Best battery monitors? And low voltage cutoff?

[dlandersson]

Is there a "stock" 2 battery set-up?

WHOA!! Okay seapup get the award for most info I could never understand - so did they ever make any conclusions? Did any of you smart guys read this stuff to see which one is the best for a factory stock 2 battery MAC setup?

Is there a link we need to read seapup? (Or is this all in some print mag?)

[BOAT]

Good question, I can't read the magazine pictures too well because they are not enlarging big enough for my eyes. Can anyone see what their conclusions were? Which meter did the magazine like?

[grady]

I did not see where they chose a winner. I did not read everything just skimmed over some of the ending comments. They did not test the M2.

Well H&!!. All this looking for information on these monitors just cost me $270 on Amazon. I now have a M2 SOC DC meter on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On top of the TP22 and two Pontos wenches I purchased today from Defender.

[Sumner]

Here is my take on the whole deal. First why do we even look at getting any of these monitors. They don't make our batteries last any longer unless we use the info we get from them. The info that is the most valuable is telling us if we are drawing our batteries under 50% charge (SOC - State Of Charge). Our batteries are only going to live so long regardless of what we do to them but keeping them about 50% SOC helps them to live longer than if we go below this frequently.

If the meter tells you that you are going below 50% on a regular basis you are going to have to come up with a way to use less electricity or a way to charge the battery before it goes below 50%. Reading Maine Sail's article on the Balmar Smart Gauge ( http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/smart_gauge ) it looks like over time it will give the best results in showing you the true SOC. The Blue Sea's monitor over time is going to need new inputs from you to keep it accurate and according to Maine Sail most boaters don't know how or won't figure out what the new inputs need to be to keep it accurate. What it does have going for it is that if you want to see how many amps something on the boat draws it is pretty simple to do that. Watch the meter as you turn the item on and off and you will see how many amps it draws.

If you have the boat bucks and want to spend it on one of these take your pick. One is simple to connect and will probably give you the best indication of battery SOC down the road. You could get it and a separate amp meter similar to what I run and use it to tell how many amps something draws. The Blue Seas will tell you that and probably be somewhat close on SOC down the road but requires a few more wires to connect but it is easy. Mount the shunt near the battery and take the neg. lead off the battery and put it on one side of the shunt. Get a short battery cable and connect it from the other side of the shunt to the neg. battery post. Then run a couple much smaller wires from the other posts on the shunt to the meter and you are done.

There is another option if you don't want to spend $250 to $400. Get a volt meter only and connect it to the battery to get battery voltage. Chances are if you have refrigeration on the boat that will be the big draw and chances are that your batteries will be at their lowest in the morning. With the fridge not running then and other loads off look at the volt meter...



... the voltage you see will be a good indicator of your battery's SOC. Compare it to the chart above. You can do this other times of the day but for a good reading the battery shouldn't be under any load and should of been off load for a while (30 minutes or so is best) but you will still get a reasonable reading if nothing has been drawing or charging the battery for a little bit.



The volt meter and a block of wood with the numbers off the SOC chart above (first picture) are how I determine SOC. The 12.6 volts and the chart tells me the battery is at 100% SOC. A $300 meter would of told me the same without me having to refer to the meter and the block of wood. The meter and block of wood with the numbers on it has worked fine for me for some time . I'll do the same on the Endeavour. I'd rather put the $300+ into more solar panels so I don't have to worry so much about the SOC ,

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[dlandersson]

BOAT - a hole in the water you pour money into

I did not see where they chose a winner. I did not read everything just skimmed over some of the ending comments. They did not test the M2.

Well H&!!. All this looking for information on these monitors just cost me $270 on Amazon. I now have a M2 SOC DC meter on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On top of the TP22 and two Pontos wenches I purchased today from Defender.

[NiceAft]

I did not see where they chose a winner. I did not read everything just skimmed over some of the ending comments. They did not test the M2.

Well H&!!. All this looking for information on these monitors just cost me $270 on Amazon. I now have a M2 SOC DC meter on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On top of the TP22 and two Pontos wenches I purchased today from Defender.

If you purchased two wenches, does that make you a p•mp
Ray

[BOAT]

Sumner says all I need is a block of wood. I have lots of that. My head is made of the stuff. I guess I will start preparations on my block of wood soon.

Right now I am working on a wireless remote control for the autopilot.

After all that is done I probably will NEED a block of wood to tell me when my battery is dead. Maybe Sumner will tell me how to use a solar panel to keep the battery alive when that starts happening.

[grady]

Sumner

I have that exact graph below my volt meter on the boat right now. But I like things that light up and give me more information than I need.

