Electrical component brand compatibility?

[TeeCeeJay]

We don't have our van yet, but I'm trying to hoover up as much info as I can and plan our set-up from this great forum resource!. One thing is puzzling me though.

Is it important / required to have all the components for your electrical set up from the same brand? I guess it becomes more important if you're having loads of 'smart' and Bluetooth' components so that you don't have to have 5 different apps to see your solar, battery state, etc. and can see everything in one place?

Coming from a photography background I guess I'm used to being 'locked in' to a particular manufacturer if you want your lenses, flashguns and accessories to be compatible / work properly with your camera so I'm wondering if the same applied to batteries, MPPT controllers, DC-DC, shunts etc and everything else I'm seeing that gets put in to a leisure set up. Or is it ok to have a renogy battery with Sargeant DC-DC and a victron MPPT with an ebay bargain inverter (for example - not my set up and nothing purchased yet...)

Help and advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Pete C]

You can generally mix and match, and that’s what we started doing on our van. However we seem to be converging on Victron, as one App seems to cover all the bases.

Pete

 

[TeeCeeJay]

You can generally mix and match, and that’s what we started doing on our van. However we seem to be converging on Victron, as one App seems to cover all the bases.

Pete

Thanks, Pete, I was thinking that may be the case as i guess 'it's all just the same electricity' in the end?

 

[Dellmassive]

Mix and match as you like.

Unless you like to have all your kit under one app.

Like Renogy or Victron for example, some people like to have all the same and keep with one App.

Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.

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[TeeCeeJay]

Perfect, thanks @Dellmassive.
If we went for a battery with Bluetooth, would we still need a shunt as extra monitor, or would it depend on the level of details provided by the battery

 

[Dellmassive]

As you say it depends.

If your happy with the read out from your battery then that's fine.

Or if you're like me , you like the best monitoring then fit a shunt as well.

In my testing I found that the battery BMS can often drift out in various situations and the separate shunt has highlighted this.