Battery monitor comparison: Victron BMV-700 versus Basic battery monitor

Are you looking for a good battery monitor for your electric boat? On this page, P&E LOWLANDS compares two battery monitors: the Victron BMV-700 series and the Basic battery monitor. This will give you a better picture of the options and help you make the right choice.  

The ideal battery monitor for ELCO

Our blog ‘WHICH BATTERY MONITOR TO CHOOSE?’ shows that a capacitance meter that works with a shunt resistor to measure current will reflect the current battery status (State of Charge, SoC) of your ELCO electric propulsion system most accurately. Other essential parameters you’ll want to see are voltage (V), current (A) and capacity remaining (Ah). The right monitor is also resistant to wind and weather and is easy to handle. And last but not least, it has to offer good value for money.

 

Battery monitor: Victron BMV-700 series

The Victron BMV-700 series is by far the most widely used battery monitor on electrically powered vessels. P&E Lowlands supplies this product with ELCO motors as standard. It is a reliable and accurate battery monitor that we can integrate perfectly into Victron’s advanced systems. However, for some electric boat owners it is only important to have a correct estimate of the battery capacity remaining. For them, P&E LOWLANDS looked for and found a cheaper alternative to the Victron BMV-700 with the same basic functions: the Basic battery monitor.

 

Battery monitor: Basic battery monitor

With the ‘Basic battery monitor + shunt (350A)’, P&E LOWLANDS offers a battery monitor that meets all the requirements above. This alternative costs half as much as the better-known Victron BMV-700. The Basic battery monitor has the same basic functionality. But why, then, do you pay so much more for the Victron BMV-700? The overview below makes it clear.

In terms of hardware, the setup is exactly the same for both battery monitors: the shunt resistor is placed between the battery and the ELCO motor, on the negative side. A power cable is connected to the battery’s positive terminal, and the shunt is connected to the display with a signal cable. The quick start guide indicates that the user must enter the battery capacity in both cases. This ensures that synchronisation is done with fully charged batteries. The video below briefly demonstrates the configuration of the Basic battery monitor:

Battery monitor with detailed setup menu

 

The difference between the two monitors is in the extra functionality of the BMV-700. The advantage of the BMV-700 is that this battery monitor also features a detailed setup menu, which makes it possible to fine-tune the monitor according to the battery technology used. For example, this Victron battery monitor has a relay that activates when either the charge status or the battery voltage drops below a set value. The VE.direct communication port reads out the data. And the non-volatile memory keeps track of several parameters such as the number of cycles, deepest discharge, and cumulative discharge. You can read out these parameters with free Victron software using the VE.direct to USB cable. For a complete overview of the interface options, please refer to the product information sheet.

 

No deviations in the state of charge.

 

Finally, with its extensive setup menu, the BMV-700 enables you to adjust the Peukert exponent depending on the battery technology used (1.25 by default). The same applies to charging efficiency (95% by default) and the depth of discharge (50% by default). In the tests P&E LOWLANDS conducted with AGM batteries, we did not experience any deviations in the state of charge of either monitor when we connected them to the same ELCO propulsion.

 

We have listed everything again below:

	BASIC BATTERY MONITOR	VICTRON BMV-700
Current (A)	yes	yes
Voltage (V)	yes	yes
Capacity (Ah)	Capacity remaining	Capacity used
State of Discharge (%)	yes	yes
Remaining sailing time (h)	no	yes
Consumption (Watts)	no	yes
Quick installation menu	yes	yes
Detailed setup menu	no	yes
Current measurement shunt resistor	350 A	500 A
Precision current measurement	+/- 1%	+/- 0.4%
Input voltage range	8.0 V – 100.0 V	6.5 V -95 V
Signal cable: Shunt - Display	5m (shorter/longer on request)	10m (RJ 12 cable)
Programmable alarm	no	yes
Programmable relay	no	yes
VE.Direct communication port	no	yes
History	no	yes

Battery monitor advice

 P&E LOWLANDS supplies both battery monitors along with ELCO electric propulsion. The choice is yours. For questions, please contact us. We’ll be happy to advise you on battery monitoring. If you wish, we can demonstrate the differences between the battery monitors at your location. If you would like to experience what it’s like to navigate with an ELCO motor first, request a free trial run.