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Remote battery monitoring


frahkn

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This question is simply but I need the answer in words of no more than two syllables.

 

Yesterday I was shown that you can see the state of charge of your batteries (also what your solar is putting in and perhaps other things) on your mobile phone.

 

I was not in a position to ask the guy how this was done but I'm sure someone on here can tell me. Perhaps the fact that this surprised me will give responders a clue about the required wording of potential answers!

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39 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I’d guess that it’s either a Mastervolt or Victron battery monitor with a Bluetooth module that talks to an app on your phone. 

So it couldn't be added to my old Sterling battery monitor?

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1 hour ago, frahkn said:

This question is simply but I need the answer in words of no more than two syllables.

 

Yesterday I was shown that you can see the state of charge of your batteries (also what your solar is putting in and perhaps other things) on your mobile phone.

 

I was not in a position to ask the guy how this was done but I'm sure someone on here can tell me. Perhaps the fact that this surprised me will give responders a clue about the required wording of potential answers!

Have you got a battery monitor, something named/branded Smartgauge, or NASA BM1 or BM2, or similar. If that means nothing to you, you need some kind of battery monitor. I have a NASA BM2 and a Smartgauge monitoring my lead acid bank, and a Victron BMV 712 monitoring my Lithium bank.

 

IMHO Smartgauge is very simple to fit and read, but is very dangerous unless you understand that it isn’t always telling you what you think it is telling you. 

 

My guess is is that the battery guy would have shown you your monitor if you had one, so you probably don’t.

 

There are expensive and more cost effective options so, if you let us know what you’ve got, or not got, someone will provide some info. A bit of a google around the above monitors may provide a bit of knowledge that may be helpful.

 

ETA I see you have a Sterling battery monitor. I don’t think they do one that is recognised as of much value. Can you identify the model, or post a pic. If itscwhat I think it is, it’s as much use as a chocolate fireguard :( 

Edited by Richard10002
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1 hour ago, frahkn said:

Yesterday I was shown that you can see the state of charge of your batteries (also what your solar is putting in and perhaps other things) on your mobile phone.

 

 

I'm reasonably sure it would have been the Victron BM702 he was showing you. There is a Bluetooth accessory you can buy to read it from your phone. 

 

 

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If its using Bluetooth then its not really 'remote' monitoring, a few metres at most, and probably won't work if you are outside the boat. What would really be useful is something operating over the net so you can monitor the boat  batteries from home, or for that matter, half way round the world.

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47 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The OP didn't ask about remote monitoring. Nick was the first to introduce that!

 

 

 

No he wasn't. Remote monitoring is in the OP's title, and he also mentioned being able to see SoC on his mobile phone. 

Edited by blackrose
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2 hours ago, David Mack said:

If its using Bluetooth then its not really 'remote' monitoring, a few metres at most, and probably won't work if you are outside the boat. What would really be useful is something operating over the net so you can monitor the boat  batteries from home, or for that matter, half way round the world.

What are you able to do when you see the batteries have a problem, fading fast due to failed cell for instance. I suppose you could order another cocktail from your sunbed somewhere half a world away. Life is to short,  KISS means you can enjoy your cocktail in the sun.

 

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1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

No he wasn't. Remote monitoring is in the OP's title, and he also mentioned being able to see SoC on his mobile phone. 

OK, I am talking about monitoring at a distance, i.e. over the internet.

 

My only "source" at present is my Sterling battery management display which apparently is too old to be retrofitted with wi-fi.

 

I'm only a half-wit on the subject of wi-fi/smart phones, I can manage (more or less) with the rest?.

 

So, what is the simplest (to install) monitor which will give me the facility to monitor it remotely? I currently have an old (2003) Mastervolt combi so would the be advantages in adding a Mastervolt monitor?

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34 minutes ago, frahkn said:

So, what is the simplest (to install) monitor which will give me the facility to monitor it remotely? I currently have an old (2003) Mastervolt combi so would the be advantages in adding a Mastervolt monitor?

 

Why ?

 

Detling asks a very relevant question :

 

35 minutes ago, Detling said:

What are you able to do when you see the batteries have a problem, fading fast due to failed cell for instance.

