Nasa BM2 Battery monitors

[nornie lees]

Hi All, does anybody have one these instruments fitted, and do they work that well? Only im thinking of some sort battery monitor and would like the forums advice.

many thanks Ray

[landes_h]

Hi. I don't have the NASA BM2 installed (yet) but read a test about a number of those battery monitors (in German). The NASA was among the good ones, especially the low power consumption was good. Accuracy was also good.
I have some other projects going on but once I have solar panels installed I will also install the BM2.
It definitely comes at a attractive price.

[Stuart]

Hi Ray

I don't have any experience with the Nasa but just installed a Victron battery monitor. It was fairly easy to install, it came with all the wires and shunt you need, and set up was fairly straight forward.
I hope this helps.

[Ziffius]

NASA specifies lead acid batteries, victron doesn't mention battery type other than voltage etc. I was thinking of a nasa monitor myself but if I upgrade to gel batteries will it still work?

[battuta]

I just finished installing a Victron BMV700 on our 2009 Bavaria 31. Had to mail order purchase it from the UK (these new models are not slated to be in North America for another month or so). I did this in conjunction with a battery bank upgrade (four 6v deep cycle flooded lead acid Trojans for a total of 12v and 480Ah).

Can't say enough about how great the Victron is. Easy install, great interface (new for the 700 series), and nice looks. I'm pretty sure it's ok for AGM or gel batteries too, but not positive so best to check with them. The manual even mentions how to configure it for Li batteries (not sure when any of us will afford those).

You'd be happy with the Victron if it works on your system.

Riyad
s/v Battuta
Vancouver, Canada

[landes_h]

I may be totally wrong, but a battery monitor counts the Amps going into a battery and the Amps taken out of it. This happens regardsless of the battery type. It somehow is like filling a bucket with liquid, when its full its full. Whether its full of water or beer doesn't matter. You can only take out what is put in before. Same with respect to the battery type. When your battery is fully charged you set the Monitor to 100 %, now the Monitor has  a reference point and counts down or up, depending on the current direction.
Basically its a two way Amp meter with a computer which calculates current flow over time and direction.
I am not affiliated with Nasa, just explaining the principle of the equipment.!
At www.nasamarine.com you can download manual and installation instructions.

[CRYSTAL]

Exactly right. Victron is simple to install and no need to worry about batt type. It's excellent and if you got alarm inputs, BMV has relay with normally open relay. perfect to program alarm for either low voltage / amps!!! I'd say this is the best Plug'n Play boat device ever seen.

[nornie lees]

Hi All, NASA BM2 arrived today in post, ordered from Amazon Thursday afternoon. Will be fitting it next week, and will keep you informed about installation difficulties if any. By the way only £104.69 including postage.

rgds Ray

[Ziffius]

My wife refuses  to let me drill into any wood panels. Would be interested to know if there is a way to surface mount it without cutting a great big hold in a panel. The only other flat surface is occupied by a centrally located navtex - the composite corner dashboard.

[Symphony]

My wife refuses  to let me drill into any wood panels. Would be interested to know if there is a way to surface mount it without cutting a great big hold in a panel. The only other flat surface is occupied by a centrally located navtex - the composite corner dashboard.

I have a BM1 with the half size display unit which is surface mount.

[robgs]

Installed Link10 (and/or Xantrex) batt monitors on 2 boats. Very happy with performance and reliability. These measure amps in/out over time (amphours) and should be independant of batt type.

[nornie lees]

Fitting BM2,  i got mine yesterday in post and have now started building a teak wooded box, as i too didnt fancy cutting a huge hole in woodwork. The box will be similar size as overall dimensions and the thickness of BM2. So all we should see is a 30mm teak surround behind the BM2. Not sure about fixing yet  VELCRO, OR SCREWS.

Rgds Ray

[Ziffius]

I got the BM1 surface mounted one and fitted it in the corner on the carbon fibre, does a real nice job. Just trying to figure out what to set the battery capacity at. I have 2x140AH in the domestic bank but not sure how old they are. Also the went completely flat over the winter so may have suffered from sulphation. As a compromise I set the capacity at 230 AH but so far haven't had a chance for an extended cruise without shore power to evaluate.