Victron BMV 712 Smart Battery Monitor with Bluetooth

A video showing the components, functionality and set up procedurefor a Victron BMV 712 Smart Battery Monitor with Bluetooth connectivity

[@getubelogin]

I've watched dozens of videos on KZbin about programming Victron battery monitors including those produced by Victron, but this video is by far the BEST by a considerable margin. A very clear and precise explanation, thank you very much.

[@todddunn945]

Geoff, I am pleased that you found the video informative. I try to make things like this clear and it is gratifying that you found it so useful. I guess that a career as a professor explaining technical stuff to students paid off for me. I am retired now.

[@bigpapaporsche1]

@@todddunn945 I second the comments, excellent! I installed my BMV 712 yesterday and was having problems understanding how to set the parameters and using the Monitor itself. After your video I better understand the system, Thanks!

[@todddunn945]

@@bigpapaporsche1 I am glad I was able to help you. Thanks for watching the video.

[@ToddM452]

Great video! I agree with others.

[@robr9905]

A lot of 712's out there but not many excellent videos on the "setup" details. Thanks for the help.

[@todddunn945]

Thanks for the kind comment. You are very welcome.

[@chrisxib]

My compliments for the explanation. You managed to pass more information than the manufacturer himself. Keep it up!

[@todddunn945]

Thanks for the kind words. I try to make things clear. Sorry for the delay in responding. For some reason KZbin no longer tells me when comments are posted.

[@googlinstuff8910]

Note that the data cable is RJ12, not RJ45. Great explanation by the way - just what I needed.

[@todddunn945]

OK

[@bobsmit7490]

You taught me a lot with out treating me like I was stupid. Thanks

[@todddunn945]

I am pleased to hear that you found the video useful.

[@wobby1516]

Have to agree this is far and away the most informative video I’ve seen, brilliant 🙏 now I feel I can go set my Victron shunt with confidence.

[@todddunn945]

Glad to provide you with useful information. Thanks for watching.

[@videodue]

Ottima spiegazione

[@todddunn945]

Thank you.

[@sandylee1717]

I have purchased a camper with this installed. Problem is it won’t let me in because it wants the old owner passcode. Any idea how to reset it for my new info?

[@todddunn945]

The default pass code is 000000. I would try that first in case the former owner never changed it. Other than that all I can say is either 1) contact the former owner, 2) contact Victron, or 3) look around to see if the former owner wrote the code in the manual somewhere. Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

[@darrelahles9522]

Very 9Big help. Answered many of my questions in a very clear presentation.

[@todddunn945]

I am glad you found my video helpful and it is gratifying to hear that my explanations were clear. Thanks for watching.

[@manfredmurschall7999]

Hi, great video. Very detailed and full of informations. Next week I wil get my bmv 712. Thanks for the explanation.

[@todddunn945]

Glad you found it useful.

[@jeffgrier8488]

It looks like that has enough functions and capabilities to keep someone busy for awhile, I know I could mess with it endlessly.

[@todddunn945]

Yes, it is useful when it comes to figuring out how much power different appliances use and what the state of your batteries is.

[@donjacoby8581]

Good info but I was hoping you would show how to wire it. Do you have a link to the wiring? Thanks

[@todddunn945]

It is in the manual. The wiring is very simple. Connect the negative wire from the battery to the shunt and then all other negatives to the other side of the shunt. Connect the small positive wire from the shunt to battery positive and finally plug the signal cable into the shunt and into the display.

[@rvilhunen]

Very useful information to learn how to setup your system. Thank you!

[@todddunn945]

You are very welcome. Thanks for watching the video.

[@plowboy6636]

always impressed by your knowledge....Thanks for the video

[@todddunn945]

You are very welcome.

[@sphan7660]

非常详细 Very detailed, thank you sir!

[@todddunn945]

Thank you. I hope it was useful to you.

[@johnmachter40]

@19:24 how did you determine your charging efficiency to 89.2%? thanks, great video

[@todddunn945]

I used the shunt to measure amp-hours drawn from the battery and the charge controller to monitor how much energy was put back in to get to float charge.

[@ek9772]

Nice presentation I was looking forward to setting up the relay, but it was skipped 😞

[@todddunn945]

Sorry about that. I am not using the relay so have no experience with it.

[@ek9772]

@@todddunn945 thanks 😊

[@todddunn945]

@@ek9772 you are welcome.

[@mumzilla2014]

We have a solar system Including the Victron Bmv .. we are now connected to shore power but the app is saying the batteries are drawing -17 watts ?.. what could the issue be ??

