Installing a victron 500a shunt battery monitor

[Ud56]

Wondering what size wire I should use going from shunt to battery. My TT is 30a. I have a 200ah lithium battery.

 

[Richpatty]

This should help. That being said, you can never go too heavy.

 

[Ud56]

This should help. That being said, you can never go too heavy.

Yes,but do I size wire to my 30a system or to the 500a shunt which I will never use that much.

 

[Richpatty]

Size it to your system. The 500 represents the max amps the shunt is designed for. I would use the largest wire that would accomdate any upgrades you might do to your battery system. What size wire was used for the ground wire? Maybe go one up from that.

 

[Ud56]

Size it to your system. The 500 represents the max amps the shunt is designed for. I would use the largest wire that would accomdate any upgrades you might do to your battery system. What size wire was used for the ground wire? Maybe go one up from that.

 

[Ud56]

Thank you. So my battery has a 200a bms so that’s the max I’d be able to pull out of the battery. Should I just size the wire to that or is that overkill? Do I need a fuse between the shunt and battery?

 

[Richpatty]

If your total battery bank is 200 amp, then size it to that or higher. I like over kill when it comes to cable, especially if the run is not long and it will not cost that much

A fuse should not be needed. Generally speaking, fuses are only put on positive feeds.

Hope this helps.
Rich

 

[Ud56]

If your total battery bank is 200 amp, then size it to that or higher. I like over kill when it comes to cable, especially if the run is not long and it will not cost that much

A fuse should not be needed. Generally speaking, fuses are only put on positive feeds.

Hope this helps.
Rich

Thank for taking the time to help. I think I may be overthinking the situation. I have a 30amp a/c service on my TT and a 200ah battery with a 200a bms. I do not have an inverter. I might add a second battery in the future. I was trying to size the wire to the shunt and not the system. There is no way I would ever be able to pull 500amps out of my TT. The most I figure if I turned on everything I possibly could turn on at once would be about 150amps. So in that case I should size the wire to that or one size bigger. Makes sense?

 

[Richpatty]

I agree, without an inverter, it is much less likely to pull that many amps. I don’t know what you have in your TT, but I would think the highest draw might be a slide motor as most other items would be lights or fans.

I still like the idea of going one size bigger for future proofing your system. And size it to the battery, not the system.

 

[Ud56]

I agree, without an inverter, it is much less likely to pull that many amps. I don’t know what you have in your TT, but I would think the highest draw might be a slide motor as most other items would be lights or fans.

I still like the idea of going one size bigger for future proofing your system. And size it to the battery, not the system.

I don’t have any slides. So if I size it to the battery to the 200a bms that’s the most I can pull. It will probably let me pull more though. I don’t know if I add. Second 200ah battery with the same bms does that mean I now can pull 200a from each battery or will the act as one? I put the question. To the battery manufacturer but haven’t heard back yet. So if I size to battery then I’m looking at 2/0 wire,correct. Thanks again and sorry to be a pain but I just want to get it right.

 

[Richpatty]

No worries at all. So if you don’t have slides, there are my not be any major draws in your TT to worry about. So 2/0 should be fine. And yes, you can add batteries together. If your one 200ah is a 12v battery (likely) you can add another 12v battery and double your amp hours. You put them in parallel, positive to positive and negative to negative.

See this link for a good picture: How To Wire Multiple 12V Or 6V Batteries To An RV

 

[Ud56]

No worries at all. So if you don’t have slides, there are my not be any major draws in your TT to worry about. So 2/0 should be fine. And yes, you can add batteries together. If your one 200ah is a 12v battery (likely) you can add another 12v battery and double your amp hours. You put them in parallel, positive to positive and negative to negative.

See this link for a good picture: How To Wire Multiple 12V Or 6V Batteries To An RV

Yes I realize that.what I was saying is will the two double my bms capacity of both or keep it at 200a? Which if it does then the highest draw possible out of the batteries would be 200a. I’m sorry but I like to have everything in order before I even start a project so not to have ques. Once I get into it.

 

[Ud56]

Yes I realize that.what I was saying is will the two double my bms capacity of both or keep it at 200a? Which if it does then the highest draw possible out of the batteries would be 200a. I’m sorry but I like to have everything in order before I even start a project so not to have ques. Once I get into it.

Also the wire in my rig now from the battery is either 6 or 8 gauge.

 

[Richpatty]

Yes I realize that.what I was saying is will the two double my bms capacity of both or keep it at 200a? Which if it does then the highest draw possible out of the batteries would be 200a. I’m sorry but I like to have everything in order before I even start a project so not to have ques. Once I get into it.

Two batteries (at 12v) will become 400ah of total capacity, which would double not only how many amps can be pulled at once, but also effectively double your capacity (How long you can bookdock, for example)

I need to make sure we are talking the same thing. Is your battery able to have a 200amp draw? Or 200 amp hours of capacity? Or both?

 

[Richpatty]

What model battery?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I have a question!
How far from the battery are you mounting the shunt?

 

[Ud56]

Two batteries (at 12v) will become 400ah of total capacity, which would double not only how many amps can be pulled at once, but also effectively double your capacity (How long you can bookdock, for example)

I need to make sure we are talking the same thing. Is your battery able to have a 200amp draw? Or 200 amp hours of capacity? Or both?

Both. It’s an amperetime 200ah. And a 200a bms

 

[Richpatty]

Both. It’s an amperetime 200ah. And a 200a bms

Ok. That works. I found the model online. That should do well for your TT, especially without an inverter.

Any other questions?

 

[Ud56]

What model battery?

It is a amperetime 200ah with a 200a bms

 

[Ud56]

Ok. That works. I found the model online. That should do well for your TT, especially without an inverter.

Any other questions?

No I’ve taken up enough of your time.