BMV 700 Battery Monitor

[MattBW]

Has anyone fitted one of these in their beach (or Cali).
I really would like one in my seat base but I am not sure if it would actually have enough space behind to fit.

They are reportedly very accurate and give a good idea of charging and discharging, especially handy with my suitcase solar I suspect. I have tried all the cheap 12v monitors but they vary so wildly and often slowly change over time to be useless for telling battery condition. My last purchase which was initially spot on is now half a volt out. This option seems better than carrying a volt meter around with me all the time.

I was hoping to put one in the seat base by the leisure battery.

 

[Max-Felix]

I saw a YT video on that - just go for the roof solar Matt and get the iPhone app - you know it makes sense!

 

[MattBW]

I am pondering a self install of permanent solar at some point but at the moment I've never ran out of power even with my rather tiny suitcase panel. As we never sit still long enough the battery is usually pretty good.

Weirdly I would usually go straight for the gadget option but I would quite like something I can just look at directly without needing a second device. I tend to hammer my phone videoing and photographing all the time so can't always rely on it actually being powered on.

Any idea what the power usage of the BT one is?

 

[Max-Felix]

The Victron MPPT 75/15 states 10MA.

The BT dongle is <1MA when not connected to phone and <2.5 when connected.

I'm not bored yet of checking my stats! 102W out of a 100w panel yesterday - cannot complain.

 

[WillSS]

hmmm, I've added in the Nasa BM1 as felt a bit 'lost' not knowing what was going on with the Beach battery after our SE display, especially with only the single battery to rely on now. Seems to get good reviews and a rare British product. I did look at the BMV-700 but in the end I got lucky with a BM1 for £65 off eBay.

It does a great job giving peace of mind and appears to have similar functionality to the BMV-700 with the same shunt install, etc. Clearly the BMV-700 wins in the design awards over the super clunky BM1!
I soon gave up on a slick install hence its just hooked onto the pocket until I can think of something better!

I did think about the BT versions and seeing the detail from Max that may well come along with the solar further down the line when we can be a bit more off-grid without the kids.

For now though there is something quite comforting about a big permanent digital read out though I suspect that could be down to my maturing tastes...

Cali, 2017...


DeLorean, circa 1985...

 

[hirsty]

It's good that you can read it from the shower block too.

 

[Daren_Chambers]

I fitted one of these

http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/mini-oled-dc-voltmeter-12v-24v-dc.html

The reading is spot on according to my multimeter. It's quite unobtrusive and the display is really clear even in bright sunlight (gotta love the OLED screen!). The price appealed to me - it's not cheap, but the quality is unquestionable... Equally, it's not stupidly expensive (it just measures voltage after all!).

Just saying...

 

[MattBW]

Where did you fit it Daren?

 

[Daren_Chambers]

I've got a conversion - so don't have the same panels as a Cali, but I've put it in the small panel next to the rear bench seat (Cali triple) together with a double USB socket for the kids tablets on journeys. I'm fairy sure it's the panel used for the seatbelt mechanism on Kombi's (I hope that helps describe the location?)

It is small enough though to go in the panel at the bottom (rear) of the drivers/passenger seat - I toyed with idea of putting it there due to the proximity of my leisure battery.

 

[MattBW]

Nasa do a BM-1 which is about 100quid it's a Bluetooth monitor. They charge another tenner for the app the cheeky buggers lol.

Still works out cheaper than the Victron BT as I would need the bmv and the British module to get the same functionality.

The Nasa app looks like it was designed to look like a 90s website though.


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[MattBW]

It is small enough though to go in the panel at the bottom (rear) of the drivers/passenger seat - I toyed with idea of putting it there due to the proximity of my leisure battery.

That looks a nice monitor and very clear I just wonder if it's too deep for me to mount in the seat base as there is metal behind there.

I wonder the same about the victron though.

One that looks really nice is the Pico+


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[MattBW]

The Nasa one is compatible with my Apple Watch which is tempting


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[owen_h]

For a bluetooth voltage monitor I have been considering this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071ZB5V5X/?tag=eliteelect-21

appears to store voltage history to view later on the app.
My brother has a similar 'Battery Guard' (could swear this was mentioned before on this thread but seems to ave disapeared now) version on his sailing cruiser. Works fine but the history is only when you open the app and check the voltage. For him this isnt an issue as the battery is disconnected when he leaves the boat.

