal.
Wowow The G7200 takes 3 days to charge. Price is $250.00 on amazon. Why pay so much for a 7.2 amp charger? I dont understand.
Could you recommend a more powerful charger for less or the same money?. Thanks. Love you videos
The g7200 has been discontinued so that's why the price has gone up. Was around $100 before. For $228 you can get the Noco G26000 which is a 26 amp charger. It will charge more than 3 time faster.
amzn.to/2NMojUF
Victron makes a 15 amp charger with bluetooth connectivity for about $150 that looks good. I've never used it but I used many of their other products and all have been great.
amzn.to/3r7NkrW
Hi Jan, I have some questions on Juntek VAT-1200: Does the display unit require battery power ? is there a battery compartment ? what size of battery and how many ? does the display goes off automatically after some seconds ? when my battery pack is idle without any load, will the shunt (the black plastic box) be still working 24 hours non stop everyday to transmit the data to the display unit ? What is the max distance the display unit can go away from the black box ? Thanks !
The display needs either 12v power or plugged in via usb. No internal batteries. The display just stays on as long as it is powered. Haven't tested the range on it but it is reasonably good from what I can tell. Works from across the room about 20ft away.
@@freelyroaming Thank you so much ! Dan How much does the shunt consume the battery power ? does it make sense to you if the shunt is put after a main on/off switch ? I use my battery pack just for backup power purpose only while power outage, most of the time the pack is off without any load. I do not need to keep track the battery status every day, perhaps once every 2 weeks, so whenever I need to check, turn on the switch to get the data, then turn it off in a min. What do you think ?
The draw is miniscule. Unless you have a really tiny battery pack it is not a concern.
@@freelyroaming Thanks!
I was expecting this to have an explanation of what is a shunt, why you need a shunt, elc...
Buy victron. Love the bluetooth
How long have you had it and does it work well
Been using it for 8 months and it is great.
Would a smart BMS with a Bluetooth app give me all the info that a shunt provides? Seems as if the BMS could monitor the current flowing to and from the battery.
In theory someone could make a BMS with a coulometer built in but I am not aware of one that does.
Ionic lithium batteries have a Bluetooth battery monitor built into the case. Must be part of the BMS.
It's does not have a shunt measuring true state of charge. It reads charge status by the BMS voltage sensing wires which is a highly inaccurate of measuring capacity in a lithium pack.
So do you think the Ah used that is shown in Ionic’s app is just calculated from the voltage on the pack?
Without a disassembly to see what's inside there's no way of knowing what they are using. It's possible they have installed a small shunt inside the battery case but it would most likely not be a part of the BMS.
vaat 1200 rig and the bolt and nuts... I think it is to be kept that way and the connector goes on the tall stud and a new or second nut is used... just sayin...
Anyone know which Bluetooth version Victron is using inside their smart shunts... curious to know what kind of real-world range I can expect(?)
It is bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) and I can get 10m line of sight but it drastically reduces if there are signal shielding obstructions. People who complain about range is really complaining about all of the metallic surfaces surrounding their Victron bluetooth devices.
@@freelyroaming - Is it possible to add a bluetooth range extender to the Victron(?)
I do not have any experience with Bluetooth repeaters. Might be worth a try if you really need more range.
@@freelyroaming I've just installed the Victron Smartshunt. While my devices can detect the smartshunt from about 3 meters away, the VictronConnect app loses the connection when more than 30cm from the shunt. That's while maintaining a view of the shunt, no interfering metal or other obstructions. It's seems to be a consistent complaint on the Victron forum.
Not with my unit. I can access mine within 10 meters with no issues.
You forgot to say that the side effect from a big shunt is the lower resolution. Don't use a bigger shunt then required.
022821/1931h PST. Peter thank you for the comment. But when you put-forth an idea, an argument or a difference of opinion; it’d be great if you substantiate your argument, as to why you illustrated the idea, argument and difference of opinion. So people may learn from you.
What are the negative aspects of using 500 Ampere shunt? Please also explain as to, what you mean by “ side effects from a big shunt is the lower resolution” I didn’t, quite, understand that.
I’d be delighted to hearing from you, Sir.
Thank you stay safe and 73s...
He means that the higher capacity shunts will not give you as accurate of a reading as smaller shunts in terms of decimals units. Practically speaking it is unimportant here. Even a 500A shunt here will give you data down to the hundredth decimal. Meaning I can see current draw as little as 0.01A. there There is no real world benefit of having resolution better than that.
@@freelyroaming , thanks for updating and filling in . About the resolution I have seen cheap displays that do have problems with a to high shunt. Personal I use now the input from my plc and have a 16 bit resolution and don't have a problem.
@@freelyroaming and what about the power consumtion of a biger shunt? is that relevant?
@@sergiocavazos8963 power consumption is immeasurably small.
Try a Venus gx?
The Venus GX is an the interface to connect various Victron components like a Multiplus, mppt solar controller and also works with this SmartShunt. By itself it is not able to do anything without peripheral components. It is overkill for my purpose. I have however considered installing Victron's raspberry pi free server software to achieve similar capabilities but have not found a need to do it.
Amazon reviews in UK say that the Victron smart shunt Victron BMV-712 has really poor bluetooth and you have to be on top of the thing to see data on your phone - disappointing. Also UK review says the Juntek VAT-1200 Battery Monitor is a fire hazard - got very hot at 100A and started smoking at 130A - so be warned.
Their Bluetooth is not the problem. The range completely depends on the phone it is connecting to it. I have a cheap Android phone that has to be really close to see it while my higher end Samsung phone has no problems from 10 meters away.
Thumbs Up just for wearing your "C-" shirt.
Tap the Rockies
Need batteries please link for them.ty
It is in all of the descriptions under each video in the series. Under the main list of all the items there is another link to the actual item I bought.
@@freelyroaming when you go to the link for the batteries it shows a lot of them not the 280ah that you bought.please more precise link for your batteries thanks in advance
If you read that I wrote you will understand the price discrepancy. You can find these for less than $100 per cell if you live in the US. Taxes, customs and shipping is the reason for the increased price.
4:08 150 A * 12 V = 1800 W
I was using my maximum LiFePO4 pack voltage at 100% charge which is 14.6v. The nominal voltage is 12.8v and cutoff voltage is 10v so the output range is between 2200w and 1500w. I always use the max to determine potential power output of to make sure components are properly rated.
Can you monitor both batteries in your system with this shunt?
You can monitor the total input and output on your system with a single shunt. If you want to know the status of each individual battery separately, you will need multiple shunts or some other type of battery monitoring device.
@8:55: Juntek: Aren't you supposed to just use two additional nuts to assemble the wires? You shouldn't need to disassemble it!
In theory yes but the posts are not secured on the other end so in order to tighten the lugs onto the posts you be to be able to hold the other end with a wrench. Otherwise the posts just spinn in place. Really bad design. To do that you need to partially disassemble the unit.
150amps @ 12V is only 1800W. So a 2000W induction cooker no. A 2.4kW electric jug... nope.
Nominal voltage for LiFePO4 is 12.8 volts. And more than 50% of its operating capacity runs above 13.3 volts. If you have used an induction cooktop practically you would know it rarely, if ever needs to run at full power. A 2kw unit can boil a liter of water in 5 minutes running at 800 watts. And are you still using lead acid batteries? It's time to move on.