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bshpilot's avatar
bshpilot
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014

Added Panel Meters & Surge Guard

some pictures of my voltage, polarity & surge protector (its saved me from open ground & improperly wired pedestals twice)....of course i didn't install this until i had damaged my converter charger when i plugged into a bad outlet.

I used a Progressive Industries ems_lchw50 (50a Hardwire) mounted in the electrical bay -






I also added (although somewhat temporary) a 12v monitoring point.

I picked up some cheap ($10 inductive) panel meters from ebay - they work very well measuring the incoming voltage and current (amp) load on each of my 50a legs.

I also added a 12v outlet (haven't found a good 12v panel meter) - i pulled in a cheap little voltage meter so i can see the charge condition of my house batteries (or the output of the converter/charger)....seems to work well.

Class C
  • crcr's avatar
    crcr
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2014
    bshpilot wrote:
    Handbasket wrote:
    bshpilot wrote:
    ....I also added a 12v outlet (haven't found a good 12v panel meter) - i pulled in a cheap little voltage meter so i can see the charge condition of my house batteries (or the output of the converter/charger)....seems to work well.
    ....


    bsh, I've encountered the same problem. Can't seem to find a source for a good LED or backlit LCD 12V meter in a surface mount housing. I recently moved the furnace thermostat to be able to reach it from the bunk. It left 2 holes in the wall, which I want the meter and a momentary pushbutton to cover.

    If you find one, let me know...

    Jim, "Mo' coffee!"


    Jim -

    check out the ebay seller that i mentioned & provided a link to in one of the posts above - he's got LOTS of panel meters AC & DC w/ & w/out Current.


    I got this volt meter on Amazon for about $5 shipped. I hooked it to a 12V constant hot wire at the opposite end of my TT from my two 6V golf cart batteries, and it displays the exact same voltage to the hundreth that my electric volt meter shows at the battery.

    I mounted it inside a project or hobby box, forget which they call it, that I got at Radio Shack, and mounted it inside the trailer. Makes a dim night light also.

    Why pay more? $5 delivered, and displays to the hundreth.
  • bshpilot's avatar
    bshpilot
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2014
    Handbasket wrote:
    bshpilot wrote:
    ....I also added a 12v outlet (haven't found a good 12v panel meter) - i pulled in a cheap little voltage meter so i can see the charge condition of my house batteries (or the output of the converter/charger)....seems to work well.
    ....


    bsh, I've encountered the same problem. Can't seem to find a source for a good LED or backlit LCD 12V meter in a surface mount housing. I recently moved the furnace thermostat to be able to reach it from the bunk. It left 2 holes in the wall, which I want the meter and a momentary pushbutton to cover.

    If you find one, let me know...

    Jim, "Mo' coffee!"


    Jim -

    check out the ebay seller that i mentioned & provided a link to in one of the posts above - he's got LOTS of panel meters AC & DC w/ & w/out Current.
  • Handbasket's avatar
    Handbasket
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2014
    bshpilot wrote:
    ....I also added a 12v outlet (haven't found a good 12v panel meter) - i pulled in a cheap little voltage meter so i can see the charge condition of my house batteries (or the output of the converter/charger)....seems to work well.
    ....


    bsh, I've encountered the same problem. Can't seem to find a source for a good LED or backlit LCD 12V meter in a surface mount housing. I recently moved the furnace thermostat to be able to reach it from the bunk. It left 2 holes in the wall, which I want the meter and a momentary pushbutton to cover.

    If you find one, let me know...

    Jim, "Mo' coffee!"
  • bshpilot's avatar
    bshpilot
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2014
    the panel meters use an inductive "donut" - very easy to install - just slip the donut around one of the 115v legs.

    if you have a 30a system you only need one meter.
    us 50a guys have 2 legs so 2 meters are necessary.

    the panel meters are powered by ac voltage (i put mine on a separate circuit so they wouldn't interfere w/ anything else & so i could turn them off if necessary) - you could wire them to an existing circuit, the load is insignificant.

    i bought from this (china based) EBAY-Seller - not how i would have preferred but they shipped fast & the price was cheap.

  • gcloss's avatar
    gcloss
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2014
    Nice install. I have the Progressive Industries hard-wired 30 amp unit. It has saved me a bunch of times.

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