Victron energy BMV-600HS User manual

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Precision Battery Monitor
BMV-600S
BMV-600HS
BMV-602S

Copyrights 2010 Victron Energy B.V.
All Rights Reserved
This publication or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any
purpose.
For conditions of use and permission to use this manual for publication in other than the
English language, contact Victron Energy B.V.
VICTRON ENERGY B.V. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING
THESE VICTRON ENERGY PRODUCTS AND MAKES SUCH VICTRON ENERGY
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE SOLELY ON AN “AS IS” BASIS.
IN NO EVENT SHALL VICTRON ENERGY B.V. BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR SPECIAL,
COLLATERAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH
OR ARISING OUT OF PURCHASE OR USE OF THESE VICTRON ENERGY PRODUCTS.
THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY TO VICTRON ENERGY B.V., REGARDLESS OF
THE FORM OF ACTION, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE
VICTRON ENERGY PRODUCTS DESCRIBED HERE IN.
Victron Energy B.V. reserves the right to revise and improve its products as it sees fit. This
publication describes the state of this product at the time of its publication and may not
reflect the product at all times in the future

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1 QUICK START GUIDE
This quick installation guide assumes the BMV battery monitor is
being installed for the first time, or that factory settings have been
restored.
1.1 Lead acid batteries
The factory settings are suitable for the average lead acid battery.
(flooded, GEL or AGM). The BMV will automatically detect the nominal
voltage of the battery system (for this a charge current has to flow
through the shunt into the battery), so in most cases the only setting
which needs to be changed is the battery capacity (Cb).
Please install the BMV in accordance with the installation guide.
After the fuse has been inserted in the positive supply cable to the main
battery, the BMV will display the voltage of the main battery.
(When using a shunt other than the one supplied with the BMV, please refer to
section 3.2)
When a charge current is applied, the BMV will automatically detect the
nominal voltage of the battery system.
If the rated capacity of the main battery is 200 Ah, the BMV is ready for
use.
To change the battery capacity, please proceed as follows:
a. Press the setup key for 2 seconds. The display will show: Cb 0200 Ah
b. Press the select key. The left hand 0 will start blinking.
Enter the desired value with the + and – selection keys.
(If the desired value is 0, ie battery capacity less than 1000 Ah, go directly
to c)
c. Press the select key again. The next digit will start blinking.
Enter the desired value with the + and – selection keys.
Repeat this procedure until the required battery capacity is displayed.
d. Press the setup key during 2 seconds to confim: blinking will stop.
e. Press the setup key again during 2 seconds to go back to the normal
operating mode. One off the normal operating mode readouts will be
displayed: see table below.

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The BMV is now ready for use and the + and – selection keys can be
used to select the desired read-out:
1.2 Synchronising the BMV
For a reliable readout, the state of charge as displayed by the battery
monitor has to be synchronised regularly with the true state of charge of
the battery. This is accomplished by fully charging the battery. In case of
a 12 V battery, the BMV resets to “fully charged” when the following
“charged parameters” are met: the voltage exceeds 13.2 V and
simultaneously the (tail-) charge current is less than 4.0 % of the total
battery capacity (e.g. 8 A for a 200 Ah battery) during 4 minutes.
The BMV can also be synchronised (i.e. set to “battery fully charged”)
manually if required. This can be achieved in normal operating mode by
holding the + and – buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds, or in setup
mode by using the SYNC option (see sect. 3.4.1).
Label
Description
Units
V
Battery voltage:
this readout is useful to make a rough estimation of
the battery’s state-of-charge. A 12 V battery is considered empty when
it cannot maintain a voltage of 10.5 V under load conditions. Excessive
voltage drops for a charged battery when under heavy load can also
indicate that battery capacity is insufficient.
V
VS**
Starter battery voltage
(BMV 602S)
:
this readout is useful to make a
rough estimation of the starter battery’s state-of-charge. V
I
Current:
this represents the actual current flowing in to or out of the
battery. A discharge current is indicated as a negative value (current
flowing out of the battery). If for example a DC to AC inverter draws 5
A from the battery, it will be displayed as –5.0 A.
A
CE
Consumed Energy:
this displays the amount of Ah consumed from
the battery. A fully charged battery sets this readout to 0.0 Ah
(synchronised system). If a current of 12 A is drawn from the battery
for a period of 3hours, this readout will show –36.0 Ah.
Ah
SOC
State
-
of
-
charge:
this is the best way to monitor the actual state of the
battery. This readout represents the current amount of energy left in
the battery. A fully charged battery will be indicated by a value of
100.0%. A fully discharged battery will be indicated by a value of 0.0%.
%
TTG
Time
-
to
-
go:
this is an estimation of how long the battery can support
the present load until it needs recharging. h

