You can easily set up warnings/alarms (low voltage, etc) and the BMV-712 will send a message to your phone via Bluetooth (if you are in range around the RV) as well as displaying it on the battery monitor's screen.
Absolutely right on a monitor being the first addition. I installed a Trimetric monitor but any that use a shunt will work. The bluetooth is a nice feature.
Trying to decide between the Victron Smart Shunt and the BMV-712. What kind of bluetooth range are you getting with the 712? We have a travel trailer and don't really want to run a cable to a display. Thanks for all your videos!
Thanks for the info. Not over simplfly, but cables off negative goes on the other end of shunt. Just got in mine and a little nervous about the installation.
I love watching your video you’re very good on giving information and instructions have a quick question I am going to be running two 100 amp battery in my motorhome will that battery monitor work for me or do I need to get a different one and do it, come with that Bluetooth system or do I need to get a separate bluetooth
We have an 11 YO Victron and until last year a 10 YO 150 AH AGM, The problem is that I knew it was no longer 150 AH at the point where I replaced it. I am trying to come up with a way to accurately determine the capacity of the battery as it ages.
Question on connections of a battery shut to 6 group 31 AGM batteries in my Itasca Ellipse 42QD. Currently one end of my 3/0 copper ground goes to the 2800 Watt Inverter then all 6 negative battery cables are connected in series , then goes to the chassis ground. Not sure how to make the connection with 2 negative terminals.
Great video! I was all set to order the unit but it was literally double what I thought it was worth. Guess I’ll wait for the price to come down. The prices always come down LOL
@ 5:53 you point to the negative (system ground) end of the shunt saying anything that has a load will be connected there. But according to the box you're holding... the positive side of the battery is where the load is going. A bit confusing wouldn't you say?
For any load to work off the battery it needs a connection to the positive as well as the negative. So on the positive side of the battery it can connect directly to the load or charging device but on the negative side the shunt must be in between any load or charging device. I hope that helps clear it up.
Thanks for a nice video - you're good at explaining! Question for you as it applies to my Sandstorm Toyhauler 2018 model. It has 200 watts solar on the roof by Go Power installed at the factory. It came with a monitor display mounted inside the camper, but doesn't have that many features on it. I was thinking I'd like to leave it installed along with installing the one you have in your video. Do you see a problem having both monitors connected at the same time? Or, maybe I'd be better to pull the Go Power unit off the wall and use the same wires for the Victron 712? Thanks for any suggestions!
Thank you!! I was having a difficult time learning why I couldn't just buy the AIMS inverter/charger screen, too few resources; I really appreciate the thorough explanation.
So Jared, how did this install effect the original monitor, as in did it disable it or does it still work? Just curious. Outside of that, keep up the good work, I've learned a ton of good information from you in preparation for going fulltime next spring.
I bought the Victron 712 to install on my pop up and realized it’s a mistake for me. My negative battery post only has a cable that mounts to the chassis. I have no loads connected to my negative battery terminal. I don’t know if I can reconfigure my wiring to accommodate this unit but it’s worthless to me the way my electrical system is wired currently.
Just remove the negative cable from your battery and connect it to the load side of the shunt, then connect the other side of the shunt to the negative of the battery - you will need an extra battery cable - I got mine at an auto parts store.
What confused me is how do you connect “all loads “ in your RV to the shunt? Do you get the battery positive and negative from the Rv main electrical panel where the 120, 12V and converter all reside?
Jared -- how would you wire this on a travel trailer where the only ground connection on the battery is battery n(-) post to chassis ground. All other negative loads to go 12v bus bar at the control panel, and then to (i assume) another chassis ground? Will putting the shunt between the battery n(-) and chassis ground work?
do you need to have an individual monitor for each battery? My 20ft rv has 2 batteries
4 роки тому+2
Good morning Jared. As always....great job! Getting ready to purchase the Victron BMV-712 off of your above listed link (for our travel trailer)....just wanted to confirm you were still recommending this or if something else has caught your eye since 2017? Thanks in advance! Luis
I have a zamp charge controller. Original equipment bought in 2020. I assume this monitor has nothing to do with the charge controller? Adding this would be in conjunction with changing out Lead Acid batteries to Battle Born Lithium. Does this have any impact on the Zamp charge controller either?
I’m enjoying u you our videos. I don’t have an RV, everyone on my families side does but my wife’s idea of RV’ing is a flight to a resort overseas :(. Anyway, I own a construction business and have large RAM pro master vans. I want to set up a system of multiple batteries that can be converted to AC power that will run battery chargers, and most light power tools for our crews. I’ll need about 3000 - watts and we have very cold temperatures. The vans are 1 ton with heavy duty alternators. Currently they are configured with one deep cycle battery but have room for two deep cycle batteries. The pro masters v-6 doesn’t drink a huge amount of fuel at idle. So if the batteries drop too low, we can just run the engine to charge back up. Based on your experience with RV’s what direction would you go as far as batteries and is there a monitor that would alert the workers that the engine needs to be started before they continue work?