[@todddunn945]

It is hard to say without knowing the details of your system. Do you have a "shore power" based charger? Do you have an inverter that is on? My first thought is simply that you are using more power than your charging system is providing. For example, if your shore power based charger can provide 30 amps (about 420 charging watts for a 12 volt battery system) and you are drawing 440 watts from the system the BMV would read -20 watts since you are using more power than your charger can supply. My second thought is that you are not charging, but have your inverter on in standby mode and you are looking at the amount of power the inverter draws just by being on with no loads (a reason to turn the inverter off when not using AC from the batteries). I can't be more specific without knowing the details of your system.

[@JeffinTD]

Excellent video. I’ve used Bogart monitors before, but this one’s blue tooth features look great.

[@todddunn945]

I have been very satisfied with mine over the nearly two years I have had it. Victron now makes a cheaper version without the display that only has data available via bluetooth. It costs about $130.

[@JeffinTD]

@@todddunn945 I’ll probably opt for the one with the display. I often camp in areas with no cell service, so there will be times that glancing at battery level by my control panel will be handier than booting a cell phone. I do wish they offered a waterproof shunt, but it shouldn’t be too tough to route the required cable into a compartment near the batteries in my application.

[@todddunn945]

@@JeffinTD actually you don't need cell service. I keep an old phone on my boat to use its bluetooth to get the readout. That phone has not been on a plan for 3-4 years.

[@JeffinTD]

@@todddunn945 Yeah I suppose that would work. I usually bring my phone, but shut it down to keep it from blowing through the battery, and I think for me it might be handiest to have the panel display plus Bluetooth. BTW what kind of range does the Bluetooth have?

[@todddunn945]

@@JeffinTD Bluetooth range depends on where the unit is located. In my home the signal reaches all of the first floor where the unit is and also all of the second floor. It doesn't make it to the second floor. On my boats the signal is everywhere.

[@garyferguson1552]

Great Video Mr. DUNN Could you explain a little on the wiring of the temperature sensor. I am in the process of doing the wiring of my 712 as we speak.

[@todddunn945]

The temperature sensor is pretty easy to wire. Connect the sensor itself to the + lead of a battery. The two wires then are connected to the shunt as black to B1 on the shunt and red to B2. The temperature sensor replaces the power wire between the (+) battery and the shunt.

[@roam2beborn323]

Great dude, thanks

[@todddunn945]

You are welcome.

[@robthomas6773]

Thank you Todd your video was a great help

[@todddunn945]

You are welcome Rob. Glad my video was useful to you.

[@health101DOTorg]

Todd, great video! If I don't want the Bluetooth signal on all the time, is there a way to turn it off?

[@todddunn945]

Hi, thanks for the comment. I just checked, yes you can turn bluetooth off either from your phone or from the display. From your phone go to the setting mode. Once in settings mode touch the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the display, then select product info. That will open a screen in which you can turn bluetooth off. I think that if you turn bluetooth off from your phone you will have to use the setup function on the display unit to turn it back on. I have not done that so I don't know how to do it. Note, that if you turn bluetooth off, any networking between instruments that you have set up will also be turned off since bluetooth is used for networking between smart instruments.

[@arieljudge250]

Thanks Todd. Could you tell me how to make sure the system knows you have lithium batteries.

[@todddunn945]

Ariel, I have no actual experience with lithium batteries so I defer to what Battle Born Batteries says (they make Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries). What you do is go to the set up mode and put in the settings listed on this web page - battlebornbatteries.com/configure-victron-bmv-700-bluetooth-dongle/ The instructions are for the BMV 700, but will be the same for the BMV 712. Note - it won't hurt the batteries if you get a setting wrong, but it will give erroneous % capacity outputs. I hope this helps.

[@arieljudge250]

Todd Dunn Thanks for your reply. We found help here (just FYI if you are interested). kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXq5lpmcfdaLq5Y

[@fry5family]

Thank you for your videos. I have this 712 and a 150/70 charge controller for three 325 watt panels we just installed on the roof of our RV. Although I have selected Fahrenheit in the application for the BMV712, and it shows in the app every time I open the settings page, the display only shows Celsius. The 150/70 (which is networked in) also shows Celsius. What can I do to get the apps to display Fahrenheit?

[@todddunn945]

I had the same issue, but after a day or so it switched to Fahrenheit. I have no idea why. I may have set the temp to F in both the 712 and the charge controller, but am not sure. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[@alaska-bornfloridaman]

My only question is: how do you know when your two 170ah lithiums are at true 100% charge when the charge controller isn't very accurate, and the BMS system on the batteries prevent full charge?

