Does anybody know the answer to the following questions:
1) What is actually being measured? (ie. total amp Hours, usable amp hours, voltage, etc..)
2) With the two house battery set-up, what are the total amp hours and usable amp hours?
3. With the monitor reading almost empty, how many hours do you need to drive to fully charge the batteries?
I'm an electrical dummy so forgive what might be silly questions.
Per the mfg,here are those features the monitor supposedly does, following a bit of info from me.
Essentially, a battery's capacity is measured in amp hours which, if you monitor your usage, this meter should tell you your remaining. As a rule, a battery should not go below 50%, although I try hard not to use more than 25% of the total. I hate buying batteries more often than necessary. Each battery has an expected recharge cycle number.
You would figure the total usage via an amp meter, of which this might tell you provided you push the right buttons. But, to understand what this means, consider a 12w light bulb used over an 8 hour period or 1 day's use (assuming night use of 8 hours). The formula: P=IE, should be used. Therefore, P=watts w, I=current in amps a, and E=Voltage v. So, (12a/12v=1amp)*8hr=8amps. If your battery contains 80 amps total, then 80a*50%=40a, which means your battery would last 5 days if this is the only thing running. 40a/8a=5 nights.
Unfortunately, you've got a lot more running, supposedly, so the meter will tell you about your availability which will be less than these 5 nights, including a surface discharge of a negligble amount.
Voltage is measured as E=IR, where E=volts v, I=current, and r=resistance. As the voltage changes due to use, so does your current availability, assuming the resistance remains constant. Unfortunately, voltage measurements are simply not as accurate a predictor of usage by itself.
Because you are probably like me, we don't want to do calculations more than simple algebra. As such, this meter should be much better than idiot lights normally on RVs.
Although I do not have this meter, my Link 2000 had similar attributes. You should consult the manual for exact settings and be sure to use the required wiring diagrams including the temp sensor on the battery. The type of battery, such as lead acid or GEL, etc, makes a difference so check them out.
Mike
Linkpro battery monitorbattery status at a glancedefining the amount of energy available in a battery is a complex task since battery age, discharge current and temperature all influence the actual battery capacity. high performance measuring circuits, along with complex software algorithms, are used to exactly determine the remaining battery capacity. a new shunt selection feature enables the linkpro to measure currents up to 10,000 amps.the linkpro selectively displays voltage, charge and discharge current, consumed amphours, remaining battery capacity and the time remaining of your battery bank. using a clear backlit lcd display and an intuitive user interface, all parameters can be recalled with just a button press. a second battery input is also provided to monitor voltage on a second battery.it is equipped with an internal programmable alarm relay, to run a generator when needed or to turn off devices when the battery voltage exceeds programmable boundaries.performance featuresread your battery bank like a fuel gauge provides critical information about the status of your battery bank displays voltage, current, consumed amphours and remaining battery capacity two battery inputs auto sensing battery voltage inputs large backlit lcd display quick nut mounting construction programmable alarm relay shunt selection capability enables flexible system integration splash proof frontpanel 500 amp shunt included ce and e-mark certified displays time remaining.
I believe the OP is interested in what the monitor that comes in his unit is measuring. Simple answer is the battery voltage. As to the amp hours you have, if they are 12 volt batteries you add the a/h together for the 2 batteries if they are 6 volt the a/h is what is stated on 1 of the batteries. To charge the batteries it is best to use a seperate charger to charge them if they are real low. Remember you can damage the batteries if you discharge them to far.
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John & Deb
2011 F250 Lariat FX4 Crew Cab 6.2
2011 Flagstaff V-Lite 30WRLS
You would have to drive to the west coast and back to charge a pair of deep cycle batteries with just the truck alternator. Since it is a 1 stage charging device, and is designed to replace the electrons used to start your truck, it is a very poor charger for the umpty-trillion electrons you used to power your camper till a pair of deep discharge batteries died.
See the attached PDF for why.
You really need a generator and a dedicated battery charger to plug into the generator to have a chance of charging up a deep discharge battery bank in a few hours of generator run time. Even the camper's converter will take a day or two if you have two house batteries.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
1. Actually Voltage is measured as that is an indication of battery charge. ~13V is a fully charged battery and it goes down to 10.5V for an empty battery.
2. A Solera with the two battery setup you have 200Ah of total capacity. Can't remember if they are Group 24 or Group 27 batteries.
3. The converter/charger is rated at about 35A - but not all will charge the batteries. If you are almost empty (i.e. 50A left) it will take the generator over 6 hours to charge the batteries to almost full again (usable). For completely full it will take a few days.
Yes, we do a lot of dry camping. Our sailboat has one of these hitec battery monitors and I love it. There is a setting called scroll where I always leave it and all it does is constantly scroll through all the voltages, amp hours consumed, amp hours remaining and etc.. Its an amazing device and I can see now that with all the dry camping we do I need one on the RV.
Am curious though, when you are charging with shore power or with the Onan generator, then the AC electrons are going to an onboard charger? Is that
charger a single stage charger or a three stage computer controlled smart charger?
Yes, we do a lot of dry camping. Our sailboat has one of these hitec battery monitors and I love it. There is a setting called scroll where I always leave it and all it does is constantly scroll through all the voltages, amp hours consumed, amp hours remaining and etc.. Its an amazing device and I can see now that with all the dry camping we do I need one on the RV.
Am curious though, when you are charging with shore power or with the Onan generator, then the AC electrons are going to an onboard charger? Is that
charger a single stage charger or a three stage computer controlled smart charger?