So on my RPOD 179, I upgraded from an Interstate battery to a Battle Born 100ah using the Victron BMV-712 monitor (hoping for better predictability and 2x the capacity d/t the 100% discharge depth). I keep ending up the battery completely shutting down at around 65-69% (around 12.19v). Not sure what I'm doing wrong (followed the instructions and synchronized after charging for quite a while - highest charge at 13.56v) - seems like you would have to enter the maximum charged voltage capacity (ideal without age loss) and the lowest available voltage (i.e. where the BMS shuts down the battery) somewhere for the calculations to be correct but these aren't given on the Battle Born spec sheets. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks - RD
i don't recall if you have solar but I wonder where the negative from the solar charger should go - on the battery terminal or on the shunt with the other connections - thanks
Victron makes really good equipment. High quality equipment costs top dollar. I lived and went to war with bottom-dollar equipment in the military, but I don't have to do that in my private life.
What is the difference between a battery monitor and a battery charging manager? Does a manager do the same as a monitor but with more advanced features? or is it the same thing with a different name? I'm not a RVer, but I'm interested.
All About RV's one other question I have one ground of the frame and then another ground coming from what I assume is my trailer lights do I put both grounds on the shunt?
I love your videos, thanks. Quick question, can shunt be mounted in a vented battery compartment? I have class B and want to maybe mount on top of battery if possible. The compartment essentially has room for just the batteries on a sliding tray. Thanks again!
Hello Sir I have two RV batteries in series on the shunt with the cheap battery monitor - the new battery lead leading to the negitive what guage should it be? the one I bought does not seem as think as the one connected to the neg terminal. I have an old rv class a and only run basic stuff on the rv with no inverter.
Jared love your videos always learn so much from them. If I wanted to upgrade batteries add a battery monitoring system and maybe solar are there companies that do this kind of work I’m in New England and I have never heard of any company advertising that they do anything like this I did buy a micro-air easy start that I will install soon but some of this looks pretty complicated by the way really loved the video on the solar upgrade you did on KYD. Thanks
Great video......I see that you had a Interstate battery, I went to their website to find out amp hours but couldn't find any info. How did you find amp hours when you set up your app?
What will or can the volt reading tell you? I know what volt is, and with the little knowledge I have, I would think it's always stable and the same, so I don't see the purpose of a volt meter. But I suspect it has a purpose .... ?
Excellent video! I have new RV that came with 2 lead-acid batteries. Would I need to buy TWO monitors to monitor all conditions of BOTH batteries? Or can I only monitor VOLTS of second battery using only one monitor wired to both batteries? Thank you.
Virtually everything I see is for the basement of a 5th wheeler. How would you mount the shunt if you have a TT with two battery boxes on the hitch? You need to protect from weather. Looking for suggestions on this.
I just picked up a “gang box” and cover (Lowes), mounted that near the negative of the battery, Mount the shunt in the box, cable it up and then silcone all of the openings where the cables came through.
Great review. I just finished installing the 712 as part of a lithium battery upgrade on our RV. I programmed all the settings, and they show on Bluetooth, but the display does not update. I’ve unplugged the fuse as indicated, but no result. Not too important, since I don’t plan to mount it anyway, but just seems I’m doing something wrong. Any ideas? By the way, AMsolar says charging voltage for lithium battery should be 13.9. Is this just for safety? Everyone else seems to be in the 14.2 range Thanks- great videos
I noticed you have 2 different batteries, I have 3 deep cycle batteries although all are different brands. I have been told that is not good to mix brands. I am assuming you have not any issues can you elaborate on what is actually important when connecting batteries in parallel ?
We have since switched to lithium batteries, the ones in this video are the batteries that were in it when we bought the RV. They were the same battery bought at the same time but different housing. It’s best to buy the batteries at the same time and the same kind. Mixing batteries can cause issues because of the differing internal resistance.
Has anyone ever changed phones and tried uploading the app on the new phone and noticed the battery monitor is off or not syncing? Currently struggling with mine and looking for a little support. Thanks!
You can leave the shunt in the battery box 📦 itself as long as your negative cable flows through the shunt as diagramed. you can leave the monitor in there too and just use bluetooth if u dont want to mount the display
@@NavaDownSouth I'm interested in adding the Vicxtron monitor to my TT and the location of the shut is an issue. I have flooded batteries and am concerned about the shunt located in the battery box subjected to the out-gassing from the batteries. What type of battery are you using and how is the shunt holding up?
