[Spruce]

You must have had your Victron battery monitor over a year now.

Now the novelity has worn off,  do you regularly use the battery monitoring software and charging/draw history much?  Or is your MPPT controller indicating float mode sufficient for you to know your battery is fully charged?

I'm thinking of upgrading my current voltage/amps combo gauge which just gives basic at the moment information. This has been fine  to date but I am trying to justify spending £190 for what could end up to be a forgotten toy in the back of the cupboard.

I would also have to instal the gauge in the back of the van. I have my drivers cabin separated from the cargo area by a solid steel bulkhead.

[P @ F]

Hi Spruce , Its all going very well , I have not had to remove the battery since the 15th January 2018 , this was when I got the Numax MF to replace my starter battery and run the system too .
The novelty has worn off with the software as such but i would not be without it now , it is very handy .
My battery voltage never seems to go down at all ! , dont forget that my alternator is not smart so i get a lot of juice from that , Im hardly ever out of float to be honest .

I have the Victron bluesolar 75/10 MPPT controller - £63 + vat .
Victron Bluetooth smart dongle  - £32 + vat .

 This then connects to an App on my iphone so no need for any seperate gauges or meters , every bit of info you could want is in yer pocket !
It also does a rolling 30 day history that you can send to PC to print should you want .

[Spruce]

Hi Spruce , Its all going very well , I have not had to remove the battery since the 15th January 2018 , this was when I got the Numax MF to replace my starter battery and run the system too .
The novelty has worn off with the software as such but i would not be without it now , it is very handy .
My battery voltage never seems to go down at all ! , dont forget that my alternator is not smart so i get a lot of juice from that , Im hardly ever out of float to be honest .

I have the Victron bluesolar 75/10 MPPT controller - £63 + vat .
Victron Bluetooth smart dongle  - £32 + vat .

 This then connects to an App on my iphone so no need for any seperate gauges or meters , every bit of info you could want is in yer pocket !
It also does a rolling 30 day history that you can send to PC to print should you want .

Thanks. Its always good to hear a good long term review.

I guess that once winter grips and your solar isn't bringing in much, you will more attentive to your battery's state of charge.

I thought you also had a Victron BMV712 battery monitor. I don't know where I got that from.

[CleanClear]

I thought you also had a Victron BMV712 battery monitor. I don't know where I got that from.

Alzeimers mate. You havn't got one. 

[P @ F]

To be honest i dont think the BMV thing will enlighten me any more than the dongle and app , I cant think of anything else which would require me to worry , as you know I run panels in series so if the day  is dull then I have the overvoltage to convert , it makes a fair difference on yield per day !
Also I have a 10 mile motorway drive to work and  then 10 back again when im done , I  park up in float every day !

Dongle/App gives you......

Panel volt/amp/watt in .
Battery  charge  voltage and amps going into it in realtime . 
Load being drawn as it happens in amps .
Maximum and minimum battery voltages each day .
Yield and consumption in Wh each day.
Max wattage in .
Max voltage in  .
Percentage breakdown of Bulk , Float and Absorbtion per day .
Total power collected since first set up in kWh.

Now ask me again if I need any more data to mull over 

[Spruce]

I thought you also had a Victron BMV712 battery monitor. I don't know where I got that from.

Alzeimers mate. You havn't got one. 

       I enjoyed that one