House batteries voltage monitor. Question not answered.

thriftydutch wrote:
Last year when we were in New York city my two house batteries were drained. The batteries are used to run our fridge but were drained too much to operate the fridge properly. When the batteries were charged up again the fridge was working properly. I want to install a voltage monitor from Ebay but some have 3 wires while other have 2 wires. What is the difference and do I need a monitor for each battery. I don't want to spend a lot of money on this. I want to buy a cheap monitor as my name suggests.
Our fridge is a 12v-120v

It appears that your Refrigerator is a compressor type therefore disregard the "put it on propane :)

As many 12 volt outlets were installed using undersized wire, I recommend an outlet connected by alligator clips directly to the batteries (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Cigarette-Lighter-Socket-to-Car-Battery-Alligator-Clip-Charger-Cable-Wire-/390957016123?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b06daa43b) and then plug a volt meter directly into it. This will give you a far more accurate voltage reading. If your batteries are std. lead acid type then charging them when the voltage drops below 12.3 volts will greatly extend battery life.

TinyoneRV wrote:
How do you run your frig using your batteries as the power source without solar or running the generator? I have tow 12volt batteries in parallel that will run my frig for about an hour (or less) on a warm day.

Put the fridge on propane. A single battery should operate the 12v fridge controls for 3 to 6 days.

rockhillmanor wrote:
The installed detectors in my RV have a built in low voltage alert. Beeps when the battery is low. I believe this is a standard feature in all of them. So you already have a voltage monitor. :W

It's how I found out my convertor was going bad.

I wish mine had that, but nope. I had to put in a digital monitor.

How do you run your frig using your batteries as the power source without solar or running the generator? I have tow 12volt batteries in parallel that will run my frig for about an hour (or less) on a warm day.

The installed detectors in my RV have a built in low voltage alert. Beeps when the battery is low. I believe this is a standard feature in all of them. So you already have a voltage monitor. :W

It's how I found out my convertor was going bad.

Amazon $7 Two wire is fine.

Consider putting a 100 watt solar panel on the roof....

I got one a few months ago, off Amazon I think.
It was only about $10 bucks.
Then I saw with a quick search you could get one that reads your 12 V side and your 120 V side at the same time for about $14.
try a quick google search, if you don't find it, I'll look for the link.

not a bad idea to carry a voltmeter in the van...that way you can trouble shoot/ check house batteries, RV batteries, ac outlets, shorepower...continuity thru fuses etc etc etc.

so all you need is to determine an easy test point for the 12 volt- for instance a light fixture, look for 12 VDC power near the TV or the water pump or...

mike

My house batteries don't have a cig powered style outlet. I would like to connect it directly to the batteries.

Maybe something like this...very simple. I have one and it works great.
Will work in any cig. style power port in your rig.
Voltage Monitor...LINK