Quick one, you keep saying shunt, is this another word for grounding block? Also, you say "biggest part of the shunt", is this describing where on the shunt the monitor should be connected or simply the most important part of explanation? Cheers!
Good question, the shunt is what measures the current, so it’s much more than a grounding block. It’s meant to be the most important part of the explanation.
Excuse my ignorance - great vid btw - if I buy and install the battery monitoring kit with Blue Tooth can I attach to a solar system later!!?? 🤔 cheers Chris
Yes, you can. We are having a giveaway for this battery monitor on our latest video. If you leave a comment and are subscribed you are automatically entered into the competition.
So, just more out of curiosity do I need all bluetooth modules from Victron? By this I mean do I need a Bluetooth Solar Charger, Shunt AND Battery Monitor? Is there any benefit to having all three of these in Bluetooth? Thanks, I've watched lots and am now taking this on myself.
@@AllAboutRVs Thank you so much for the reply! Even more, thanks for the tips and videos. Solar panels going on tomorrow. Picked up a Battle Born 8D 270Ah battery. We'll give it a try. See you out there!
Hello Jared! ( Hope I spelled that right) I am looking for advice on sizing an inverter to run a small fridge (120v, 3.5amp) in a travel trailer I am remodeling. I only plan on running the fridge off of the inverter but am lost with so many options out there. I have not been able to find any direct contact info for you so this is how I'm hoping to contact you.. any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Lysol ! - I don't get why you need a clip on amp meter, the Victron has an amp meter inclosed. You can use other shunts to, just go in the menu and correct the used shunt A in the menu of your Victron
T 448 -- Yes, for the house batterys and you can choose additional to monitor (only the voltage!) your starter battery. You just need to put a wire from your starter battery to the shunt for the voltage monitoring. The BMV712 has also inclosed a bluetooth dongle, to make a connection with your phone or tablet where you can view all information from the Victron app.
Does everything need to be connected to the shunt for it to read its amp/current draw? I have a power inverter I installed but it’s grounded to the frame so just wondering if I need to take it to the shunt?
It should still work as long as you have a frame ground connection to the shunt and then the only thing connected to the battery is the shunt on the negative side.
steve barker -- YES, connect everything to the shunt if you want a correct reading on the correct state of your battery, also the inverter.... Not connecting the inverter to the shunt gives you a false reading on the AH capacity of your battery, because the Victron will not calculate how much your inverter consumed..
It should provide you with Amp Hours when it's charging so you can determine how far (empty or full) the state of discharge is. Also it gives you how much time you have left until empty
I would conect it directly from the battery and then use some kind of connecto to connect the other side of the shunt to the traiker itself, So the shunt will live inside the battery box.
I bought a 712 and installed it. It has NEVER given a correct reading. I we hoping to use this for our last trip as we were going to dry camp the whole time. I have a MPPT solar controller that shows 13.8 volts. I put a multimeter on the circuit and it read 13.8 volts. I have a cheapy meter with the USB jacks I installed and it shows 13.4 volts. The 712 shows between 8 and 9 volts and when I synchronize it to SOC it shows the correct voltage but then it drops to 8-9 volts within an hour. The battery charge always shows 0%. The weirdest thing is I contacted Victron and they said to contact the dealer I bought it from. Well there dealer is Amazon. No hello at all. I would not recommend this battery meter at all.
I'm not connected to Victron but love our battery monitor, send me an email and let me see if I can help you figure out whats going on. jaredallaboutrvs@gmail.com It really has been a great dependable tool for us.
You would need the color control and a wifi connection for that. Then it will store your system metrics on the Victron portal on internet and you can monitor or change parameters. Not cheap, but excellent
Great, I just built a portable solar generator/dual battery pack for some overlanding/camping. I put a 100AH lithium battery along with a 3000Watt inverter, a RedArc BCDC1225D which is a DC-DC charger as well as solar MPPT. What I really want to know is how much solar I am putting to the battery, as well as what my draw is. Is there one monoitor that can do that? Or do I need 2 different monitors?
Not entirely...upgrade your MPPT charge controller to a Victron MPPT charge controller with Bluetooth and you'll be able to see everything, watts coming in, amps going out, state of charge...etc
DIfferent brand batteries is bad (around the 1.45) Reason is ... internal resistance in batteries can be different .... ohms law is voltage/resistance = amps ......... now plug in 2 different batteries 12v each (all numbers same just different brands giving different internal resistance)ok so 12Volt / .2 ohms = 60 amps ..... ok now 12volt /.22ohms =54.54amps (thats a tiny tiny difference by the way... it may be larger) ..... What does this mean in real world one battery will always be drawing down faster than the other (meaning it will have less voltage constantly) hard to wrap headaround ... they will both supply EXACTLY what they say on them .... just one will always be worked harder ... if both batteries where same brand and purchased from same batch theoretically you would get even distibution between batteries and there by charging them evenly (last longer) Hope this helps you merry campers :) good video tho !
