I followed your suggestion and bought the whole thing

Volt, amp meter goes in your 12 volt line. depending on line length you could connect the meter to the megawatt 12 volt output then chop the ends off one side of the jumper cables and hook them to the other side of the meter. MexicoWanderer did recommend tying into all 3 12 volt outputs on the megawatt instead of using just 1. I assume this is to get a move even power and reduce heat.

James that is EXACTLY the plan and step by step you will get detailed advice and most likely images. Relax! You have a host of people that will help you.

Mex, Thanks for responding, I love reading your post, you are the best!

I am not sure what we are helping with. Was there a battery charging issue?

One can plumb the Megawatt right to the jumper cables cut in half, or anywhere along their length. Shorter is better from a voltage drop perspective.

One could plumb the watt meter inline between jumper cables and megawatt
One could put a connector, like Anderson Power Poles between the wattmeter and jumper cables.

One can do all three.

I rewired my wattmeter with 8awg and use 45 amp powerpoles on the 'LOAD' side of the watt meter.

I have a second 'portable' wattmeter with 45 amp powerpoles on both source and load I employ elsewhere, or here if that tickles my fancy.

I put 45 amp powerpoles on the my old schumacher alligator clamp leads, whose copper wiring I replaced with 8awg.

For the AC cord, if not provided, I cut off a 12awg 3 prong cord from an older unused Power strip.

This is a Meanwell, not a Megawatt, and the extra fans and heatsinks are optional:
Mine can hold 40 amps all day long, and the 12awg aluminum wiring that comes with the wattmeter got too hot for my liking, which is why I soldered 8awg to it instead and added the fans and heatsinks.



45 amp powerpoles are widely employed in my Vehicle. They require some skill to crimp properly to 8awg without their special 40$ crimper, but their 30 amps ones are simple to crimp with any dimple crimper, to 12awg. 10awg perhaps but some destranding might be necessary.

15/30/45 amp powerpoles will all mate with each other.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. This is my way and this cat's sulfation does not stand a chance.

There is voltage drop on the wiring between megawatt and battery terminals, and more so at higher amperage and more so with thinner longer wire.

The wattmeters become inaccurate under 1 amp of current.

If you are looking on how to hook wattmeter to jumper cables, a butt connector like this is simplest and can work OK, but will get hot passing 30 amps@12.2-14.8volts:

smkettner wrote:
I am not sure what we are helping with. Was there a battery charging issue?

Some of us are trying to help a complete novice to become an electrical "expert" in one giant leap.

I personally think this is a VERY BAD idea......because his basic needs can be satisfied much easier and cheaper.....and maybe more safely too.

But those same people don't want to hear that opinion so.......that's all I have to say.

Vulcan, thanks for the help!
James

MiPaJacks wrote:
I ordered the Megawatt, meter, jumper cable, I assume they go in a line, but how do you attach the cables together? I may understand how to do it when I get all the parts.

I will never know as much as the resident gurues have forgot, so I will try to just tag along and not get in the way!
Thanks
James

You do understand that those of us that use these MegaWatt PSU's have only one intended, planned use for them 99% of the time?

Set the voltage to Bulk Charge, and time the Bulk Charge, to get to a 85 to 90% State of charge for our batteries, strictly while running on a gas generator, or to get the MAIN portion of the recharging cycle done quickly.

The last 10 or 15% needs to be done manually, another way, SLOWLY usually with lower voltage than when in bulk mode.

It is IMPERATIVE that you contact the manufacturer of your battery to find out exactly what the bulk charging voltage is for your model of battery. It is up to you to set it and maintain it correctly, and monitor it. This is a manual charger setup, it requires some supervision until you get a feel for it and move yourself up the learning curve to become a professional battery recharger. Err on the side of caution starting out, watch your results, adjust accordingly.

Post up the make and model and amp hours and number of of your batteries here, so you can receive some further guidance and or insight in doing it right the first time.

Señor Vulcanrider your point is ABSOLUTELY valid. There is no one way to satisfy all requirements. To vastly lessen vulnerability to unintended overcharge the incorporation of a spring-wound timer in the input 120vac line is STRONGLY recommended.

This is a battery charger not a converter, not a maintainer, nor anything else. We old farts dealt with charging batteries the way our grandfathers did. With a battery charger. Wind er up and let her rip. Hundreds of thousands of campers, trailers and motorhomes were built before the advent of BW Magnateks's ferroresonant converter with it's absurd 3-amp battery charging bleed resistor.

When I first started driving the generator was the only way for an auto engine to recharge a battery. A 45-amp generator was considered absurd overkill, and was directed toward fire engines with their monster 1/4 horsepower DC motor driven sirens.

Lead acid batteries are wicked, poisonous and dangerous. I wish they could go away forever. They are temperamental, sometimes acting like Patty McCormick in the movie The Bad Seed.

But they are unforgiving and just too danged expensive to ignore.

Mistreat a battery, go camping and find you have 30% of the battery capacity you thought you had. Work 11-1/2 months for that?

The difference between a casual weekender or someone who camps via power pedestal versus long duration off-grid boondocking is shocking.

So a person purchases a "high-end" smart charger and it does not charge the batteries. Where do they go from there? Exactly where do they go from there?

That is the trouble. We don't know the starting point or the expected destination.

All we know is that the OP is in Dallas with a Megawatt of some rating, a meter of some sort and some jumper cable.