Victron BMV 700 battery monitor and CTEK Dual 250SA

[Easyeieio]

I'm planning on installing the Victron BMV 700 battery monitor (Victron BMV-700 Multi-Function Battery Monitor (1 Battery/Bank)) in my new camper conversion. I really love the idea of measuring the current draw and the charge from my solar panels / charger etc etc I've always had Masterlink BTM monitors on my boats, but these are crazy money, so I've decided on the Victron BMV 700 over others like the NASA BM1 etc due to reputation and better reviews really ( and I prefer the aesthetics of the Victron)

It works by using a shunt installed between the negative post of the battery bank and the “load”

So I will directly connect the shunt to the negative terminal of the battery, then every other negative in the 12v leisure circuit will be connected to the other side of the shunt. Nothing else will connect to the battery negative terminal including no earth to chassis.

As I wont be using the chassis as the earth, all 12v negative connections will need to come back to the shunt (or a bus bar connected to the shunt) rather than using local earths. Means longer cable runs, but I prefer it this way as I think as it makes things easier to diagnose in the event of any problems.

The negative of the CTEK Dual 250SA will also therefore be connected to the shunt, as well as the negative of my solar panels and inverter.

Just thinking out loud really on this post!
Have I missed anything, and does this make sense?
Will the CTEK B2B charger definitely work ok in this set up?
Any other thoughts / problems I might encounter ?

Cheers!
Ian

 

[Deaky]

I had a BM1 on my old van. I seemed to spend more time fretting about the damn battery than enjoying myself camping

I'm not having one this time

 

[drew_greenday]

I have this fitted to my conversion and yes as @Deaky says I do spend a bit of time ‘worrying’ about the battery use. I do keep an eye on it but it is very useful.

I have it connected from the negative of my battery to the earth busbar which then goes to the vehicle earth. This works fine and anything switched on will show a reading on the battery monitor. Have a look at my build thread for some pictures.

 

[DaveyB]

Looking to put the Victron in my van when my leisure electrics are improved in a couple of weeks time.

 

[travelvolts]

You will have to ground the shunt for the Dual to be able to work otherwise it will not have a complete circuit from the vehicle battery. Try and mount the BMV at eye line as viewing off axis is not very good, especially in low light when not using the menu button.