Comparison Between WatchMon 4 and WatchMonPlus

What are the Differences Between WatchMon4 and  WatchMonPlus (WM5 or WM7)

Centralised or Decentralised

WatchMonPlus is Centralised, this means that the cell monitoring is on the Supervisor Board meaning it is generally simpler wiring.  We have the WM7 version for 24V systems (this allows between 6-10 cells to be monitored) and the WM5 version for 48V systems (that allows between 10-15 cells to be monitored)

WatchMon4 is Decentralised, which means that the Supervisor and Cell Monitoring are separate.  The Cell Monitors are placed on the batteries and wired back to the WatchMon4.   As they are separate there is more flexibility in how many are wired up and how they are configured.  This gives you the ability to vary your system in a more flexible way allowing anything from monitoring a single battery to 250 cells. 

Cost and Ease of Use

WatchMonPlus is lower in cost and has fewer parts, therefore it has fewer things to go wrong once you have the wiring correct. Wiring is easier as it uses the shared loom, prebuilt in OEM batteries or you can create your own shared loom. You do not need cell monitors and temperature sensors as WatchMonPlus has them already inbuilt which makes the entire project that much easier and less time consuming.

Confirmation of Wiring Success

WatchMonPlus uses TestMon to verify that the wiring is correct before connecting your battery to the WatchMon, making it easy to use and simple to install.

WatchMon4 uses the Network Test   If the software of the Network test does not pass, you will need to check the wiring of each wire until you find your problem, you cannot proceed until you get a pass.

What Batteries are able to be Monitored by each WatchMon

WatchMonPlus is more flexible as it can deal with Shared Loom batteries, such as Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Chevy and Fiat and also extends the voltage range allowing LTO batteries to be monitored. 

( Note:  LTO due to the lower voltage per cell the WM5 would be 24V system and WM7 a 12V system)

The WatchMonPlus can also be wired up to all the other batteries that WatchMon4 is capable of monitoring.  

The WatchMon4 can do 4s, 16s or 18s configurations which WatchMonPlus WM5 cannot achieve but to this  you would also need to prepare your own Balancing Wires.

WatchMon4 would requires a cell monitor per cell in series, LeafMon for use with Leaf cells, BlockMons for use with Prismatic cells and LongMons for others.  

(Note: WatchMon4 is not suited to OEM shared loom batteries).

Temperature

WatchMonPlus has 3 external temperature sensors that can be placed around the battery pack to measure cell temperature.  

WatchMon4 relies on the temperature sensors on the cell monitors themselves so has one per cell monitor. 

Compatibility

Anything compatible with WatchMon4 is compatible with the WatchMon Series.

Balancing Power

WatchMon4 is able to balance 28.8Ah per cell per day.

WatchMonPlus is able to balance 6Ah per cell per day.   

Typically, the daily balancing requirement is between 100mAh and 1000mAh. This will depend on the battery cell age, chemistry and configuration. 

Balancing power beyond this level is useful to have in reserve for the initial balance and any minor fault or reconfiguration event but not every day.  Please note that because WatchMon4's balancing is higher than WatchMonPlus it does NOT make it more powerful.  This is not based on POWER it is based on BALANCING.

If the initial cells are seriously out of balance and a large pack do some manual balancing to reduce the time for this first balance.

Video

Why would I choose a WatchMon4?

• If configuration outside of 6-10s or 10-15s limits
• If battery pack requires higher balancing 
• Have existing cell monitors that you wish to reuse
• Ideally suited to large format prismatic cells

Why would I choose a WatchMonPlus (WM5 or WM7)?

• Suitable for OEM batteries such as Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Fiat, Chevy Volt etc
• Suitable LTO batteries therefore allowing wider voltage range
• Able to be used for most popular Lithium cells 
• With MultiMon MM8 can be used in multi-string parallel or higher voltages in series. 
• Simpler and easier installation
• Better value with the same functionality as WM4
• All in one solution with fewer things to go wrong.