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Lion Lithium Batteries / Added SmartShunt installation

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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    Hello Everyone.   I have not completed the Smartshunt installation but I am very close.  Honestly I have not put a lot of time in it yet either.  I am happy to share links of anything I am using if someone has an interest.  Yes, I have heard about Bluetooth signal weakness with the SmartShunt in the 2021 metal tub.  So far I have only heard of it and not read about it firsthand. I will give it a try myself and take my chances for the moment.  I purchased an IP65 rated water tight/resistant enclosure from Amazon for $17.  That houses the SmartShunt.  I also purchased some nylon cable glands for the cables to enter and exit.  I purchased some stainless steel hardware to mount the box in the tub and the SmartShunt mounted inside the box.  I am using split washers so the hardware holds better and once done I have some Loctite thread locker so nothing comes loose easily.  My T@B goes through some rough roads often.   I am quite techy with a good electronic and electric knowledge, capabilities and experience.  I will post some pictures here very soon.

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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42



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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    The wire is just common #8 stranded THHN from the Lowes hardware store.  The 320 appears to use #10 so I am over rated.  The smaller the number the heavier (thicker) the wire size or guage. 
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Yes, metal is going to shield a Bluetooth signal and cause interference.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • MarcelineMarceline Member Posts: 1,610
    Denny16 said:
    Yes, metal is going to shield a Bluetooth signal and cause interference.
    cheers
    My smartshunt is mounted inside a metal boondock tub. The signal seems to be somewhat limited compared to what I ordinarily expect from Bluetooth but I can check my battery from ~20-30’ away which is fine for my purposes. 
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    Denny16 said:
    Yes, metal is going to shield a Bluetooth signal and cause interference.
    cheers
    I am well aware that it will be attenuated but not interference as far as an intact or complete signal.  The enclosure is made from aluminum not steel so I expect it’s attenuation properties to be less.  I am not an RF engineer by any means but I do have more RF practical experience than most. 
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited August 2020
    By interference, I meant limited range of the signal. Glad you are able to get reception in a 20- foot or so area.  Can you read the phone display whilst inside the TaB?

    Cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    Interference would be caused by something active like another active device emitting a signal that would interfere with it.  As material, like aluminum, that is inactive would attenuate (reduce) the strength of the signal.  
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  • MarcelineMarceline Member Posts: 1,610
    Denny16 said:
    By interference, I meant limited range of the signal. Glad you are able to get reception in a 20- foot or so area.  Can you read the phone display whilst inside the TaB?

    Cheers
    Yes, I can connect to the SmartShunt while inside my trailer or inside my TV, so the signal strength is sufficient for my purposes. 
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    edited August 2020


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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    edited August 2020
    Success!  As Marceline mentioned, more than adequate signal inside my 320. The images above were from my phone inside the T@B.  I made sure everything was closed in the tub so it would be accurate.   I would have done it earlier but it is not easy sometimes to find small parts in Jackson Hole, WY.  If you attempt to do this yourself make sure you leave the solar feeding the battery direct and only interrupt the feed to the load center inside.   That is the lead running through the battery shut off switch.  The solar does not.  You can see a roughly 3.5 amp draw from the refrigerator and radio on standby.  I realize I likely have to adjust some of the settings a bit later.
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  • mrdeepfryguymrdeepfryguy Member Posts: 73
    @jt4 @marceline General question. New 320s owner as of 2 months ago. Battery and electrical novice. Learning from this forum site. Have the 2021 Boondock with solar. Dealer offered to throw in a second 24 Interstate battery and solar adaptor plug, so I took him up on it. As I learn more, maybe I should have upgraded to 2 6V AGM, but didn’t know any better at the time. Victron Smartsolar app working well for us  but thinking about adding the smart shunt for better monitoring. Wife has CPAp with 12v plug for camping so we don’t want to run out of juice or ruin the batteries in general.

