Q. Is it worth upgrading from my BMV-700 to the latest BMV-712?
Here's a question we received this week that we thought we could dive into more detail on. Essentially what are the pros and cons of upgrading from an earlier version of the Victron battery monitors.
BMV-700 BMV-702 BMV-712
As you can see from the images above there really is not much difference between the three versions of the battery monitor and physically they have the same dimensions.
Multiple Battery Monitoring
The BMV-712 can monitor multiple batteries. It does this by using the second output of the Shunt (red wire). It is also possible for Midpoint voltage monitoring
Lower Power Usage (bi-stable relay)
BMV-712 uses 1mA at 12V;
BMV-700 uses 4mA at 12V
Input Voltage Range
BMV-712 is 6.5V - 70V (DC);
BMV-700 range is 6.5V - 95V (DC)
Bluetooth
BMV-712 has built in bluetooth;
BMV-702 requires bluetooth dongle (~$40.00);
BMV-700 requires bluetooth dongle (~$40.00)
Cost
BMV-712 = $191.55;
BMV-702 = $139.70;
BMV-700 = $112.50
Summary
In summary I would say the big advantage is having Bluetooth so that you can easily monitor your system from the VictronConnect app. So if you already have the older BMV-700 then consider adding the bluetooth dongle for around $40.00. If you don't have any battery monitor I would recommend going straight for the BMV-712.
Want more details? click below to download the Victron data sheets
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