Just purchased BMV712 Smart - 3 12v batteries in parallel - is a balancer needed? - or could I just rely on a mid-point reading?
asked
Battery balancer needed?
I have 2 12V batteries connected in parallel and they ALWAYS measure exactly the same with a voltmeter on their terminals, and I mean always and to the decimal point. So I do believe they keep each other equalized. Therefore I am just pulling my readings off one battery and not using the mid-point. The mid-point setup they show in the manual shows two batteries connected in series. But while I'm quite familiar with auto and RV electrical, I'm just new at using my SmartShunt, certainly not an expert on this.
The balancer is not needed or suitable here.
It's used when you have twelve volt batteries wired in series to give higher voltages. E.g. if you have a 24V system with two 12V batteries. You get the situation that one battery may be at (say) 13.1V, the other at 12.9V (yes it does happen, even wired correctly). Balancer equalises both back to the same voltage, but only when total voltage is high enough.
