Im constantly reading comments of the Lynx Shunt being useless and an expensive fuse holder. Is it because of my battery bank not being lithium and correct sized for my usage that im worried about not seeing 96.3% rather than only 96% when waking in the morning? I dont have midpoint issues its a feature for maybe undersized acids and makes no sense to have such a large buzz bar system with an inferior battery bank such as 12v acids in series. it doesnt have bluetooth but you wouldnt have a lynx without a cerbo or alike and compared to the 2 Smartshunt 500 I have it doesnt have the DC energy meter feature and I cant see why anyone would use it on a home system as the main Shunt. Bluetooth would be nice to view history trends but my RS450-200 has Bluetooth and it doesnt have (unless faulty) trends history either. I think Victron made this unit for customers who deplete there batteries once upon install to calculate ah and input Puekert exponent and leave it. Battery voltage calibration has always been a feature for the 2yrs Iv owned Lynx Shunts my only problems have been glitches/faults from factory like SCS in DVCC not available temp readings 9 degrees more than it is and I dont think or can find temp calibration and have swapped sensors but these arent the Shunts features just been a little unlucky. Is there something Im missing? is it the 1 shade of blue difference which can be seen under studio lighting and if you suffer from severe OCD and your alternative power system system is your whole world? My 2 cents worth on a Shunt thats not just an expensive fuse holder. Happy to hear your thoughts and criticism.
I’ve got the Lynx Shunt in my system because I didn’t know better when I was installing the first part of the system two years ago. Now I’m glad I have it because the SOC calculator of the Pylontech BMS is quite bad and one battery isn’t connected to the Cerbo at all. The Lynx Shunt makes a decent job tracking SOC and displaying it in VRM. It would be better if it were a smart shunt, but for my use case it’s good enough. I haven’t switched to using it as the main shunt yet, though.
I have 2 SmartShunts 1 of which is currently bolted direct to the lynx negative distributor buzz bar temporarily till i get the Lynx replaced. 500ah fits in very snug but cant help to see it as a RV or tiny home budget option or something you want to add into the system like a turbine which you want to see it as specific unit and you dont want to calculate the 100w or so from other DC loads. I did hack a Lynx shunt for a customer/friend and fitted a Smart inplace retaining the fuse and seperatley powered a small circuit for fuse illumination on distributors but a 300ah was a tight fit but tidy once cover is on if i were to do it again i think a BMV712 could maybe retain the shunt bar itself but have only thought of it havent actually looked seriously into it. Lithiums and coms/glitches seem to be the norm hopefully you sort it soon
Hello!
I think the decisive factor and the main argument for or against using the Lynx system is the type of battery used. Lithium or lead?
The ability to use Lynx to measure the exact voltage and currents to and from the battery is certainly one of the most important functions for determining the SOC value of a battery system in the best and most accurate way.
I myself use a Pylontech battery bank with 20 US2000C units and rely completely on the Pylontech internal BMS and the SOC display derived from it. I have no problems whatsoever with it. My system has been running for over five years now.
When designing my system in 2020, I opted for a homemade busbar, not least for space reasons. In fact, I even used Victron fuse holders with 48V megafuses. It was only after completion that I had doubts and concerns about whether the Victron Megafuses were even capable of safely tripping and shutting down the high currents that occur in the event of a short circuit in a lithium battery bank. During my subsequent research on this topic, I noticed that Victron does not provide any specifications regarding the tripping capacity of the Victron Megafuses.
If you are concerned about the breaking capacity of the fuses used, you will always end up with NH00 fuses. Only there will you find manufacturers who offer fuses with a breaking capacity significantly greater than 20 kA DC, in some cases even more than 100 kA DC, according to the data sheet. And on top of that, you also get fuses that use a micro switch in the NH00 fuse base to indicate whether the fuse has tripped or is still intact. This gives you, with minimal effort, a potential-free visualization (LED) similar to that provided internally by the Lynx system and the function of (remote) fuse monitoring via micro switches. Even if this does not automatically provide visualization in the VRM console.
Victron does not provide any information on the switching capacity of Victron Megafuses, so I assume values well below 1 kA DC. This value seems acceptable for lead-acid batteries, but not for lithium batteries.
It appears that new ceramic megafuses from Victron, compatible with the Lynx system, are already available or will be available shortly. Due to their ceramic housing, these new fuses appear to be more robust than the megafuses with plastic housing that are still available. However, there are no specifications regarding their breaking capacity. I have therefore decided to convert my busbar with Victron megafuses to NH0 fuse holders and fuses.
So for me, the crucial question is whether Lynx is the right choice or not. Can you buy fuses for the Lynx system that are specified to match the battery type in terms of their breaking capacity?
Kind regards - Ewald
Gday Ewald,
yes I had a feeling those who choose lithiums especially in larger systems wouldnt be impressed reading comments of their Lynx system getting warm to the point of deformation and fuses suggested are not to standard. Iv hit 13500w AC briefly and its not disappointed me but its also way under its rated capacity but the Quattro 15000 has performed above and beyond so I can understand in part for the complaints. In Australia 5yrs ago even up until 3yrs ago Victron equipment was more than double if not triple of what its worth today you would at least expect some assurance if not for the price at least peace of mind? Im not a fan of anything but leads or salts for a home/commercial system (personal preference and nothing to do with the safety side although Id keep my lithium’s outside cause Im just cursed with bad luck lol) I remember paying some ridiculous price for my Victron 325a “slow blow* fuse which is just to pretty to be hidden in the Lynx Shunt. I do love old school electrics/cars/bikes/boats/welders with exposed mechanical components like vacuum tubes/valves and just the colours of the wiring or the packaging replacement valves came in and the everlasting transformers and dials ect used before solid state and mosfets ect came in. Its just got no sole and probably best hidden.