Good info, your right on not mixing the batteries. These are the batteries that were in the rig when I bought it from my friend, and I’m just counting down the days to replace them. He bought the Econo Power batteries which you never know what your really getting in those. I still can’t believe they have lasted close to 5 years. I was wanting to replace them when we first got it but I have a hard time replacing batteries when they still work.
Thanks so much! PS: There is no apostrophe in "All About RV's". In this case, it is a non-possessive plural. If you are writing about your "RV's electrical system", then you need an apostrophe.
Sorry guys, you're just too long winded. I want the facts, problems and recommendations in a less chatty format, There are a lot of videos on the topic from a lot of different people, and I don't want to spend a long time reviewing them.
@@danjenlilyful: Good luck with that when you are out in the boonies trying to determine what is wrong and how long you have till your batteries are dead. Voltmeters are awesome yet that is least important information a battery monitor provides.
You can easily set up warnings/alarms (low voltage, etc) and the BMV-712 will send a message to your phone via Bluetooth (if you are in range around the RV) as well as displaying it on the battery monitor's screen.
Thanks for the info
@@AllAboutRVs do you know if Victron has a AC Monitor like they do for the battery's
Absolutely right on a monitor being the first addition. I installed a Trimetric monitor but any that use a shunt will work. The bluetooth is a nice feature.
thnks for info. the fuse shown is for a 250amp fuse. is that the correct one?
Great advice as we get ready to head out on the road. One more thing for my "to do" list!
Trying to decide between the Victron Smart Shunt and the BMV-712. What kind of bluetooth range are you getting with the 712? We have a travel trailer and don't really want to run a cable to a display. Thanks for all your videos!
I’m wondering which one to go with too.
Thanks for the info. Not over simplfly, but cables off negative goes on the other end of shunt. Just got in mine and a little nervous about the installation.
I blew up 2 nothing to worry about just keep something around to put out the fire.
I love watching your video you’re very good on giving information and instructions have a quick question I am going to be running two 100 amp battery in my motorhome will that battery monitor work for me or do I need to get a different one and do it, come with that Bluetooth system or do I need to get a separate bluetooth
We have an 11 YO Victron and until last year a 10 YO 150 AH AGM, The problem is that I knew it was no longer 150 AH at the point where I replaced it. I am trying to come up with a way to accurately determine the capacity of the battery as it ages.
Nice, we went with the same one for our set up. Excellent video, thanks for the info!
-Thomas
+I'm Not Lost I'm RVing thank you and love your channel name!
Thanks! :-)
Question on connections of a battery shut to 6 group 31 AGM batteries in my Itasca Ellipse 42QD. Currently one end of my 3/0 copper ground goes to the 2800 Watt Inverter then all 6 negative battery cables are connected in series , then goes to the chassis ground. Not sure how to make the connection with 2 negative terminals.
Great video! I was all set to order the unit but it was literally double what I thought it was worth. Guess I’ll wait for the price to come down. The prices always come down LOL
Check Walmart too
Okay watched battery upgrades first. So thanks for this video. This will be step one. Now I know what I want for Christmas. Thanks
Very timely video for us. This is at the top of the to do list, just need to make the time to get it done.
@ 5:53 you point to the negative (system ground) end of the shunt saying anything that has a load will be connected there. But according to the box you're holding... the positive side of the battery is where the load is going. A bit confusing wouldn't you say?
For any load to work off the battery it needs a connection to the positive as well as the negative. So on the positive side of the battery it can connect directly to the load or charging device but on the negative side the shunt must be in between any load or charging device. I hope that helps clear it up.
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Thanks for a nice video - you're good at explaining! Question for you as it applies to my Sandstorm Toyhauler 2018 model. It has 200 watts solar on the roof by Go Power installed at the factory. It came with a monitor display mounted inside the camper, but doesn't have that many features on it. I was thinking I'd like to leave it installed along with installing the one you have in your video. Do you see a problem having both monitors connected at the same time? Or, maybe I'd be better to pull the Go Power unit off the wall and use the same wires for the Victron 712? Thanks for any suggestions!
Thank you!! I was having a difficult time learning why I couldn't just buy the AIMS inverter/charger screen, too few resources; I really appreciate the thorough explanation.
So I have something like shown at 0:39. Can I utilize any of those wires to hook up a PZEM-015 Battery Meter?
