If any load, such as a bilge pump ground, is wired ahead of the shunt or on the -BATTERY side of it, it will NEVER be seen or measured by the monitor. Knowing this the monitor manufacturer can make the display correspond to any load from 0 to 500 amps or 0 to 50 Mv. This means that at 500 amps there will be a 50 mV drop across the shunt. This shunt is a 500 amp 50 millivolt shunt. Nearly every instance of trouble shooting battery monitors I've come across can be lead directly to where you have connected your DC negative wires.Ī shunt reads the loads on the system as measured across the shunt. The Victron BMV-602S is pictured on the right and bears little resemblance to the TBS built monitors. They have proven to be solid units.Ībout the time Xantrex signed on to re-label the TBS monitors Victron found a new manufacturer to build their units. It also offered a computer interface option.Įventually Xantrex made the switch to all TBS built battery monitors such as the current Link-Lite and Link-Pro. The XBM was the identical monitor to the Victron 501 and was a very, very reliable device. Xantrex then found TBS Electronics in the Netherlands and began importing and re-branding the TBS monitor as the Xantrex XBM (pictured in the middle). Somewhere along the way Cruising Equipment became Heart Interface and then Xantrex bought Heart Interface. Despite many of the "LINK" products tending to be a little buggy they were generally well regarded and loved by boaters. The original Link 10 was manufactured by Cruising Equipment Company and they really started a good thing. I personally use a Xantrex Link Pro but they all do basically the same thing.įrom left to right I have three generations of battery monitor represented. I chose to do this article with the Victron BMV-602S. A Victron BMV-600S single bank monitor can be purchased for just $184.25. Currently the Victron units are the most simple to install and also the least expensive making them a good value. Blue Seas, Xantrex, BEP, Victron and a number of others make them. There are a fair number of monitors on the market. They are actually easy to install but there are a couple of "gotcha" traps that you may find your self falling victim to. People often ask me questions about how to install a battery monitor so I took some time and tried to make it simple. With new battery technologies costing three to ten times what wet cell technology does and many boaters moving to newer technologies such as Gel, AGM, TPPL and LiIon accurate monitoring of an expensive bank is almost a prerequisite. When properly installed, calibrated and monitored they can extend the life of a battery bank especially when used smartly. The battery monitor is a very useful tool for a boat-owner who has to survive on battery power.
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