Victron EnergySmartShunt IP65 Battery Monitor (Bluetooth) - Victron Smart Shunt - 6.5V-70V, 500 amp

Victron products are pricey, but you get what you pay for! I have this and two of their solar controllers networked together. The networking feature allows all of the pieces to work in unison for the best charging and least damage. I was reluctant to plunk the cash down on the shunt, but I would do again in a heartbeat. It provides so much visibility into what's going on with my power consumption. It reduced my power anxiety so much I could enjoy camping off-grid again! :)

The Victron works great in my RV monitoring two 200AH Redodo batteries in parallel after 19 months of usage. I tripped a breaker running my 15k BTU Dometic Air Conditioner and it took me days to find the 200 amp high current breaker that was buried behind the inverter and fat battery cables. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t seeing current through the Victron until I discovered the breaker that I forgot I installed on the positive cable. The lesson is trust the Victron and trace the wiring before you panic!

Easy to setup works as advertised

Update (4/10/23): Added this in "energy monitor" mode, before the inverter. Also added a 3-D printed cover to the top of the shunt (STL available on printables{dot}com).Update (2/12/23): Current inventory of VE products: (2) 100V/50A, (2) 100V/30A, (1) 100V/20A, (1) SmartShunt IP67 (newer), (1) SmartShunt (older), (1) BatterySense. Best feature is the VE.Smart networking feature, which allows the components to work together to optimize charging of the battery bank.Summary: This is the newest version of the SmartShunt, and the biggest improvement is the IP65 rating made possible by the conversion of external wire connections to pre-connected wires.Current solar/PV system specs: 4kW of panels (most are 100W panels); 24-volt, 21kWh marine AGM battery bank; 3500W inverter; VE SmartSolar MPPT controllers: 20A (one), 30A (two), 50A (one); battery sense monitor (one).Observations: Currently have the previous version of the SmartShunt 500A, and use that for a subset of the battery bank. One of Victron's best features is the ability to network the controllers together, so that you don't over charge your batteries. I am running four (4) VE MPPT controllers, and 75% of the panels feed into those, but I have a few other test MPPT controllers as well, so having the capability for the VEs to stop charging (absorption and float) is very important to prevent over charging your batteries.Recommendation: If you're trying to determine whether the extra $30 for the IP65 is warranted, it really comes down to whether you need a highly waterproof solution. For a vehicle mount, that would be extra assurance that your shunt doesn't get flooded and stop working. Victron is very good about firmware updates, and the technology in shunt monitoring hasn't really changed, so from a current monitoring perspective, I do not foresee any different performance between the two.Pros: IP65 rating; bluetooth (SmartSolar); VE iPhone/iPad app works well; VE networking.Cons: built-in wires cannot be modified (shortened/lengthened); at time of review, the IP65 version is $30 more than the previous version.Conclusion: At $160, rating this 5-stars.Related Products:Victron Energy SmartShunt 500 amp Battery Monitor (Bluetooth) ~ $1314.6 out of 5 stars 1,888 ratings | 163 answered questionshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0856PHNLXVictron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100V 30 amp 12/24-Volt Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth) ~ $2124.8 out of 5 stars 1,029 ratingshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZJ3L13Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100V 20 amp 12-24-48 Volt Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth) ~ $1604.8 out of 5 stars 1,668 ratings | 220 answered questionshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B075NPQHQKVictron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 Charge Controller ~ $3254.7 out of 5 stars 735 ratings | 140 answered questionshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZJ43L1Victron Energy Smart Battery Sense Long Range (up to 10m) ~ $394.7 out of 5 stars 336 ratings | 67 answered questionshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RTYGMBD

I am a fan of Victron. The products are well design/made and easy to instal and setup. The shunt provides great information on charge, current used, and battery temp (and I bought the temperature add on) and safety for a reasonable price and takes up a small space. Initially, I did not have battery BMS's that gave me information, so this worked well on providing a state of charge and discharge and power consumed and temperature of the batteries . Now that I have the batteries with BMS's that report their individual charge, discharge and temp, it is not as important but still good. In this new battery scenerio case, the shunt and BMS the BMS did not agree on the state of charge when the the batteries reported they each had 78% capacity and the shunt said 62% but I just needed to recalibrate the shunt when it was at 100% capacity. Also, if you put a AC/DC charger or solar chargers (I have a Victron), it does not seem to recognise the increased voltage... . There are some setup features of the shunt battery setup that I have not researched, so this may be compensated by those values.

Great product

A great Item. Easily installed but more information should be included in the installation guide included, A link to the owners manual would be helpful plus information about entering the specifics of the battery (s) that are connected,

Excellent build quality and easy to set up. Also purchased optional temperature sensor. Provides needed information on battery state of charge and very accurate. Setup for lithium battery banks requires some online resources that are provided by manufacturer. Provided quick guide is very minimal.