[grady]

BOAT - a hole in the water you pour money into

I did not see where they chose a winner. I did not read everything just skimmed over some of the ending comments. They did not test the M2.

Well H&!!. All this looking for information on these monitors just cost me $270 on Amazon. I now have a M2 SOC DC meter on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On top of the TP22 and two Pontos wenches I purchased today from Defender.

I do not even think about the money. This is my hobby that makes me happy! I can spend 10 hours a day working on my boat and it is just as much fun as sailing it.

[Wind Chime]

Right now I am working on a wireless remote control for the autopilot.

... thread hi-jack alert ...

BOAT, we have a wired remote for our auto pilot and just LOVE IT !!!

We installed it near the galley so I can steer while making lunch underway, but the wire is long enough for me to sit on the fore deck and lean against the mast and steer while under sail, or even into a harbor for fun to make it look like no one is driving.

... now back to the regular scheduled thread ...

[BOAT]

Right now I am working on a wireless remote control for the autopilot.

... thread hi-jack alert ...

BOAT, we have a wired remote for our auto pilot and just LOVE IT !!!

We installed it near the galley so I can steer while making lunch underway, but the wire is long enough for me to sit on the fore deck and lean against the mast and steer while under sail, or even into a harbor for fun to make it look like no one is driving.

... now back to the regular scheduled thread ...

WARNING WARNING ! HIJACK ALERT!

OOOOH! OOOOH! WIND CHIME I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THAT! I just set up my base station!! It's a wireless base station and it will send and recieve signals WIRELESSLY and can talk all the messages on my backbone that are Device Net! I can control the AP from my pocket anywhere on the boat! INCLUDING BATTERY CONDITION INFO if I so choose to put the info on the backbone using a meter with a code reader!

So this is not really such a big hijack at all but sort of related too! (Although I can't think of a single reason to transmit your battery condition wirelessly in DeviceNet sentences unless your to lazy to look at the panel)

If this had been an actual hijack the moderators would have made me disappear!

Sorry guys, I got a little too exited there. (How you like the pink?)

So I think I am leaning towards the Smart Gauge but the Merlin Datacell really has my attention like the Blue Sea Systems one does. Still undecided.

The block of wood one is still the best but I'm not sure it will work underwater - needs testing.

[dlandersson]

When you run out of "fun" - I have lots more "fun" for you

I do not even think about the money. This is my hobby that makes me happy! I can spend 10 hours a day working on my boat and it is just as much fun as sailing it.

[Flightfollowing]

I agree with sumner on keeping it simple and thinking about what you really need to accomplish. Probably most of us have pretty simple electrical demands, primarily lights and maybe fridge and accessories like phone chargers and music; and fairly simple power systems, a house and start battery or just a single battery. I have a cheap voltmeter display and the crew (wife and kid) have instructions to let me know if it ever reads at or below 12.0 volts, when I'll start the engine or investigate if shore power has come unplugged.
When I got the fridge I added the low voltage cutoff and set it around 12v, figuring that the fridge is likely to run all the time even if we are sleeping or off the boat, and I don't want it destroying the battery with over discharge. So now if we screw up somehow, no problem, the lvd will cut power to everything leaving the battery healthy and enough juice to start the motor even if I had only a single battery, and we will be alerted to the condition when the lights don't work or the music stops.
So I would much rather spend $60 on an lvd and $10 on a simple voltmeter and get much better and safer functionality than a $100 to $300 state of charge meter. If your off the boat and something happens to shore power, your $300 soc is not going to save your battery like the $60 lvd will. If your on the boat but mis planned somehow, then only a soc meter with an alarm set properly and loud enough to wake you up will help, but the lvd will work every time.
However, I do want a meter that I can troubleshoot or just test how well solar panels are working or if the alternator is working properly, so I think I am just going to buy a dc clamp ammeter:
http://www.amazon.com/Uni-T-UT210E-Curr ... l_huc_item
And stick with the simple voltmeter display and state of charge printout.
I figure the $40 portable dc ammeter, $10 display voltmeter, and $60 lvd give me dramatically more safety and versatility than any fancy high dollar state of charge device.
Here is another reasonably economical lvd for blue sea for you blue sea fans: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems- ... WZ5Q39V53P

[kurz]

Hi sumner

In german wie say: "wer viel misst, misst Misst"

Cannot translate...

[grady]

I agree with sumner on keeping it simple

Have you looked at Summer's mods? I do not think he keeps anything simple. He does do modifications that are very useful to him. looking at his designs they should be reliable. Just because it is simple does not make it more reliable. I have seen people make a nav light installation un reliable.

I beleive it was dlanderson that was the KISS guy. Rock and Roll BABY!!!!!!!!!