Battery Controller and Monitor - Don't leave home without one!

mnmarkiemark

I can't say enough about how important it is to really know what's going on with your house battery. I installed the Victron 712 unit in our 2019 T@B 320 S and can say it is the best modification to date. Why? Simple - It gives us peace of mind. Being able to see on my smart phone exactly what the status of the battery is gives me the knowledge necessary to make good decisions on energy management. Here are a few photos of the installation.

I used a hole saw I cut through the panel just above the Alde Control Monitor. Then, after drilling the hole I fed a stiff wire up from the floor to that hole. It took a few tries but eventually I was able to tape the Victron cable to the lead and pull it through. Next step was easy, plug the cable into the unit and place it in the cutout. It was a very snug fit and to this day it's only friction holding it in place. 

mnmarkiemark

Now, what to do with getting that cable to the storage container on the trailer tongue where the shunt will be mounted? After poking around some I discovered the clear vent tube that I think is for the plumbing system. It goes through the floor right near the Solar controller. By forcing a small diameter rod along side that tube I was able to get a hole created that was large enough to get the cable through both the floor and the corrugated plastic bottom cover. Next I routed the cable back inside the plastic by removing one retainer strip. Then I fed the cable forward to where the waste tanks come through and too advantage of some opening, eventually feeding the cable end through one of the cutouts in the back of the storage box. This gave very little exposure of the cable to the outside environment. The black cable in the photo is for the battery charge controller/monitor.

 

mnmarkiemark

I installed the shunt next. Before this installation I didn't even know what a shunt was. Fortunately for me I have a neighbor who is a retired electrical engineer and he helped me understand how it works. I can't say it was exactly easy to do the hook ups, figuring out the best place to mount the shunt to get all the negative leads hooked up in any sort of organized way. I was concerned some about moisture getting at the connections and in the end made up a sort of deflector/cover for it. This phot shows the shunt after I got it hooked up. The next one is the makeshift cover I cobbled together to give is some protection. Pretty tight fit, eh?

mnmarkiemark

After looking at the photos I realized the black cable is actually for my wifi signal booster. The Victron cable is white and you can barely see it just to the right of the black one.

pthomas745

I think that clear tube is the drain for the airconditioner.

mnmarkiemark

You probably are right, I'm just guessing...