So Jared, how did this install effect the original monitor, as in did it disable it or does it still work? Just curious. Outside of that, keep up the good work, I've learned a ton of good information from you in preparation for going fulltime next spring.
The old one still works I just can’t remember the last time I looked at the old one. Thanks for watching.
Nice explanation of AH in and out
I bought the Victron 712 to install on my pop up and realized it’s a mistake for me. My negative battery post only has a cable that mounts to the chassis. I have no loads connected to my negative battery terminal. I don’t know if I can reconfigure my wiring to accommodate this unit but it’s worthless to me the way my electrical system is wired currently.
Just remove the negative cable from your battery and connect it to the load side of the shunt, then connect the other side of the shunt to the negative of the battery - you will need an extra battery cable - I got mine at an auto parts store.
Where the he'll they going it doesnt make sense
What confused me is how do you connect “all loads “ in your RV to the shunt? Do you get the battery positive and negative from the Rv main electrical panel where the 120, 12V and converter all reside?
So can I leave the monitor down by the shunt and just read the app to get all the info...so we wouldn’t have to run wires through the trailer?
Jared -- how would you wire this on a travel trailer where the only ground connection on the battery is battery n(-) post to chassis ground. All other negative loads to go 12v bus bar at the control panel, and then to (i assume) another chassis ground? Will putting the shunt between the battery n(-) and chassis ground work?
do you need to have an individual monitor for each battery? My 20ft rv has 2 batteries
Good morning Jared. As always....great job! Getting ready to purchase the Victron BMV-712 off of your above listed link (for our travel trailer)....just wanted to confirm you were still recommending this or if something else has caught your eye since 2017?
Thanks in advance!
Luis
The BMV 712 is still my favorite by far
I’m planning on having multiple batteries. What monitor would work well and not cost me a right arm?
I have a zamp charge controller. Original equipment bought in 2020. I assume this monitor has nothing to do with the charge controller? Adding this would be in conjunction with changing out Lead Acid batteries to Battle Born Lithium. Does this have any impact on the Zamp charge controller either?
I’m enjoying u you our videos. I don’t have an RV, everyone on my families side does but my wife’s idea of RV’ing is a flight to a resort overseas :(. Anyway, I own a construction business and have large RAM pro master vans. I want to set up a system of multiple batteries that can be converted to AC power that will run battery chargers, and most light power tools for our crews. I’ll need about 3000 - watts and we have very cold temperatures. The vans are 1 ton with heavy duty alternators. Currently they are configured with one deep cycle battery but have room for two deep cycle batteries. The pro masters v-6 doesn’t drink a huge amount of fuel at idle. So if the batteries drop too low, we can just run the engine to charge back up.
Based on your experience with RV’s what direction would you go as far as batteries and is there a monitor that would alert the workers that the engine needs to be started before they continue work?
So on my RPOD 179, I upgraded from an Interstate battery to a Battle Born 100ah using the Victron BMV-712 monitor (hoping for better predictability and 2x the capacity d/t the 100% discharge depth). I keep ending up the battery completely shutting down at around 65-69% (around 12.19v). Not sure what I'm doing wrong (followed the instructions and synchronized after charging for quite a while - highest charge at 13.56v) - seems like you would have to enter the maximum charged voltage capacity (ideal without age loss) and the lowest available voltage (i.e. where the BMS shuts down the battery) somewhere for the calculations to be correct but these aren't given on the Battle Born spec sheets. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks - RD
I just bought the BMV-712 smart, what’s the difference between midpoint voltage monitoring and without midpoint voltage monitoring?
i don't recall if you have solar but I wonder where the negative from the solar charger should go - on the battery terminal or on the shunt with the other connections - thanks
+jMon it should go on the shunt, on the load side so it can monitor it.
Needs to go on the shunt otherwise it won't be seen by the battery monitor
On the shunt.
Hi Jared, I wanted to go to your links, but I cannot find them on this page ??
Ordering one as well as a disconnect, should the disconnect go between the shunt and the battery?
Wow! I was surprised at the price of the 712! Hope you didn't burn your hands when you unboxed! Lol! Have a great day!
JIM BRIDGES it’s too bad cheap people have the right to their opinion.
Victron makes really good equipment. High quality equipment costs top dollar. I lived and went to war with bottom-dollar equipment in the military, but I don't have to do that in my private life.
What is the difference between a battery monitor and a battery charging manager? Does a manager do the same as a monitor but with more advanced features? or is it the same thing with a different name? I'm not a RVer, but I'm interested.
Can I run the AC while is parked at the driveway with the regular 110 from the house??
