Cheap ammeter for power hungry RV's
I am sure there is a post somewhere about installing an ammeter in a coach, but I haven't found one, so I thought I'd post about my first DIY project in our new Heartland Oakmont. This 5er is 42' l...
Forum Discussion
SoundGuy wrote:aviator41 wrote:
This 5er is 42' long, and comes factory equipped for 50amp service. We know that we will end up in a few 30amp campground spots, so being able to quickly determine out power consumption is important. There are are a number of RV specific meters out there that range from $80-$300 dollars and provide all sorts of data, but I know what I needed: voltage supplied, amps drawn, overall Watts being used and energy consumption. With that in mind, I set out to find a panel mount ammeter that isn't difficult to install, yet provides accurate information. So why an electrical project as my first DIY? probably becuase I'm an electronic nerd.
Neat solution, but as an "electrical nerd" I'd expect you'd also be aware of the dangers of simply plugging into any campground power source without the benefits of a surge protector / EMS such as the Progressive Industries EMS series which also displays this same information, along with the ability to detect and display a variety of error codes whenever source power isn't what it should be.
Considering the investment you have in your rig it's the least you could do ... if you've already done so then what's the advantage of this stand alone monitor you've installed. :h
The unit you've shown is only a 30A unit. So I would have to go with the 50A unit they make. THEN I'd have to buy the display, which is almost $100.00!
First thing I put in our 5er was surge protection and power conditioning. It has it's own panel down where the unit is installed, but I wanted something that would provide me with the information all laid out on a single display without needing hit buttons and scroll through other information that isn't needed regularly.
This display also shows how much power was consumed during a specific time period. I.E. reset it to zero once you start the generator, let it count the Wh or KWh consumed through a boondocking trip. It's good info to have and can help the owner better understand their power needs and power consumption.