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EN NL FR DE ES SE IT PT
1.3 Commom problems
No signs of life on the display
Probably the BMV is not properly wired. The UTP cable should
properly inserted at both ends, the shunt must be connected to the
minus pole of the battery, and the positive supply cable should be
connected to the plus pole of the battery with the fuse inserted.
Charge and discharge current are inverted
Charge current should be shown as a positive value.
For example: +1.45 A.
Discharge current should be shown as a negative value.
For example: -1.45 A.
If charge and discharge current are inverted, the power cables on the
shunt must be inverted: see installation guide.
After pressing the setup key the display does not show “Cb” in the left
hand corner
Go back to normal operating mode by pressing the setup key during
2 seconds.
If not successful: try pressing the setup key again during 2 seconds.
When back in normal operating mode, repeat the procedure as
described in sect.1.1.
The BMV does not synchronise automatically
One possibility is that the battery never reaches the fully charged
state: this will dramatically reduce service life!
The other possibility is that the charged voltage setting should be
lowered and/or the tail current should be increased.
See sect. 4.3.
1.4 Li-Ion batteries
In case of Li-Ion batteries, several settings may have to be changed:
see sect. 5.

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2 FULL SETUP AND USAGE DETAILS: INTRODUCTION
2.1 Victron Energy battery monitor basics
The BMV Precision Battery Monitor is a device that monitors your
battery status. It constantly measures battery voltage and battery
current. It uses this information to calculate the actual state of charge
of the battery.
The BMV is also equipped with a potential free contact. This can be
used to automatically start and stop a generator, or signal alarm
conditions.
2.2 Why should I monitor my battery?
Batteries are used in a wide variety of applications, mostly to store
energy for later use. But much energy is stored in the battery? No one
can tell by just looking at it.
The lifetime of batteries depends on many factors. Battery life gets
reduced by under-charging, over-charging, excessively deep
discharges, discharges which go too fast, and a too high ambient
temperature. By monitoring the battery with an advanced battery
monitor like the BMV, important feedback is given to the user so that
remedial measures can be taken when necessary. This way, by
extending battery life, the BMV will quickly pay for itself.
2.3 How does the BMV work?
The main function of the BMV is to follow and indicate the state of
charge of a battery, in particular to prevent unexpected total discharge.
The BMV continuously measures the current flow in and out of the
battery. Integration of this current over time (which, if the current is a
fixed amount of Amps, boils down to multiplying current and time)
gives the net amount of Ah added or removed.
For example: a discharge current of 10 A during 2 hours will take
10 x 2 = 20 Ah from the battery.

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EN NL FR DE ES SE IT PT
To complicate matters, the effective capacity of a battery is dependent
on the rate of discharge and, to a lesser extent, on temperature.
And to make things even more complicated: when charging a battery
more Ah has to “pumped’ into the battery than can be retrieved during
the next discharge. In other words: the charge efficiency is less than
100 %.
About battery capacity and the rate of discharge:
The capacity of a battery is rated in Amp-hours (Ah). For example, a
battery that can deliver a current of 5 Amps during 20 hours is rated at
C20 = 100 Ah (5 x 20 = 100).
When the same 100 Ah battery is discharged completely in two hours,
it may only give C2= 56 Ah (because of the higher rate of discharge).
The BMV takes this phenomenon into account with Peukert’s formula:
see section 4.3.4.
About charge efficiency:
The charge efficiency is almost 100 % as long as no gas generation
takes place. Gassing means that part of the charging current is not
transformed into chemical energy that is stored in the plates of the
battery, but used to decompose water in oxygen and hydrogen gas
(highly explosive!). The “Amp-hours” stored in the plates can be
retrieved during the next discharge whereas the “Amp-hours” used to
decompose water are lost.
Gassing can easely be observed in flooded batteries. Please note that
the “oxygen only” end of charge phase of sealed (VRLA) gel and AGM
batteries also results in a reduced charge efficiency.
A charge efficiency of 95 % means that 10 Ah must be transferred to
the battery to get 9.5 Ah actually stored in the battery. The charge
efficiency of a battery depends on the battery type, age and usage.
The BMV takes this phenomenon into account with the charge
efficiency factor: see section 4.3.4.

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2.4 The different battery state-of-charge display options
The BMV can display both the Amp-hours removed (compensated for
charge efficiency only) and the actual state-of-charge (compensated
for charge efficiency and Peukert efficiency). Reading the state-of-
charge is the best way to monitor the battery. This parameter is given
in percentages, where 100 % represents a fully charged battery and
0 % a completely flat battery. You can compare this with a fuel-gauge
in a car.
The BMV also estimates how long the battery can support the present
load (“time-to-go” readout). This is actually the time left until the battery
is completely discharged. If the battery load is fluctuating heavily it is
best not to rely on this reading too much since it is a momentary
readout and must be used as a guideline only. We always encourage
the use of the state-of-charge readout for accurate battery monitoring.
2.5 Features of the BMV
The BMV is available in 3 models, each of which addresses a different
set of requirements. The supported features of each model are
outlined in the following table.
BMV-
600S BMV- 600HS BMV- 602S
Comprehensive monitoring of a
single battery
• • •
Basic monitoring of a second
(starter) battery
•
Use of alternate shunts
• • •
Automatic detection of nominal
system voltage.
• • •
Suitable for high voltage systems.
•
Serial communications interface
(PC-Link).
• • •