[@todddunn945]

The charge controller is not a factor although your BMS may impact things. This unit uses a shunt to measure current flow into and out of the battery. You can also enter battery round trip efficiency (combined charge/discharge efficiency), which is typically in the 92-99% range. So basically the BMV 712 monitors power in and out and uses that to calculate charge state. Victron has a default LFP profile, or you can use data specific to your batteries to set up the parameters used to determine state of charge. I am sure you can find a detailed article on the Victron web page about setting the BMV-712 up for LFP batteries. Note, that my knowledge of LFP batteries is academic since I have never owned one.

[@alaska-bornfloridaman]

@@todddunn945 Well, thanks for the response, Todd. It does help. 👍

[@Broxine]

Awesome explanation

[@todddunn945]

Thank you.

[@Buszzbait69]

Great explanation on the 712. I just connected mine to my lithium’s. I’m in the middle of installing the multiplus 3000 watt inverter. Nothing is hot yet to the batteries except the shunt and the temperature is reading -1C when I know the temp is more in the 40’s. F. I also changed the setting to read Fahrenheit and still reading Celsius. Any advise? Thanks

[@todddunn945]

I am glad my video was of use to you. When I changed my 712 to Fahrenheit it took a few minutes to switch over to F, but it did after a while. Are you using the hard wired temperature sensor or trying to get temp from a bluetooth temp sensor for the charge controller via the network?

[@Buszzbait69]

Todd Dunn it finally changed over this morning. Had it hardwired in the shunt. No charge controller yet. Will be switching out my zamp to a Victron. Thanks for the reply!

[@johnjacobson5550]

Great Todd, I am thinking about whether to install BMV 712 monitor or add a Victron 2000 w inverter. Would the inverter have all this information on a display by itself without installing the 712 monitor?

[@todddunn945]

John, an inverter would not display the state of charge information for your batteries. The BMV 712 monitors watts in and out of the batteries to keep track of the current energy stored in the batteries An inverter might display the battery voltage, but that does not tell you how much energy you are using or how much you have left in your batteries. That is what the 712 does. I hope I answered your question.

[@johnjacobson5550]

@@todddunn945 Great Todd, thanks. For now I think we will just install the BMV 712 monitor to keep track of our two lithium ion batteries. We do not really need a big inverter.

[@ek9772]

Here is some information that might be of use: For Rolls Surette LEAD batteries: ONLY THREE MODES ARE IMPORTANT (BULK, ABSORPTION, FLOAT) IGNORE ALL OTHER MODES SUGGESTED BY CHARGERS FOR BULK MODE: Bulk mode is 2.45 - 2.50 volts per cell In Bulk mode you reach ONLY 80% charge. FOR ABSORPTION MODE: Absorption mode is 2.45 - 2.50 volts per cell & Time of absorption More on time of absorption below. Many chargers will change from a blinking light to a solid light when Bulk mode is complete, and users think the charging is done. So users stop the charge process. This would be incorrect. The process has completed only the Bulk mode, and it is about to enter Absorption mode. This is all the change in LED lights show. However, the most important mode is Absorption mode. DO NOT TURN IT OFF. It is imperative that the Absorption mode be completed at least once per week. Otherwise, you are undercharging your batteries. Time of absorption = 0.42 x (C / 20) / (Nominal current) Time of absorption = 0.42 x (C / 20) / (I) 0.42 is the assumption that you will loose between 50% to 60% of your overall charging current. It is not related to the depth of discharge C / 20 = The battery capacity at the 20-hour rate Nominal current = nominal charging current while in bulk mode. Usually will de-rate the maximum current by 20%. Take an actual current reading. Example: 500 Ah battery bank @ 48-volts 1,000 watt PV array: 21-amps peak; 15- to 18-amps nominal 2,000 watt PV array: 41-amps peak; 30- to 35-amps nominal 3,000 watt PV array: 62-amps peak; 50- to 55-amps nominal 0.42 x (500 Ah / 18 amps) = 11.7-hours or 11-hours and 40-minutes 0.42 x (500 Ah / 35 amps) = 6-hours 0.42 x (500 Ah / 55 amps) = 3.82-hours or 3-hours and 49-minutes FOR FLOAT MODE: Float mode is 2.19 - 2.20 volts per cell (1.5% to 2% of C / 20 for 60-minutes) Your batteries will loose capacity below 77°F, but with care they can recover. Your batteries will loose cycles above 77°F. This is permanent. You left the default temperature coefficient at 0 in the miscellaneous menu. Your battery manufacturer will have a slightly different temperature coefficient.

[@todddunn945]

Every battery type is different. However, since this is a battery monitor, the bulk absorption and float settings are not a factor. You need to be aware of those when setting up your charging system.

