Bob Vaughn
Well-known member
This is the 12volt panel meter I installed this weekend in my Big Country 3250TS to watch battery health...
12 volt panel meter
- Thread starter Bob Vaughn
- Start date
Bob Vaughn
Well-known member
I wanted to know the volts as lights saying GOOD did not give me enough information....
Oregon_Camper
Well-known member
Bob Vaughn
Well-known member
I taped into one of the 12 volt light switches right below the meter......
Oregon_Camper
Well-known member
branson4020
Icantre Member
Clever idea.
branson4020
Icantre Member
The remote panel for my solar charge controller displays my battery voltage. So does the remote panel for my inverter, if I turn it on. I agree it's very useful to be able to see the actual voltage.
justafordguy
Well-known member
Great idea Bob, I just installed the same thing in mine last weekend. Great minds think alike.
porthole
Retired
I'm using a similar cheap eBay voltmeter in the front compartment, wired to the battery with an on-off switch. Stays on all season
I have found that my Level Up typically displays .5-.6 volts less then any other volt meter I use, which in turn tends to occasionally give a low voltage stop of leveling. Although my of my low voltage issues stopped when I increased the wiring for the pump to 2 gauge
Meter and 2 gauge here
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/11365-And-so-it-begins?p=329212&viewfull=1#post329212
I have found that my Level Up typically displays .5-.6 volts less then any other volt meter I use, which in turn tends to occasionally give a low voltage stop of leveling. Although my of my low voltage issues stopped when I increased the wiring for the pump to 2 gauge
Meter and 2 gauge here
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/11365-And-so-it-begins?p=329212&viewfull=1#post329212
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
I have a Bogart Trimetric now, but I once had an old multimeter taped inside the door of my battery cabinet. I wired it in permanently. It was annolog, but it was very accurate, and since I dragged it out of my tool box it did not cost anything. Radio Shack is a great source for components, if you know what you are looking for.
avvidclif
Well-known member
Past tense, Radio Shack.
Bob Vaughn
Well-known member
Not all Radio Shacks closed.....the one by my house is open but the one in the mall and on the hwy is closed....
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Bogie
Well-known member
I originally put in a digital volt meter but them opted for Xantrex battery monitor. It's like a gas gauge for your batteries. It works great and tells me exactly the condition of my batteries.
Check it out here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001F...ry+monitor&dpPl=1&dpID=41OAxAng74L&ref=plSrch
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Check it out here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001F...ry+monitor&dpPl=1&dpID=41OAxAng74L&ref=plSrch
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
porthole
Retired
My xantrex monitor reads .6 of volt lower then actual, frequently causing low voltage shutdowns.
avvidclif
Well-known member
Look at ebay item # 310995957137 it will remotely monitor the battery voltage and current draw for less than $12. I e-mailed and asked if it would measure both positive(charging) and negative(discharging) current draw but have not gotten a response back yet. I know it should.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Thats a great price and it comes with a shunt also.
My Bogart is complicated and did not come with a shunt, and cost quite a bit more.
The guys on the net that have written about, and illustrated their solar installs, did not have the selections we have today, so you have to take the components that they use and recommend with a grain of salt. Thats why I own a Bogart, rather than one of the newer designs.
Our systems need easier to use interfaces because we don't use our rigs everyday, it a learning experience every time we take our rigs out.
Here is a link to the PDF datasheet to go along with your Amazon link. There is a lot of information that can be extracted from that device.
http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Ac...ttery-Monitor/DS20080912_LinkPRO_LinkLITE.pdf
My Bogart is complicated and did not come with a shunt, and cost quite a bit more.
The guys on the net that have written about, and illustrated their solar installs, did not have the selections we have today, so you have to take the components that they use and recommend with a grain of salt. Thats why I own a Bogart, rather than one of the newer designs.
Our systems need easier to use interfaces because we don't use our rigs everyday, it a learning experience every time we take our rigs out.
Here is a link to the PDF datasheet to go along with your Amazon link. There is a lot of information that can be extracted from that device.
http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Ac...ttery-Monitor/DS20080912_LinkPRO_LinkLITE.pdf