 

If you are on the boat you don't need remote monitoring, if you are 200 miles away, how do you respond to a battery overheat / overcharge / undercharge alarm ?

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Why ?

 

Detling asks a very relevant question :

 

 

If you are on the boat you don't need remote monitoring, if you are 200 miles away, how do you respond to a battery overheat / overcharge / undercharge alarm ?

Well I recently had a battery problem - you helped me out with it. So as I do not live on the boat, I would feel happier if I knew what was going on.

 

I am only 35 miles away and am retired so perhaps I could get to the boat in time to minimise the damage.

 

My post crossed with Detling's so I didn't see it - by the way I don't think I have had a cocktail in my life, beer, wine, Islay malts but not a cocktail.

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If you have a victron battery monitor i.e. theBMV 713 then you can hook it up to a device like the victron Venus GX which can then be connected to the router on your bote and accessed from a mobile phone when in the pub.

The snag is that the Venus gx costs around 250 squid. You can however if you are clever, replace the Venus gx with a raspberry Pi loaded with the victron firmware .....which is wot I do. It cost me around £60. £40 for the Pi and £20 for the cable. 

The data you access is stored on the Pi and also on the Victron server. Another benefit is that you can easily see if the shore power goes off on the bote or if it is just the router rebooting.

 

 

eta... do a search on Venus gx and Dr Bob and you should find a thread about a year ago with the details. PM me if you need more details. It is not as difficult as it looks .....remember, I am a muppet!

Edited by Dr Bob
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5 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

If you have a victron battery monitor i.e. theBMV 713 then you can hook it up to a device like the victron Venus GX which can then be connected to the router on your bote and accessed from a mobile phone when in the pub.

The snag is that the Venus gx costs around 250 squid. You can however if you are clever, replace the Venus gx with a raspberry Pi loaded with the victron firmware .....which is wot I do. It cost me around £60. £40 for the Pi and £20 for the cable. 

The data you access is stored on the Pi and also on the Victron server. Another benefit is that you can easily see if the shore power goes off on the bote or if it is just the router rebooting.

 

 

eta... do a search on Venus gx and Dr Bob and you should find a thread about a year ago with the details. PM me if you need more details. It is not as difficult as it looks .....remember, I am a muppet!

Alas I have a Mastervolt combi (and an old one - 2003 - at that), my battery monitor is a Sterling.

 

I would be happy to spend £250 if it provided me with what I need - which is above all, simplicity.

 

I've looked at your old thread previously and must assume that some muppets are more electronically sophisticated than others - and that even the others are more advanced than me.

 

Could you give me a clue, given what I currently have, what is the simplest (it needn't be the cheapest) solution for me?

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7 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Why ?

 

Detling asks a very relevant question :

 

 

If you are on the boat you don't need remote monitoring, if you are 200 miles away, how do you respond to a battery overheat / overcharge / undercharge alarm ?

 

You can't respond but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that the batteries have died remotely. ?

 

But if you're on shore power with a charger on then unless something trips then why would the batteries not be on charge? 

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I can text the boat to ask it what the battery voltage is. But in reality I only do it to check that the system that allows me to text the boat to find out the battery voltage, is still working. Ie very rarely.

Edited by nicknorman
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3 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

You can't respond but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that the batteries have died remotely. ?

 

But if you're on shore power with a charger on then unless something trips then why would the batteries not be on charge? 

I have the problem that if shore power trips - even briefly or even if a fellow moorer turns it on again - my boat's rcd nearly always trips as well. This is something that has happened in three marina's now so it's me, not the shore power.

 

As I spend periods of up to two months off the boat at a time, this happens more often than you would imagine.

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5 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I can text the boat to ask it what the battery voltage is. But in reality I only do it to check that the system that allows me to text the boat to find out the battery voltage, is still working. Ie very rarely.

And, after a year or so, I might be the same. I would just like to have the opportunity to do so.

 

This may be a passing fit of enthusiasm, I only found out that it was possible yesterday, but the knowledge of what I need to achieve it can't hurt me.

