Adding a Digital Volt Meter to show battery state of charge
Hi, I decided to add a digital volt meter to my motorhome to show the state of charge of the batteries - it will be handy when dry camping.
Here is a table from the web site "The 12 Volt Side of Life" that shows voltage vs state of charge (a great web site to learn about living on 12 volts):
I ordered a digital volt meter from eBay for $5 including shipping:
I mounted the meter, and a momentary contact switch, in a piece of plastic from an old car litter basket:
I will mount the meter in some convenient location in the motorhome tomorrow. And I'll include a printout of the above voltage chart.
Pretty cool for five bucks!
Note that battery voltage should be read when the batteries are at "rest" -- that is, wait a half hour after any big discharge (for example, such as running a microwave on an inverter).
Here is a table from the web site "The 12 Volt Side of Life" that shows voltage vs state of charge (a great web site to learn about living on 12 volts):
I ordered a digital volt meter from eBay for $5 including shipping:
I mounted the meter, and a momentary contact switch, in a piece of plastic from an old car litter basket:
I will mount the meter in some convenient location in the motorhome tomorrow. And I'll include a printout of the above voltage chart.
Pretty cool for five bucks!
Note that battery voltage should be read when the batteries are at "rest" -- that is, wait a half hour after any big discharge (for example, such as running a microwave on an inverter).
