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
Hi BurbMan,
That bar-graph display is not a particularly useful "battery monitor", although having a digital volt-meter most certainly can be handy at times! So, if that particular display appeals to you, and you don't mind having only one decimal place of resolution, and you don't need to know the SOC, then there's nothing wrong with that meter… Go for it!
I purchased the same volt/ammeter that Rich (RJsfishin) has from an ebay seller named "haruyr_kb" ('cept I chose a 100A shunt) for $11. I installed it in the dashboard of my truck so that I can monitor voltage and current from my alternator to the house battery bank. I was able to calibrate the voltage display (using a Fluke DVM) and it has proven to be quite accurate. It is nice to know what's happening, but this type of ammeter is one-way only (positive Amps,but not negative Amps). Again, useful info… but not a battery monitor.
In my TC I have a TriMetric battery monitor because (like mena661), SOC and how many (theoretical) Amp-hours I have left until charged or discharged is the most important data to me. But a TriMetric is quite a bit more expensive than a basic digital voltmeter and I acknowledge that not everybody wants/needs that level of battery monitoring.
Happy tinkering!
-Mark
That bar-graph display is not a particularly useful "battery monitor", although having a digital volt-meter most certainly can be handy at times! So, if that particular display appeals to you, and you don't mind having only one decimal place of resolution, and you don't need to know the SOC, then there's nothing wrong with that meter… Go for it!
I purchased the same volt/ammeter that Rich (RJsfishin) has from an ebay seller named "haruyr_kb" ('cept I chose a 100A shunt) for $11. I installed it in the dashboard of my truck so that I can monitor voltage and current from my alternator to the house battery bank. I was able to calibrate the voltage display (using a Fluke DVM) and it has proven to be quite accurate. It is nice to know what's happening, but this type of ammeter is one-way only (positive Amps,but not negative Amps). Again, useful info… but not a battery monitor.
In my TC I have a TriMetric battery monitor because (like mena661), SOC and how many (theoretical) Amp-hours I have left until charged or discharged is the most important data to me. But a TriMetric is quite a bit more expensive than a basic digital voltmeter and I acknowledge that not everybody wants/needs that level of battery monitoring.
Happy tinkering!
-Mark
