Victron Solar Configuration for Specific battery Type(s)

[RAW]

Would there be a shunt that would integrate into the PI OS ? Not sure what a hall effect sensor is (learning needed, google)
I will try and figure it all out and maybe when I have more £$£$ look at doing the swap out on controllers as you have suggested

Many thanks
Robert

 

[wildebus]

Would there be a shunt that would integrate into the PI OS ? Not sure what a hall effect sensor is (learning needed, google)
I will try and figure it all out and maybe when I have more £$£$ look at doing the swap out on controllers as you have suggested

Many thanks
Robert

The shunt is the physical device. then you need the device to read the data - that is the monitor (so the BMV in the case of Victron).
The Venus System is essentially a method to collate the data from the various devices.

Here are a couple of screenshots of the Venus system on the Van install I did recently to illustrate:

This is the System, running on a Pi with the Solar Controller installed and no BMV Monitor fitted

Head Unit with Remote Console by David, on Flickr
The only info the Pi has on the battery is the voltage, as provided by the Solar Controller
(the reason the PV is showing negative is that I had a device connected to the LOAD output on the MPPT and no solar panels fitted)

And a later photo after the BMV was added

Head Unit running Venus Remote Console by David, on Flickr
Now the BMV is connected, the Battery SOC is shown, the power used by the DC system is known and the charger going into the Battery is known. (The Pi knows how much the solar is putting in (37W) from the MPPT; It knows from the BMV how much power is going into or out of the battery (19W) and so can calculate from the difference how much is being used by 12V Devices (18W)

To know the AC input and output requires Devices that can be connected to the Pi as well - so an Inverter with VE.Direct for example, or a Multiplus Charger/Inverter with its VE.Bus connection. Victron have just brought out a Mains Charger that can be connected to the Venus OS but it is a silly price for what it does.

 

[RAW]

Ah yes, very good, I can see now that it's all sort of modular, having installed the software on my windows machine and watched this video

As you say then without the BMV in the mix you cannot determine the information from the Battery that is SOC
It is a real shame that Venus OS does not support BT but perhaps if I added a Bluetooth BMV to what I have now and then installed the Victron Software from here on a specific BT enabled machine I would get all the info I needed and that would leave the PI out of the mix for now. That would also mean that I would only have to pay out on that one part - The BMV Smart
Having just watched the Promo Video I notice the BMV smart has a VE direct port so then that could go into the PI as well potentially for even more monitoring ?

Does that make sense ?

Cheers
Robert

 

[RAW]

Dear David

Have sent you an email about the BMV in your store
Cheers
Robert

 

[RAW]

And so the story goes on...
After careful consideration I have decided to link front and rear leisure batteries together and so this is in testing phase with a switch to halt the current flow

Having run long 6mm cables from rear to front and attached them at front, they are unattached at rear for testing I am now seeing this
So when I have the Van turned on 12V at rear I get this reading on multimeter 0.23 A

This is what the reading is on the Victron app at a similar time

Then if I start the Van I get current flow from the Alternator via the Split charge relay back to the rear battery 0.38 A


So my question is, that having different batteries in Front and Rear, new in Rear 160AH and older 70AH in front. Will I seriously degrade the new battery running the set-up like this ?
Any ideas ?
Robert