Also seen the Nasa BT voltage & current one, cheeky to charge that much for for the app.

 

[MattBW]

After weighing it all up. I have purchased the Nasa BM 1 Bluetooth version cost me about £90 from Cactus, They were cheaper than most other places and then used the saved cash to buy the app. I agree it's very cheeky to charge more for the iphone app but apparently its quite advanced in features compared to the android one.

It comes with a 100amp shunt, which means its an ammeter too and can monitor charging and discharging etc. The victron looks nicer but would have cost me almost twice the amount to get a similar setup (although I would have had a screen then too). In the end the apple watch function pushed me over the edge to buying it.

Its due to arrive today so once I have it I will let you know how I get on with it..

Looking at the app on the apple watch is quite a good idea and although the visual design of the app is a bit garish and old fashioned being able to just check my watch for my battery status is something I like the idea of.

 

[MattBW]

For a bluetooth voltage monitor I have been considering this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071ZB5V5X/?tag=eliteelect-21

appears to store voltage history to view later on the app.
My brother has a similar 'Battery Guard' (could swear this was mentioned before on this thread but seems to ave disapeared now) version on his sailing cruiser. Works fine but the history is only when you open the app and check the voltage. For him this isnt an issue as the battery is disconnected when he leaves the boat.

Also seen the Nasa BT voltage & current one, cheeky to charge that much for for the app.

I've also seen that Ctek do one too, I don't think they will manage amps though only the voltage as a general idea of condition.

That app for the Tonwon device looks a bit nicer designed compared to some. NASA seem to make good accurate kit but their designs are a bit stuck in the 80s/90s. Having it all hidden away and invisible was something I liked.

 

[JohnGuppy]

The Victron Battery monitor is far more than you require if you want to keep your battery topped up buy a solar panel and a Victron charger from roger and use the Victron app on your cell phone its fully automatic after a while you will stop looking at it because it will have fully changed the batteries and gone into float charge then people start jumping up and down thinking its not working just checked my 4 weeks data and the batteries are fully changed most days before 10am , the data tells you what you are using each day guess you could say plug and play or plug and forget

Just adding a battery monitor all its going to show you is a voltage going slowly down , then options are plug into 220v or go for a drive or run the engine with a solar panel its re charging all day so in some cases it will supply your needs
In my case no holes drilled or displays needed all tucked away above rear cupboard took less than an hour to install
Max-filx has posted pictures of his monitor software and shows battery fully charged and in float charge 10mw and there is no load being draw from the batteries

 

[MattBW]

Fortunately I already have a solar panel albeit a suitcase one not permanently fitted, and we use a compressor fridge which is why I wanted a monitor but without spending a fortune. I also drive the van daily so its generally about 80% and only worry about battery capacity when we are away camping. I have basic volt meters but they are pretty useless for telling actual battery capacity.

Two reasons I went for the NASA really.

• The Nasa BM Bluetooth worked out much cheaper than a Victron bluetooth setup would. Whilst probably not as slick (I would need a BMV700 £130 and a bluetooth module (£45) it will do the same job and the iOS app is more advanced than the android one. The app was 8.99 a bt cheeky but I paid £90 for the BM1 so that's £98.99 compared to about £175.
• I was unsure if a victron BMV screen (required for bluetooth module) the would fit cleanly in the seat base of the Beach as there doesn't appear to be enough depth behind there between the plastic trim and the battery so the Nasa as unsexy as it is will definitely fit as it has no screen yet offers all of the functionality of the Victron Bluetooth as far as I can tell. It has history functions and will get more accurate with time.
• The NASA app is ugly but it will send me a notification if my battery gets low and pop up on my phone and watch.

Watch screenshot not yet connected, can monitor the starter battery for voltage only as standard.

 

[LondonPride]

I know this is an old thread but I’m very much thinking of doing this too. How did you get on with it? And where did you install it? Would it stick to passenger seat facing the door?