If using a 2 battery 12-volt system which battery should I hook the positive to or does it matter? The B1 wire?
It doesn’t matter which one you put it on
All About RV's one other question I have one ground of the frame and then another ground coming from what I assume is my trailer lights do I put both grounds on the shunt?
Got installed seems to work just fine thanks for your help I will be subscribing!
I love your videos, thanks. Quick question, can shunt be mounted in a vented battery compartment? I have class B and want to maybe mount on top of battery if possible. The compartment essentially has room for just the batteries on a sliding tray. Thanks again!
Hello Sir I have two RV batteries in series on the shunt with the cheap battery monitor - the new battery lead leading to the negitive what guage should it be? the one I bought does not seem as think as the one connected to the neg terminal. I have an old rv class a and only run basic stuff on the rv with no inverter.
Jared love your videos always learn so much from them. If I wanted to upgrade batteries add a battery monitoring system and maybe solar are there companies that do this kind of work I’m in New England and I have never heard of any company advertising that they do anything like this I did buy a micro-air easy start that I will install soon but some of this looks pretty complicated by the way really loved the video on the solar upgrade you did on KYD. Thanks
Thank you. Great idea. Happy travels. God bless
So the shunt isn’t already installed from the factory?
No it’s not standard.
Great video......I see that you had a Interstate battery, I went to their website to find out amp hours but couldn't find any info. How did you find amp hours when you set up your app?
very good information clear and easy to follow thank you
Happy Thanksgiving my friend. Be safe and enjoy this day.
What will or can the volt reading tell you?
I know what volt is, and with the little knowledge I have, I would think it's always stable and the same, so I don't see the purpose of a volt meter. But I suspect it has a purpose .... ?
Rudi van Doornegat your battery has a different voltage when it’s full vs when it’s empty. So you can tell the state of charge by reading the voltage.
@@123marijn321 I see. Thank you.
Excellent video! I have new RV that came with 2 lead-acid batteries. Would I need to buy TWO monitors to monitor all conditions of BOTH batteries? Or can I only monitor VOLTS of second battery using only one monitor wired to both batteries? Thank you.
One monitor will do your battery bank. It will do both house batteries.
My rig has two, 12 volt deep cycle batteries rated at 92 ah each. When setting up the monitor would I annotate 92 or 184 ah during the initial setup?
Your right with 184 ah.
Thanks for the confirmation!! Have fun and safe travels!!
I've learned so much from you thank you for making these videos
If I put 2 battle born 100 amp hour batteries in my 5th wheel how many amp converter should I use. Thanks Keith
do charge controllers have battery monitors built into them?
Virtually everything I see is for the basement of a 5th wheeler. How would you mount the shunt if you have a TT with two battery boxes on the hitch? You need to protect from weather. Looking for suggestions on this.
I just picked up a “gang box” and cover (Lowes), mounted that near the negative of the battery, Mount the shunt in the box, cable it up and then silcone all of the openings where the cables came through.
Great review. I just finished installing the 712 as part of a lithium battery upgrade on our RV. I programmed all the settings, and they show on Bluetooth, but the display does not update. I’ve unplugged the fuse as indicated, but no result. Not too important, since I don’t plan to mount it anyway, but just seems I’m doing something wrong.
Any ideas?
By the way, AMsolar says charging voltage for lithium battery should be 13.9. Is this just for safety? Everyone else seems to be in the 14.2 range
Thanks- great videos
Po km
Listen to what AM Solar recommebds.
I noticed you have 2 different batteries, I have 3 deep cycle batteries although all are different brands. I have been told that is not good to mix brands. I am assuming you have not any issues can you elaborate on what is actually important when connecting batteries in parallel ?
We have since switched to lithium batteries, the ones in this video are the batteries that were in it when we bought the RV. They were the same battery bought at the same time but different housing. It’s best to buy the batteries at the same time and the same kind. Mixing batteries can cause issues because of the differing internal resistance.
Has anyone ever changed phones and tried uploading the app on the new phone and noticed the battery monitor is off or not syncing? Currently struggling with mine and looking for a little support. Thanks!
If you're not very handy, where can you go to get this installed?
You give instructions very good.
Useful. Thanks
I just put the BMV-712 in the battery compartment because I can read anything I won't from the app...
How do you add a monitor if your rig never had one?
How would you install the shunt in a travel trailer configuration where the battery is on the trailer tongue?
Augustine Baerga I’m curious to know this as well! Did you figure out if you could? Thanks
All I've seen is a guy attached it to the inside of his plastic battery box. That's where mine is right now.
