Crowdfunding Project——PwrTool 500

PwrTool 500 is a power shunt and battery monitor. It is built on the FLIP_C3 development board, providing GPIO expandability, and is equipped with a powerful 5V, 2A buck converter, a 16-bit current sensing ADC, a temperature/humidity sensor, and a 45W MOSFET for external control. What makes the PwrTool 500 stand out is its ability to provide both high-side and low-side shunt functionality in a single tool, and it can monitor currents up to 500A in 12-48V systems.

After receiving PwrTool 500, users can start using it immediately without complicated setup. PwrTool 500 can seamlessly integrate with Home Assistant. Users can customize its functionality through ESPHome, or if they are not satisfied with the existing features, they can access more options with Arduino or ESP-IDF compatible code.

Versatile Off-Grid Applications

Users can place PwrTool 500 and similar products anywhere in a DC system. For instance, placing it on the battery allows for monitoring its condition and state of charge through coulomb counting. Using two shunts to separate the load and input provides a clearer understanding of the power flow and sources.

Most shunts of this type are only for the "low-voltage" or "cold" side, with the shunt itself inserted into the ground path of the system. In this case, sometimes intercepting the ground path can result in inaccurate readings. Therefore, to improve the user experience, an option has been built in to switch the polarity of PwrTool 500.

Features & Specifications

Power

6-60 VDC system voltage: Compatible with all lithium and lead-acid batteries

500 A peak / 300 A constant current shunt

• INA238 16-bit pre-amp & ADC
• On-die temp sensor faces shunt
• Hot-side or Cold-side selector via jumper with polarity protection

45 W N-Channel MOSFET

• PWM LED lighting control
• External high-power load control with SSR / relay / contactor

FLIP_C3 Controller Board

• ESP32-C3
• 5 V, 2 A (10 W) buck converter (enough for 100+ WS2812 LEDs)
• Onboard WS2812b with level-shifted output on header pin L8
• Red LED status light
• BOOT button (GPIO9, user configurable)
• Reset button
• USB Type-C for firmware recovery
• GPIO for UART/I2C/SPI/PWM/etc.

Additional Features

• 2x Stemma QT/Qwiic compatible connectors for external sensors or daisy chaining modules via I2C
• SHTC3 environmental sensor for temperature/humidity

This project is built by Chloe Parfitt, and will crowdfund on CrowdSupply, check PwrTool 500 for more info.

Welcome to support it if you are interested.