![]() ![]() In our video, we ran several different devices to see how many amps they pulled from the battery bank. Monitoring each amp is the only accurate way to know the exact battery level. Because all the wires pass through the shunt the BMK knows exactly how many amps are going into the battery bank and coming out of the batteries. I type in my total battery amp-hours, which is 700ah, and the BMK shows 100% SOC only when the battery bank reaches the full 700ah. SOC is the State Of Charge of the battery bank. The two most important numbers for me are the “SOC (state of charge)” and the “AH In/Out (amp-hours in/out)”. The shunt and the BMK work together to give you the information you need to know about your batteries. ![]() Biggest BMK BenefitĮvery wire that touches the battery bank is wired through the Shunt: the solar, the inverter, the engine alternator, etc. How can you truly know when your battery bank reaches the harmful 50% or lower charge when the information this meter is providing is wildly inaccurate. If you turn on a high draw device like a water kettle or a blow drier, it may show the batteries are instantly at 25%. They might show 100% when the batteries have a false charge of only 80%. Truth is, these meters are pretty much worthless. This is a trick to make us think we are monitoring our battery level. ![]() Yes, most RV’s come with a little button that you push and it shows an approximate charge level. Most RV’s are built without a BMK which seems ridiculous, would you purchase a car without a fuel gauge? How do they expect us to know when our batteries need to be charged or “fueled up”? The Battery Level Button is Junk The BMK would be the “fuel gauge” because it shows how much “fuel” is left in the “tank”, how much “fuel” is being pumped in, and how much is being consumed. Your solar panels (or generator) would be your “gas pump”. Consider the batteries in your “fuel tank”. The easiest way for us to understand the BMK is to think of it as a fuel gauge. I’m writing this article because so many people have asked “how do I know when my batteries are low”, “how much power can I pull from my batteries”, “what does it mean to manage your power” “What is a BMK” “Why would I want a BMK?” so I’ll attempt to answer those questions based on our experience. I’m not going to attempt to show or tell you how to set up a BMK (or attach the shunt), I called the manufacturer and their customer service walked me through the step-by-step process, and that’s what I’d recommend you do as well. 700 Amp Hours of Lithium Battery (battery video coming soon).Magnum Hybrid 3000 watt Pure Sine Inverter (you don’t have to have an inverter to use a BMK).What the heck is a BMK? How does it work? Why is it so important to have one on my RV, Sailboat or Tiny House? We’re no experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we did our best to show you our BMK in use and answer those questions in the video below. However, once we installed one on the Bounder, now we can’t live without it! In fact, I didn’t even know what a Battery Monitoring Kit was just a couple of years ago. Our first three RVs didn’t have a BMK installed (and I am sure we wrecked our batteries because we didn’t). The battery level check button that comes with most RV’s is junk. Our six years of RV’ing have taught us a lot about living off the grid and managing our power consumption (aka monitoring our batteries). We’re now transitioning from RV to sailboat and busy getting our power system set up in the boat. You’re bound to accidentally run out of juice at some point. Operating an RV, Sailboat or Tiny House power system without a BMK is like driving a car around without a properly working fuel gauge. Your battery is like a fuel tank and a BMK is the fuel gauge. ![]() I’m going to be honest, you don’t need a Battery Monitoring Kit, but you will want one. ![]()
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