Knock off of Victron battery monitor @a 1/3 of the cost.

[Brad Wilf]

Originally Posted by richard5933

To me the only similarity to the Victron is that is purports to monitor your batteries and it has a similar shape.

Kind of like saying that Yugo and a Mercedes both have 4 wheels so they must be equivalent.

Sorry - but I've got the Victron and just looking at the photos there's no comparison.

The difference is going to come down to quality and reliability.

Have you used or tried any of the "other" brands, or do you have viable information that Victron is the "only one"? OR insert battery brand here are the only ones.

Just because it isn't a Mercedes, doesn't mean its a piece of junk, or do you drink that cool-aid?

It's a battery monitor...it's not rocket science. Amps in, amps out, battery reserve..etc etc. It's not really a high piece of technology .

I've made it many years with out a battery monitor (how did I manage)
this is my first kick at a AH monitor..we'll see how it plays out, for $70 cad I think I can roll the dice.

I will be more than happy to report if the monitor craps out, I have nothing invested in the game.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Brad Wilf

Have you used or tried any of the "other" brands, or do you have viable information that Victron is the "only one"? OR insert battery brand here are the only ones.

Just because it isn't a Mercedes, doesn't mean its a piece of junk, or do you drink that cool-aid?

It's a battery monitor...it's not rocket science. Amps in, amps out, battery reserve..etc etc. It's not really a high piece of technology .

I've made it many years with out a battery monitor (how did I manage)
this is my first kick at a AH monitor..we'll see how it plays out, for $70 cad I think I can roll the dice.

I will be more than happy to report if the monitor craps out, I have nothing invested in the game.

I did try a few no-name knock offs early on and decided that the quality was just not up to the level I felt comfortable with. Once I got the Victron, it became clear what was missing on the knock offs.

Of course Victron is not the only decent brand out there. I never said it was the "only one". The original post made a statement that this thing looked like an exact knock off of the Victron and asked what was he/she missing. That's what I was addressing.

Would one of the knock-off monitors be able to do the job? Probably. Is the quality going to be the same? Unlikely. Customer service? Probably not. To me the lack of frustration from using products from a known brand with a known customer service standard is worth the extra money. Not everyone feels that way, and that's okay.

[Don Juane]

Originally Posted by richard5933

I did try a few no-name knock offs early on and decided that the quality was just not up to the level I felt comfortable with.

Richard, you just have to let people learn the hard way. I could win a contest as America's Number One Miser and I've lost a good $90 on three junk battery monitor purchases in the past. It took me a while but as a Victron owner I am glad that the experimenter and miser in me wasted all that money on the cheap Chinese stuff because only now do I have the true appreciation level to realize what quality equipment means. Had I not banged my head against the wall trying to make those predecessors work properly, I would never have known the level of quality that I gained with the Victron. I am also glad I was humble enough to realize my mistake and go with something reliable, especially when thinking of something as important as a battery monitor, and especially for someone like me who full-times and boondocks 98% of the time.

So I say let people continue to find their bargains and learn the hard way. Sometimes the hard way is the only way one can learn.

P.S. The only reason I showed the AliEpresss link for this monitor is not because I condone it but simply saying if one is going to cheap out, then go the entire route. As it is often with Amazon you are getting the same shipping schedule (from China) but with a 30% price increase, so instead of buying from them, go directly to a Chinese wholesale outfit for $35 instead of Amazon's $45. I'd also like to make this offer - if anyone would like to ship one of these to me for testing, I'd be happy to install next to my Victron and give you a report back as to how reliable it is. Otherwise my experimenting days are over as far as replacing the Victron. After three years of monitoring bliss, there's no reason to switch to anything else.

[Dutch Star Don]

For those who have the very popular Magnum Inverters, don't forget that Magnum makes a BMK that works directly with their inverter for about $160.00. It's well made and easy to install.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by waterjosh

I haven't had a chance to hook it up or test it yet, but is there something inherently wrong with one like this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ?

That's nothing but a voltmeter. Capacity is based on the voltage measurement; no current measuring capability.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Nope, no need...

Watch the YouTube video...

What You Tube Video ????

The Victron is not a cheap monitor or what I was talking about.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by tfryman

That's nothing but a voltmeter. Capacity is based on the voltage measurement; no current measuring capability.

Exactly, might be somewhat useful for lead acid, but definitely not for lithium. Must use a shunt or CT to measure actual amps in and out.

[Brad Wilf]

Originally Posted by richard5933

I did try a few no-name knock offs early on and decided that the quality was just not up to the level I felt comfortable with. Once I got the Victron, it became clear what was missing on the knock offs.

Of course Victron is not the only decent brand out there. I never said it was the "only one". The original post made a statement that this thing looked like an exact knock off of the Victron and asked what was he/she missing. That's what I was addressing.

Would one of the knock-off monitors be able to do the job? Probably. Is the quality going to be the same? Unlikely. Customer service? Probably not. To me the lack of frustration from using products from a known brand with a known customer service standard is worth the extra money. Not everyone feels that way, and that's okay.

What info were you missing on the knock offs? The one I posted pic of shows me: Amps in, amps out, battery voltage, battery %, battery ah. That’s all I need to keep my batty bank going, plus maintenance etc. Some out there are just glorified volt meters.

