Victron Battery Monitor Shunt

[BenCT]

I’m looking to install one of the Victron shunts to my house battery bank. All the videos I watch say to install the shunt on the dc negative of the battery bank so that it captures all of the load going through my batteries. In the videos they show the shunt attached to the negative terminal of the battery and then it goes to a negative bus bar. All of my batteries are ground on the negative terminal to the engine. What am I missing?

[BenCT]

I think the answer to my question is that the engine is acting like the negative bus bar and I just need to figure out if the starter battery ground is problematic for isolating the house and engine battery with the shunt as both are ground at the engine, maybe even connected already.

[hanleyclifford]

The cleanest way to handle this is to install an electrical post on a bulkhead. Run all batt- cables to the post. Connect the post to one side of the shunt. Connect all grounds to the other side of the shunt. This might also be a good time to install a 150 amp breaker in the circuit.

[Al Schober]

The Victron is for the house battery - at least that's the way I installed mine. Keep the start circuit separate. I ran my house loads (and engine ignition) off the house battery. Alternator output also went to the house battery.
Current to recharge the start battery came from the house bank through a voltage controlled relay. When the house bank came up to 12.7 volts (or so), the relay would close and send current to the start battery.

[BenCT]

I was planning on monitoring the house battery, but it seems there is a second input right next to the small red wire to charge the shunt that allows for sensing a starting battery or temp sensor. So I was thinking I would also monitor the starter separately.

[hanleyclifford]

It's too easy to get wrapped around the axle on this. A starting battery is not needed for an atomic 4. A group 27, 29 or 31 flooded deep cycle will do just fine. I run 4 batteries of that type, all switched separately to the main bus bar. When traveling I rotate starting duties among the batteries, switching the designated starter battery off for the night. That way each battery can be observed as to performance individually. Usually I can start the engine with the house bank in the morning - but I always have that reserve ace in the hole that spent the night switched off.