[@CG-kf5vh]

Nice video, thanks. Incidentally, I want to install it in my 2018 Dodge GC. The car has an inverter that provides 110V to and outlet in the cabin where I usually connect my laptop and use it for four hours. I’ve ran out of battery charge a couple of times. I forget to start the engine. Apparently Dodge did not deem it necessary to include an automatic inverter shut-off, for when the battery voltage drops to a voltage that will not be sufficient to start the engine. My question is; when installing the shunt, do I have to change how the inverter is connected to the car? Also, could I leave the display in the engine compartment? I don’t have space inside where to put it and the Bluetooth interface would be more than enough. Thanks.

[@todddunn945]

It sounds like you have your inverter wired to your start battery. That is not a good idea since starting batteries are designed to provide short, high current bursts of power (starting the engine) , not low continuous draws. Drawing a starting battery all the way down a few times will destroy it. I strongly suggest that you add a second deep cycle battery to run the inverter. Connect the second battery to the starting battery with an automatic charging relay. That will allow the alternator to charge both batteries, but will isolate the "house" battery from the starting battery when the inverter is in use and the engine is not running. As far as connecting a Victron BMV 712 battery monitor is concerned. Connect the shunt between the battery negative post and everything else. The inverter negative connection goes to the side of the shunt away from the battery. You can put the display anywhere you want. The wire to connect it to the shunt is almost 33' (10 m) long. I would not put it in the engine compartment because it could get wet there and the connections are not waterproof. I hope this helps.

[@JeffinTD]

Old post, but I would add that if you do decide to add a deep cycle battery to your vehicle, you might consider a dc to dc charger as opposed to a charging relay. Deep cycle batteries require a higher absorption voltage than start batteries to avoid sulfate build up, so a car’s starter battery charging system does not attain this voltage, but a dc/dc charger will accomplish this. Lastly, many modern cars have a smart alternator, which essentially reduces the time when the charging system is active and results in an even lower voltage most of the time, which would greatly decrease the efficiency of a paralleling charge relay. Hope that helps.

[@blancoazcracker365]

what setting would you use for pure lead carbon batteries?doesnt the mppt have all the same info?

[@todddunn945]

The battery monitor requires the size of the battery bank in amp-hours and the peukert coefficient for the particular battery type. Those two values will be on the batteries (amp-hr rating) and in the battery manufacturer's literature (Peukert coefficient). Those values will allow the monitor to generate accurate capacity percentages. To get a meaningful time remaining from the battery bank you need a discharge floor. That will typically be in the 50% range for flooded lead acid batteries, perhaps a bit lower for sealed AGM or GEL batteries. Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries will typically have a discharge floor of 15 to 20% (i.e., 80-85% discharged). I am not familiar with lead carbon batteries, but Firefly carbon foam batteries give their 80-100% which is a discharge floor in the 0-20% range. However to get maximum life the discharge floor should be the ame as flooded lead acid batteries (50%). The Firefly battery data sheets give data that can be used to calculate the Peukert coefficient using the formula in the Victron battery monitor manual. I hope this answers your questions.

[@garyferguson1552]

Hello Mr. DUNN I just open my temperature sensor package there was a yellow tag on the red and black wire stating caution BMV 702 only! The part number on the package is *ASS000100000* HQ1822 Victron Energy. Would this be the same part number you used on your 712?? Thank you for your reply on my last question

[@todddunn945]

As far as I can tell from the Victron web page the 702 and 712 use the same temperature sensor. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[@garyferguson1552]

@@todddunn945 that's great Mr Dunn . Thank you very much for the reply!!! It was a great help.

[@Chris-74]

What if you have a Main (Car) Lead acid battery, and an AGM Deep Cycle battery, can it determine the two types of battery ?

[@todddunn945]

These systems monitor current in/out versus time. A monitor can monitor one battery bank. If you have two different types of battery in the bank you would have to enter a capacity for the entire bank. It would work fine at first, but the two batteries would age differently so the bank's capacity would change over time which would make the monitor inaccurate. It can monitor either battery alone. The system does not determine what sort of battery you have, you enter battery information during setup. I hope I answered your question.

[@Chris-74]

Thank you Todd, answered it perfectly for me, thank you Sir 😊

[@Broxine]

Actually "Tail current" is used to find the point on which the victron mppt charger switches from the absorption to float voltage (assuming both devices are in the ve smart bluetooth network) See here for an in depth explanation www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/new-victron-mppt-firmware-223988.html Its important for improving asid lead battery life

[@todddunn945]

Thanks. Posting this sort of video actuates learning both ways.

[@Broxine]

Todd Dunn i see it the same way 🤝

[@MrRloucks]

RJ45? Isn't that a RJ11?

[@todddunn945]

I just checked the documentation. It says it is an RJ12.