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8 hours ago, frahkn said:

Alas I have a Mastervolt combi (and an old one - 2003 - at that), my battery monitor is a Sterling.

 

I would be happy to spend £250 if it provided me with what I need - which is above all, simplicity.

 

I've looked at your old thread previously and must assume that some muppets are more electronically sophisticated than others - and that even the others are more advanced than me.

 

Could you give me a clue, given what I currently have, what is the simplest (it needn't be the cheapest) solution for me?

You will need the following.

A Victron BMV. The 712 defo works. The cheaper 702 might work (we can check with the Venus GX manual) so that is £120-£200 ish ....not sure of current prices.

A rasp Pi..Mark 3......plus charger plus Microsoft card <£50 or if you want it simple a Venus gx (£250)

A Venus connect cable £25

A cable to your router...hard wiring is better.

A router.

I assume you have the last 2.

Can be done for under £250 but more if you go for the Venus gx.

PM me if you want to see ours. (Warwickshire).

Note. If the power goes off then the router goes off so you will see no data. If the router is set for a daily reboot...mine is, you know the power has failed if the data doesn't reappear later in the day.

 

If all you want to do is check if the shore power is on then Nicks method of texting is likely the best, cheap phone with e-robot app. It texts you if the 240V goes off or back on again. £40 phone from Asda.

You only need the more expensive solution if you want to see and record all your battery data.

 

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1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

You will need the following.

A Victron BMV. The 712 defo works. The cheaper 702 might work (we can check with the Venus GX manual) so that is £120-£200 ish ....not sure of current prices.

A rasp Pi..Mark 3......plus charger plus Microsoft card <£50 or if you want it simple a Venus gx (£250)

A Venus connect cable £25

A cable to your router...hard wiring is better.

A router.

I assume you have the last 2.

Can be done for under £250 but more if you go for the Venus gx.

PM me if you want to see ours. (Warwickshire).

Note. If the power goes off then the router goes off so you will see no data. If the router is set for a daily reboot...mine is, you know the power has failed if the data doesn't reappear later in the day.

 

If all you want to do is check if the shore power is on then Nicks method of texting is likely the best, cheap phone with e-robot app. It texts you if the 240V goes off or back on again. £40 phone from Asda.

You only need the more expensive solution if you want to see and record all your battery data.

 

Thank you very much for all the effort you have made.

 

Clearly I need to do some research before I can even contribute to the conversation!

 

One thing though, given your point (highlighted and which I should have thought of myself), is the following a cheap solution?

 

Could I buy a cheap wi-fi linked camera and point it at my battery monitor - even if the picture was dodgy at least I would know that if it went off then the shore power had failed.

 

I can cope with these cameras as we have one at home for when we are on the boat.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, frahkn said:

Thank you very much for all the effort you have made.

 

Clearly I need to do some research before I can even contribute to the conversation!

 

One thing though, given your point (highlighted and which I should have thought of myself), is the following a cheap solution?

 

Could I buy a cheap wi-fi linked camera and point it at my battery monitor - even if the picture was dodgy at least I would know that if it went off then the shore power had failed.

 

I can cope with these cameras as we have one at home for when we are on the boat.

 

 

Yes that would be as good as anything. A cheap £50 camera would be fine.

 

Make sure you have your router set to auto reboot every day (or on a 'ping' failure) as I find ours only goes 3 or 4 days when off the boat. Most 'loss of power' on ours in the  past was the router freezing.

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Not sure if this link will work, but Victron seem to offer a "free" remote monitoring system.

 

https://vrm.victronenergy.com/landingpage

 

This, plus a BMV 712 might do the trick for under £300?

 

https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-systems-remote-monitoring/ve-direct-lorawan

 

 

Edited by Richard10002
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1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

Not sure if this link will work, but Victron seem to offer a "free" remote monitoring system.

 

https://vrm.victronenergy.com/landingpage

 

This, plus a BMV 712 might do the trick for under £300?

 

https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-systems-remote-monitoring/ve-direct-lorawan

 

 

Thanks, the link worked for me.  More research is needed.

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