Link 2000 Replacement ?

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Wmiii

What are people using instead of the Link and Freedom set-up now?
It's pretty aggrivating that there is no support for these and no suitable option.

EDIT: Oops just realized this is a dredge-post. The info below is still relevant though..

You go back to the "basic remote" PN 84-2056-01 for the Inverter / Charger and add a Link-Lite or Link-Pro or Victron for the house bank. There really is no need to monitor a start batter for other than voltage so most battery monitor makers have dropped dual bank Ah counting. If you must have dual bank Ah counting buy two Ah counters or go with a Philippi monitor.

I deal with older failed Links on a pretty regular basis. So regular that I had to have replacement-panels made to deal with this.

This owner with deep pockets insisted on continuing to monitor both house and start.. Plus he now had a hole to fill from the old Link 2000R boat anchor..

[Davidhoy]

Dredge post or not, it is indeed helpful :-)

Quick question - I have a Xantrex Freedom SW 3000 inverter/charger with their SCP control panel, but this does not do any battery monitoring. I want to install a monitor, and have been looking at the LinkPro, mostly thinking that it would be compatible with the inverter/charger. But, reading more, it appears that almost any battery monitor would work fine, as it does not need to work with the inverter/charger. Would something like the Victron BVM-702 be a good choice? Any other better alternative for monitoring the house bank, and optionally a second source (such as engine start battery)?

Regards,
David

[Stu Jackson]

David, the Link Lite and Pro are both POS. Get a Victron, it's better and muh easier to wire. Or an SG.

How to Wire a Battery Monitor by Maine Sail: Wiring & Installing A Battery Monitor | SailboatOwners.com Forums

New SMART GAUGE Battery Monitor Smart Gauge Battery Monitoring Unit Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

David, the Link Lite and Pro are both POS.

This is simply untrue.. In fact the company that physically manufacturers the Link-Lite and Link-Pro is the same company that originally designed and built Victron's monitors. Xantrex did not design nor do they build the Link-Pro or Link-Lite they simply re-brand them.

The Victron BMV-501 and Xantrex XBM Ah counters were actually IDENTICAL other than the graphics. IMHO having replaced far too many older Link 10's ,20's and 1000 & 2000's the XBM (which was not made by Xantrex, just relabeled by them) was actually the first good quality highly reliable Ah counter Xantrex offered the Link Lite and Pro are from the same origins & manufacturer as the XBM..

Yes the Victron is less expensive, and slightly easier to install, but to say the Link-Pro and Lite are a POS is just plain silly.

FWIW I can have any battery monitor on the planet, I have 8 - 10 of them laying around my shop to choose from, and I choose to monitor my LiFePO4 bank with a Link-Pro. The Link-Pro is really quite a good & reliable product, IF you can keep up with the programming in order to keep it accurate, but this applies to all Ah counters.

In terms of Ah counters remaining more accurate for longer in regards to SOC I would have to say the new Blue Sea product has some excellent recent design tweaks that the rest of the pack does not. The chief designer at Blue Sea has been working on this for a long time and some of the tweaks are already in the new M2 1830 SOC Meter. Is it as accurate as the Smart Gauge, not that I have seen in my testing, but it does do better, for longer, than the Xantrex or Victron's do at tracking SOC..

For instance it can track varying charge rates for charge efficiency calculations, it will look at resting voltage when it see's no current across the shunt and then compare this to the Ah count and make corrections as needed etc.. It has more tweaks that I can't really talk about too. These are all things designed to help it remain more accurate during PSOC use, something we actually do regularly on boats, and something none of the other guys can currently do. Course all this comes at an expense and again this makes the Victron a great "value".

Still all Ah counters are very tough to keep in sync with a battery bank so the easiest SOC monitor we currently have would still be the Smart Gauge.

For someone who had an older Link that has died replacing it with a Link-Lite or Link-Pro is actually easier than replacing it with a Victron because the wiring is already run and in place.

[s/v Sunsets]

So without getting too technical... I'm having trouble with My Link2000 too (I think.) Non of the lights on the bottom row are working: A/C Power In, Bulk Charge, Accept Charge. Without the lights, I can't tell if it's charging properly, so the charger is off.

Additionally, it's not sharing power. With 110V coming in, I'm not getting power at the outlets like I should.

It's on a Freedom 25 with a starter battery and ~1200AmpHr house bank plus a shunt, a temperature monitor and supplemental solar. No luck finding a used exact replacement yet. So is there something more modern that will work with Freedom 25? (Though who knows how much longer that will last.)

Thank you.

[briblack]

following up. We did install the Magnum Energy inverter charger. It went in easily, and works well. And made in the USA! Support, the little we've needed, has been good. Satisfied customer here!

[s/v Sunsets]

Well, 9 times out of 10 it’s just something stupid. Lesson learned: If you erroneously mislabel the TSC and the REMOTE cables, your Link 2000 will monitor, but it won’t communicate with the inverter/charger. Put them in the right ports, and your status lights and inverter control will work just fine. Sigh.....