Thoughts on this battery meter
Basck when I upgraded the wiring to the batteries, and installed my PD converter/charger, I added a voltmeter: I use this to monitor converter output, ie, when the PD is in boost mode, and al...
Forum Discussion
"Measuring voltage can be relatively accurate only after a couple of hours with out input or current drain."
Technically correct, but not applicable to camping when the accuracy needed is just to be able to decide if it is time to do a recharge or not.
I find the voltage comes back quickly in a couple of minutes (not hours) to what passes for "resting" while camping, except if solar is on during the day, when the surface charge takes so long to dissipate if you turn off the solar.
If it is showing 12.3 with nothing running and the furnace comes on so it says 11.9 or whatever, and the furnace goes off, it only takes a minute to go back to 12.3. That 12.3 is a good marker for what is going on.
The morning voltage is most useful to get your daily usage so you can predict when the next recharge will be. Say it drops by 0.2 each day. Starts from home at full 12.7 then 12.5, 12.3, so you know next morning it will be 12.1 and that is your time to do another 50-90. (if you have Wet 6s where 12.1 is 50%--wet 12s its 12.2) It doesn't matter if it is 0.1v out of whack. Who cares if it is really 12.2 or 12.4 instead of 12.3?
But you plan to go sight-seeing tomorrow, so no chance to sit there with the generator running for a couple hours, so you decide to do the recharge today. You don't want to go an extra day and let it get down to 11.9.
So camping is not a science lab and the voltmeter is accurate enough for what you want it for. An AH counter is also a good tool, especially when you can compare that count with your morning voltage to see if they "agree" (if they don't you can go looking for what's wrong) But you can get by without the AH counter; you can't get by without the voltmeter.
Technically correct, but not applicable to camping when the accuracy needed is just to be able to decide if it is time to do a recharge or not.
I find the voltage comes back quickly in a couple of minutes (not hours) to what passes for "resting" while camping, except if solar is on during the day, when the surface charge takes so long to dissipate if you turn off the solar.
If it is showing 12.3 with nothing running and the furnace comes on so it says 11.9 or whatever, and the furnace goes off, it only takes a minute to go back to 12.3. That 12.3 is a good marker for what is going on.
The morning voltage is most useful to get your daily usage so you can predict when the next recharge will be. Say it drops by 0.2 each day. Starts from home at full 12.7 then 12.5, 12.3, so you know next morning it will be 12.1 and that is your time to do another 50-90. (if you have Wet 6s where 12.1 is 50%--wet 12s its 12.2) It doesn't matter if it is 0.1v out of whack. Who cares if it is really 12.2 or 12.4 instead of 12.3?
But you plan to go sight-seeing tomorrow, so no chance to sit there with the generator running for a couple hours, so you decide to do the recharge today. You don't want to go an extra day and let it get down to 11.9.
So camping is not a science lab and the voltmeter is accurate enough for what you want it for. An AH counter is also a good tool, especially when you can compare that count with your morning voltage to see if they "agree" (if they don't you can go looking for what's wrong) But you can get by without the AH counter; you can't get by without the voltmeter.