    looking at Victron documentation on line, it appears the Smart Shunt can be wired to monitor midpoint of two batteries, or to monitor a second battery. Any help on best way to handle this would be greatly appreciated.
    2021 320 S Boondock / 2018 Toyota 4Runner / NE Ohio
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Set up the Victron to monitor a second battery, mid-point is for two 6VDC batts in series.  You can wire your two 12VDC batts in parallel, (positive to positive and negative to negative with no 4 jumper wires.  This will double your available amps, and Bob’s your Uncle.  ;)
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • mrdeepfryguymrdeepfryguy Member Posts: 73
    @Denny16 Thanks , sounds pretty simple. Will attach in same manner as @JT4 (thanks also). Uncle Bob died in 1991, is that the guy you are referring to ???
    2021 320 S Boondock / 2018 Toyota 4Runner / NE Ohio
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited August 2020
    No, sorry to hear your Uncle Bob passed.  Bob’s Yours Uncle is an expression meaning This will work or you are good to go.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • mrdeepfryguymrdeepfryguy Member Posts: 73
    @Denny16   haha ... thought for a second you were some sort of trolling genealogist ! Never heard that saying before, won’t forget it going forward. That’s for the Victron tips.
    2021 320 S Boondock / 2018 Toyota 4Runner / NE Ohio
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  • MarcelineMarceline Member Posts: 1,610
    mrdeepfryguy said:
    @Denny16   haha ... thought for a second you were some sort of trolling genealogist ! Never heard that saying before, won’t forget it going forward. That’s for the Victron tips.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_your_uncle
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    And that is the rest of the story...
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • mrdeepfryguymrdeepfryguy Member Posts: 73
    Funny funny stuff, thanks for the enlightenment 
    2021 320 S Boondock / 2018 Toyota 4Runner / NE Ohio
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  • kbdigitiqekbdigitiqe Member Posts: 163
    Super helpful! Thanks @JT4 and @Marceline!

    I’m ordering the 170ah Renogy this week and so excited!
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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    The only time I have heard this comment is from 3 people from California (including here) and it’s been in the last year. Never heard it before.  

    I’ve been an Administrator of 4 different forums (woodworking and Pleasant Valley Teardrops) for over 14 years with members from around the world (a lot in England) and never heard it!  There must be a resurgence of the saying from years past. 

    Of course, there’s the term “Uncle” meaning “have it your way, I quit” or similar. When typed on the forum, everyone “got it” except the person it was directed to. I explained it to him. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • jgram2jgram2 Member Posts: 1,522
    @Verna Both John and I brought that saying to our marriage! He’s from Kansas and I’m from Iowa. Neither of us has an uncle named Bob!
    John, Judi, Guinness & OD in PDX
    T@Bit@t 2015 S Max Outback, ‘18 V6 4Runner 


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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    I picked it up from my Great Uncles when growing up in northern Calif., and neither of which was named Bob, and I would always reply — “But I do not have an Uncle Bob!”
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • kbdigitiqekbdigitiqe Member Posts: 163
    @JT4 did you have to use M10 rings on the Smartshunt terminals or did 3/8" work? Thanks!
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  • JT4JT4 Member Posts: 42
    kbdigitiqe said:
    @JT4 did you have to use M10 rings on the Smartshunt terminals or did 3/8" work? Thanks!
    I bought some pricey terminals from Advance Auto Parts.  I realize I over paid but I just wanted them right away rather than sourcing them elsewhere at a better cost.  I know they were not exact size but with the washers included with the shunt they made great contact.  I can tell you what diameter they are because I have one still sitting in the cup holder of my car.  I will follow up shortly.


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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    The 3/8ths cable connectors that were on the battery post and the one I added both worked with the included Shunt washers on my TaB.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • kbdigitiqekbdigitiqe Member Posts: 163
    edited August 2020
    Hey @JT4 (and @Denny16) I just got my system all installed same as yours and it's great! I'm curious why you wired up the solar direct to the battery bypassing the shunt? I did the same thing, but I'm not sure now if the battery monitor portion of the app is showing the correct info on the "input" section at the bottom? Meaning does the solar negative have to run through the shunt in order for the Victron UI to show its input or does it "know" from just being tied to the battery posts? 

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  • jkjennjkjenn Member Posts: 6,398
    Verna said:
    The only time I have heard this comment is from 3 people from California (including here) and it’s been in the last year. Never heard it before.  

    I’ve been an Administrator of 4 different forums (woodworking and Pleasant Valley Teardrops) for over 14 years with members from around the world (a lot in England) and never heard it!  There must be a resurgence of the saying from years past. 

    Of course, there’s the term “Uncle” meaning “have it your way, I quit” or similar. When typed on the forum, everyone “got it” except the person it was directed to. I explained it to him. 
    I huge Canadian Youtuber seems to have brought it back into the mainstream.

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited August 2020
    @kbdigitiqe, Yes, you wire the MPPT solar positive wire directly to the battery, the negative goes to the shunt, and the solar panels go through the MPPT and it talks to the Shunt Monitor via Bluetooth.  You can setup a network between the two units.   
    Edit:  The MPPT negative should be wired to the shunt, not directly to the battery.

    This is what mine looks like, the white wire going to the buss bar on the right is the MPPT negative (-) wire and the small red wire on the left going behind the battery from the positive terminal is the MPP + wire:

    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • kbdigitiqekbdigitiqe Member Posts: 163
    edited August 2020
    @Denny16 awesome thanks! Now I just have to figure out how to “connect” the two ??

    EDIT: figured it out! you just create a new network under the VE.Smart Networking tab and then join that existing network from both devices. Then it tells you what info they are sharing, very cool
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