Agreed it’s a knock off version.. seems to be working very well. Don’t know if I’ll need customer service, they all seem to be plug and play. Warranty...we’ll see. How accurate it is? How accurate are any of them? You need a “known” good DC amp meter for base line. I haven’t tested all my circuits for accuracy as of yet, my gut feeling, pretty darn close.

[nvs4602]

Originally Posted by waterjosh

I haven't had a chance to hook it up or test it yet, but is there something inherently wrong with one like this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ?

It does not have a shunt to tell you amp draw. So it just uses the voltage to tell you battery charge level.

Having the shunt let's you know the amp draw on your batteries. Example if you have a 1amp draw on your batteries you would know that on a 100 amp hour battery you would get 50 hours of run time until you reached 50% of your batteries and would need to recharge.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Brad Wilf

What info were you missing on the knock offs? The one I posted pic of shows me: Amps in, amps out, battery voltage, battery %, battery ah. That’s all I need to keep my batty bank going, plus maintenance etc. Some out there are just glorified volt meters.

Agreed it’s a knock off version.. seems to be working very well. Don’t know if I’ll need customer service, they all seem to be plug and play. Warranty...we’ll see. How accurate it is? How accurate are any of them? You need a “known” good DC amp meter for base line. I haven’t tested all my circuits for accuracy as of yet, my gut feeling, pretty darn close.

Like I said earlier - my concerns are about the quality of the unit and the ability of it to function long term. The Victron is not a glorified volt meter, and neither is the on in the OP. So yes, they are both the same type of product, but that doesn't make them equivalent to each other.

Then you have to look at things like how to mount the shunt. The Victron is easy. How does one mount the knock off?

Then there are things like available Bluetooth access on the Victron, as well as being able to tie it into other devices in the system.

If the knock off does the job for you great. I have no problem with people buying what works for them, and I'm happy for whoever installs one of the knock off products and gets what they want from it.

But that doesn't change the fact that the knock off is not equivalent to the Victron.

This whole thing with knock off products is partially why I closed my wood shop years ago. I was making solid wood, high-quality lecterns. Then functionally equivalent items began showing up on Amazon and other online sites as online shopping took off. I lost quite a few customers when the cheaper products became available. More than a few times I'd get calls asking me to make them a nice solid-wood lectern for the same price they'd seen on Amazon for one made of press board. It's really hard to explain to a customer why your product costs $300 when there is a pretty picture of one online which looks similar and only costs $89.

Functionally they were the same, true. But they were not equivalent.

[Brad Wilf]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Like I said earlier - my concerns are about the quality of the unit and the ability of it to function long term. The Victron is not a glorified volt meter, and neither is the on in the OP. So yes, they are both the same type of product, but that doesn't make them equivalent to each other.

Then you have to look at things like how to mount the shunt. The Victron is easy. How does one mount the knock off?

Then there are things like available Bluetooth access on the Victron, as well as being able to tie it into other devices in the system.

If the knock off does the job for you great. I have no problem with people buying what works for them, and I'm happy for whoever installs one of the knock off products and gets what they want from it.

But that doesn't change the fact that the knock off is not equivalent to the Victron.

This whole thing with knock off products is partially why I closed my wood shop years ago. I was making solid wood, high-quality lecterns. Then functionally equivalent items began showing up on Amazon and other online sites as online shopping took off. I lost quite a few customers when the cheaper products became available. More than a few times I'd get calls asking me to make them a nice solid-wood lectern for the same price they'd seen on Amazon for one made of press board. It's really hard to explain to a customer why your product costs $300 when there is a pretty picture of one online which looks similar and only costs $89.

Functionally they were the same, true. But they were not equivalent.

I do agree with some of the “offshore” products are absolute garbage, that’s when some homework comes into play before purchase.

The shunt is very easy to mount, it comes on a mount. Mine is screwed into a 1/4 in chunk of rubber on top of my battery.

I’ll bring up your analogy of a Mercedes and a Yugo . why buy a Mercedes when a Chevy will do the job? As far as Bluetooth capability... I’m good, way to much of that kinda techy stuff out there nowadays. When I’m camping the only time I go for my phone is to turn the music on.

Each to there own, if you feel you have to certain brands that make you comfortable no matter what the cost.. good for you.

For me I don’t mind laying out the money for a good quality product, I just don’t think it this particular product warrants the extra cost.. after all it’s only a battery monitor. Even if I didn’t have a shunt monitor, I can still manage by bank.

I will be more than happy to report if this craps out, but it looks like a decent knock off, off shore, not made in the US of A battery shunt monitor.

I’m out, stay safe.

[SV K]

One difference between them is that the Victron's have a built in programmable Relay. Now this item is probably not much use to most, but for me it is crucial as I have it set to disconnect(utilizing an additional high capacity relay)my Liofepo4's in case of an over/under voltage condition.

[Ray,IN]

This one comes with a 500A shunt https://www.amazon.com/QWORK-Battery..._t3_B07RP5B5P7
for the same money.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by SV K

One difference between them is that the Victron's have a built in programmable Relay. Now this item is probably not much use to most, but for me it is crucial as I have it set to disconnect(utilizing an additional high capacity relay)my Liofepo4's in case of an over/under voltage condition.

Believe the Victron [smart shunt anyway] has the ability to read start battery voltage as well.