You can leave the shunt in the battery box 📦 itself as long as your negative cable flows through the shunt as diagramed. you can leave the monitor in there too and just use bluetooth if u dont want to mount the display
@@NavaDownSouth I'm interested in adding the Vicxtron monitor to my TT and the location of the shut is an issue. I have flooded batteries and am concerned about the shunt located in the battery box subjected to the out-gassing from the batteries. What type of battery are you using and how is the shunt holding up?
@@rickjohnson4956 he has battleborn so lithium
Does the display show incoming volts, amp, watts coming from solar panel (through communication with victron charge controller)
It shows it in the app
Why is it negative charging very confusing
Useless if you use solar controller mttp , actually you can see all data changes with app.
Quick one, you keep saying shunt, is this another word for grounding block? Also, you say "biggest part of the shunt", is this describing where on the shunt the monitor should be connected or simply the most important part of explanation? Cheers!
Good question, the shunt is what measures the current, so it’s much more than a grounding block. It’s meant to be the most important part of the explanation.
So if I put - from charge controller to shunt this can monitor how much goes into battery? Not sure how it know how much is going into battery banks.
Yes it will tell you how much goes in and out. It is remarkable.
Love to have one of these
They sell them!
Excuse my ignorance - great vid btw - if I buy and install the battery monitoring kit with Blue Tooth can I attach to a solar system later!!?? 🤔 cheers Chris
Yes, you can. We are having a giveaway for this battery monitor on our latest video. If you leave a comment and are subscribed you are automatically entered into the competition.
All About RV's yes I did note this 😉 what a great thing to be giving away Cheers Chris 🍺
Clear and instructive!
Thanks so much for this video!
i need an installer for monitor and inverter, where u located, i will go to u, or can u recommend somebody
it's not too terrible to do yourself, if you have changed a car battery this is almost the same thing.
So, just more out of curiosity do I need all bluetooth modules from Victron? By this I mean do I need a Bluetooth Solar Charger, Shunt AND Battery Monitor? Is there any benefit to having all three of these in Bluetooth?
Thanks, I've watched lots and am now taking this on myself.
I prefer to have Bluetooth on each device because you can connect individually to them for settings and Bluetooth is the fastest easy way.
@@AllAboutRVs Thank you so much for the reply! Even more, thanks for the tips and videos. Solar panels going on tomorrow. Picked up a Battle Born 8D 270Ah battery. We'll give it a try. See you out there!
Hello Jared!
( Hope I spelled that right)
I am looking for advice on sizing an inverter to run a small fridge (120v, 3.5amp) in a travel trailer I am remodeling. I only plan on running the fridge off of the inverter but am lost with so many options out there. I have not been able to find any direct contact info for you so this is how I'm hoping to contact you.. any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
where to buy? actually, i want to buy the EMSYS monitoring system...do you know?
Is this available with out a shunt? Do they make one with a clip on amp meter?
Lysol ! - I don't get why you need a clip on amp meter, the Victron has an amp meter inclosed.
You can use other shunts to, just go in the menu and correct the used shunt A in the menu of your Victron
is it also possible for 2 batterys in home and 1 starter battery ?
T 448 -- Yes, for the house batterys and you can choose additional to monitor (only the voltage!) your starter battery. You just need to put a wire from your starter battery to the shunt for the voltage monitoring. The BMV712 has also inclosed a bluetooth dongle, to make a connection with your phone or tablet where you can view all information from the Victron app.
great review ordering one today
Why couldn't you just remove the old one and replace with the Victron?
The old one is just a voltage based monitor and the Victron uses a shunt for accuracy.
Wait... how do you locate everything that will put a load on the batteries in order to wire them in there? That doesn’t sound simple at all!
Carlos Benjamin - Piece of cake. disconnect everything now connected to the - minus of your battery and reconnect it all to the shunt
Does everything need to be connected to the shunt for it to read its amp/current draw? I have a power inverter I installed but it’s grounded to the frame so just wondering if I need to take it to the shunt?
It should still work as long as you have a frame ground connection to the shunt and then the only thing connected to the battery is the shunt on the negative side.
steve barker -- YES, connect everything to the shunt if you want a correct reading on the correct state of your battery, also the inverter....
Not connecting the inverter to the shunt gives you a false reading on the AH capacity of your battery, because the Victron will not calculate how much your inverter consumed..
at 1:28 - So this Victron device gives the real voltage of my battery like 12.2 volts, even when i'm charging it with 14.8 volts?
I don't get it..
It should provide you with Amp Hours when it's charging so you can determine how far (empty or full) the state of discharge is. Also it gives you how much time you have left until empty
Looking for an installer, interested?
Where would I install the shunt if my batter bank is outside of my trailer?
I would conect it directly from the battery and then use some kind of connecto to connect the other side of the shunt to the traiker itself, So the shunt will live inside the battery box.
