installing Bogart Trimetric Question

The Trimetric is generally used with 2 shunts (other shunts can also be used):

1. 500A/50mv Maximum recommended continuous current: 410 Amps.
2. 100A/100mv Maximum recommended continuous current: 70 Amps.

The Trimetric defaults to the 500A shunt and needs to be programmed for a 100A shunt.

And the shunt becomes a fuse when there is a short? :@ Better than the alternative. :C

My shunt is mounted directly on the AGM batteries with a copper bar. The cable connected directly on the battery post is for a parallel battery. This setup would not be recommended for flooded batteries due to their corrosive vapors.

Will,

As you are dealing with a Truck Camper and have no plans for a big inverter, I would recommend the 100 amp shunt. If you read Bogart's papers, you will find that the 100 amp shunt is actually a 200 amp, 100mV shunt. This will make it safe for a lot of uses. The higher signal level is easier to manage. In my installation, I have to have the 500a shunt because it can cross connect to the main engine start battery. This has caused some minor inconvenience as I have been fighting a phantom load that indicates about 1 amp. You have to realize that this is a 1 MICRO VOLT offset signal and very difficult to locate.

Matt

BTW if the shunt is overloaded it will conveniently act like a fuse.
Don't need to ask how I know ;)

towpro wrote:
This is going into a Slide-in Truck camper. Two 27 series AGM batteries. 45 amp on board charger, solar will be between 200-280 watt (installed at a later date). I do have a Honda Generator as well.

I am going with Bogart 2030 RV, and later the Bogart Solar controller. But now I need to know should I go with the 100A shunt of 500A shunt?

500a sounds like a lot, and I would appropriate the extra digit on load display using the 100A shunt. Which one should I use?

I have nearly the same configuration as you do and installed a 100A shunt for my battery monitor system. I have 225Ah battery bank and my charger also maxes out at 45A and the Inverter portion is 750 Watts... only running the entertainment system....no MW oven, or other high current outlets.

That said, another issue not mentioned is the robustness of the connections to that Shunt. My particular battery monitor system provided a rather physically puny shunt... I did not like fastening my rather large #2 battery cable terminals to the shunt with it's provided small bolts. So instead I shopped around and bought the same specification shunt from a high quality provider ( Simpson ) and now have strong solid connection to my shunt. Thus, I would recommend you get the 500A shunt for this reason, if no other.

CA Traveler wrote:
The lower voltage drop of the 500A would be my choice. Most of the time when I look at the voltage there is some rig load anyway so 0.1V accuracy is OK.

actually, the voltage drop is likely the same for either. It is only the current handling ability that is different. In any case, the voltage drop is only 50 or 100 milli-volts.....nothing to bother even considering.

Hi,

I have a 500 amp shunt with a 0.050 volt drop at 500 amps, so the voltage drop is insignificant at 100 amps, or 0.10 volts, or only a fraction of one volt while at the normal 5 - 20 amp load in your camper..

Just because it is rated at 500 amps does not mean your battery can supply that many amps, or that you might ever use that many, just that the shunt will not melt at 400+ amp load going through it!

I would recommend the 500 amp shunt, as you 'might' go over 100 amps from time to time.

Good luck,

Fred.

I had no plans on going with a power inverter bigger than what is required to charge a laptop.
for anything bigger load I could fire up the Honda 2000. But why rope yourself into something smaller than you need. Guess I will go with the 500.

Thanks.

Looks like I already have the 500A shunt



Here is a picture of the three shunts Bogart offers. Mine looks like to top one.

http://www.bogartengineering.com/content/accessories

remember also when you use the dash switch to bridge the chassis battery to help with starting all that current will go thru your shunt. It is quite likely a 100 amp shunt may not handle this load.

Thank You! Glad I caught this post!