Jose Inciarte so I would install the shunt just as the directions say and then attach the stunt to the inside of the batter box?
Correct....Im just noticing all the typos i had this morning...lol
I bought a 712 and installed it. It has NEVER given a correct reading. I we hoping to use this for our last trip as we were going to dry camp the whole time. I have a MPPT solar controller that shows 13.8 volts. I put a multimeter on the circuit and it read 13.8 volts. I have a cheapy meter with the USB jacks I installed and it shows 13.4 volts. The 712 shows between 8 and 9 volts and when I synchronize it to SOC it shows the correct voltage but then it drops to 8-9 volts within an hour. The battery charge always shows 0%. The weirdest thing is I contacted Victron and they said to contact the dealer I bought it from. Well there dealer is Amazon. No hello at all. I would not recommend this battery meter at all.
I'm not connected to Victron but love our battery monitor, send me an email and let me see if I can help you figure out whats going on. jaredallaboutrvs@gmail.com It really has been a great dependable tool for us.
What is the point of the Bluetooth? It’s pointless in my opinion because you cannot monitor the system remotely.
You would need the color control and a wifi connection for that. Then it will store your system metrics on the Victron portal on internet and you can monitor or change parameters. Not cheap, but excellent
Any cheaper alternative?
Not that I have found. The model they have without Bluetooth is a little less.
Every one shows this on a moterhome how about on a travel trailer with a batter on the front outside
You can find them online MUCH CHEAPER
was this with lithium batteries?
No, this was with our lead acid batteries but we now are using it with lithium batteries
All About RV's ohh. Does it still show amp hours with your lithium?
Yes it has been working great with the Lithium.
Great, I just built a portable solar generator/dual battery pack for some overlanding/camping. I put a 100AH lithium battery along with a 3000Watt inverter, a RedArc BCDC1225D which is a DC-DC charger as well as solar MPPT.
What I really want to know is how much solar I am putting to the battery, as well as what my draw is. Is there one monoitor that can do that? Or do I need 2 different monitors?
That’s what this one does. It uses the shunt to measure what’s coming in and what goes out, it should work great for your system.
Not entirely...upgrade your MPPT charge controller to a Victron MPPT charge controller with Bluetooth and you'll be able to see everything, watts coming in, amps going out, state of charge...etc
Nice god bless
For $200 dollars its not worth it to me when I can spe d 45 dollars and have the same thing without bluetooth.
Good advice I'm sure, but how about showing instead of talking
DIfferent brand batteries is bad (around the 1.45) Reason is ... internal resistance in batteries can be different .... ohms law is voltage/resistance = amps ......... now plug in 2 different batteries 12v each (all numbers same just different brands giving different internal resistance)ok so 12Volt / .2 ohms = 60 amps ..... ok now 12volt /.22ohms =54.54amps (thats a tiny tiny difference by the way... it may be larger) ..... What does this mean in real world one battery will always be drawing down faster than the other (meaning it will have less voltage constantly) hard to wrap headaround ... they will both supply EXACTLY what they say on them .... just one will always be worked harder ... if both batteries where same brand and purchased from same batch theoretically you would get even distibution between batteries and there by charging them evenly (last longer)
Hope this helps you merry campers :)
good video tho !
Good info, your right on not mixing the batteries. These are the batteries that were in the rig when I bought it from my friend, and I’m just counting down the days to replace them. He bought the Econo Power batteries which you never know what your really getting in those. I still can’t believe they have lasted close to 5 years. I was wanting to replace them when we first got it but I have a hard time replacing batteries when they still work.
On the positive side, this video was shocking as to your energy level. On the negative side, not sure your cat was paying attention.
🤣
Thanks so much!
PS: There is no apostrophe in "All About RV's". In this case, it is a non-possessive plural. If you are writing about your "RV's electrical system", then you need an apostrophe.
I bought cheaper version lot better
Don’t order it, useless
Sorry guys, you're just too long winded. I want the facts, problems and recommendations in a less chatty format, There are a lot of videos on the topic from a lot of different people, and I don't want to spend a long time reviewing them.
I’m sorry you feel that way, I hope you find what you are looking for.
not to mention the price of this one is just outrageous... just get a nice volt meter and check
@@danjenlilyful: Good luck with that when you are out in the boonies trying to determine what is wrong and how long you have till your batteries are dead. Voltmeters are awesome yet that is least important information a battery monitor provides.
Seriously? You take the time to complain, as if it is his obligation to make you happy? Mr. Rational, huh? Ask for your money back!!!
Where do I find my black negative charge wires and know how many of them there are?
Look on the negative side of the battery. What ever is connected to it is what needs to connect to the shunt first.