Most campers have 3 stage chargers. As the battery fills, the battery voltage increases and the charger needs to "change gears" to slow the rate of charge to avoid boiling the battery. At 90% full, the Converter will switch it's charging circuit to "FLOAT" (or 3rd stage) and drop the charge rate to about 500 milliamps. That is why it can take days with the internal charger to completely fill a depleted battery.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
It is true that with a good digital volt meter you can determine the amount of capacity left in a battery bank, a tenth of a volt has a big impact on the state of charge (see graph).
With a monitoring system, it measures the amperage across a shunt and can actually monitor the amps being used and the computer will remember the exact amount of capacity being used.
When you program the monitor one of the user inputs is the total number of AH your bank has. For example, I have two DC-24 Deka batteries of 75AH each. That makes my bank capacity 150AH.
As power is consumed the computer subtracts that power from the programmed capacity and shows that as a percent remaining. You can also see instant amps being used and volts on two systems (solar and battery, each battery, etc) depending on how you wire the voltage sensor wires.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
When you are driving, does the AC current from the alternator go directly to the coach deep cycle batteries or does it go to the smart charger and then to the coach deep cycle batteries?
I believe the OP is interested in what the monitor that comes in his unit is measuring. Simple answer is the battery voltage. As to the amp hours you have, if they are 12 volt batteries you add the a/h together for the 2 batteries if they are 6 volt the a/h is what is stated on 1 of the batteries. To charge the batteries it is best to use a seperate charger to charge them if they are real low. Remember you can damage the batteries if you discharge them to far.
This is how the "idiot lights" on the stock monitor reports battery health.
As you can see, all 4 lights does not mean the battery is full; it means it is charging.
3 lights means it is 50% or more charged (when THIS one goes out it is time to start the generator
2 lights on means the batteries are 20% or more and when THIS goes out your battery will never charge the same and will permanently lose capacity. This means your brand new 75AH battery may now only charge back up to 70AH not 75.
1 light means there is at least 6 volts remaining and if IT goes out you will be needing a new battery a LOT sooner than you think.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
When you are driving, does the AC current from the alternator go directly to the coach deep cycle batteries or does it go to the smart charger and then to the coach deep cycle batteries?
Thank you
Robert
Robert, I am NOT a motor coach guy. Here is some information that should answer your question.
As I understand it, you have a bidirectional isolating relay that ports alternator current and voltage to your house batteries when the coach is running. Using the alternator is very inefficient to charge the coach batteries (see attached).
The "converter" needs 120VAC to charge the batteries and you would need to run the on board generator to power that.
Herk
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
I got the 2025A installed but they did not enter any of the three parameters you need, ie. P1, P2 and P3. I used P1 13.4, P2 3.0 and P3 150. Is that what you used when setting yours up?
This confuses me
We dry camp and I plug in ac before we go
There will be 4 lights showing when I unplug
We use the lights and tv and its down to 2 lights next morning ,run gen for 45 min , back to 4 lights. Last am of camping I didn't run gen but drove home about 20 miles and 4 lights show so truck gen must do a good job of charging batteries
I got the 2025A installed but they did not enter any of the three parameters you need, ie. P1, P2 and P3. I used P1 13.4, P2 3.0 and P3 150. Is that what you used when setting yours up?
Thank you.
Bob
Bob,
On the road with very limited Internet
P1 - is set 1-2 % below the WFCO (if you have that) Absorbtion Voltage of 13.6 Volts DC ( so 13.4 is perfect)
P3 - is your total AH available (I have 2 - 75 AH batteries so 150 is correct for me
P2 - is the charged setpoint amps. Take your total AH available (in my case 150 AH) and multiply by 2 and divide by 100. so 150x2/100 is 3.0
So if you have 2 75 AH batteries your settings are perfect in all respects.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
This confuses me
We dry camp and I plug in ac before we go
There will be 4 lights showing when I unplug
We use the lights and tv and its down to 2 lights next morning ,run gen for 45 min , back to 4 lights. Last am of camping I didn't run gen but drove home about 20 miles and 4 lights show so truck gen must do a good job of charging batteries
4 lights is not 100% charged. It means the battery is BEING charged.
2 lights is bad and immediate charging is needed.
Always recharge to 100% (takes about 2 days with the converter) when the 3rd light goes out (50% of capacity)
Your truck's alternator is will not do a good job of recharging your battery; it will "maintain" it. See attached PDF for why this is so.
A deep cycle battery needs way more time to charge than a car or truck battery due to its plate construction.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
When I leave it plugged in,than unplug and test 4 lights show
After a night of use, 2 or 3 show so I turn on gen for 45min and when I turn everything off and test than 4 lights show and after driving 25 miles , parking and turning every off 4 light show so it sounds like that is a useless measure and I need to install a meter
It also worried me if I dry camp for a week or more I could ruin the batteries
Problem is that the lights on the panel really provide a state of charge after about 24 hrs of rest with no current draw at all. And the 4 lights mean only about 75 percent charge unless you use a GOOD 3 stage charger, which the RV converter is not.
I'm guessing that you are leaving home with about a 75 percent charge and run that down to less than 50% overnight. Eventually over not to many cycles, this will degrade your batteries. In essence you have only about 25% usable capacity (from 75% to 50% of rated capacity). So if you have a 100 AH 12 volt deep cycle, like many campers then you have 25amphrs to use and that is VERY easy to deplete just with lights and furnace. Non LED lights use close to 2 amps per bulb and furnaces use 4 or more amps when running. Think about how little time you have with 25amps.
More batteries and better chargers are going to be necessary if you dry camp very much
It has 2 batteries and I plug it in at home for a couple of days before we go
I will run the gen in am to top off batteries
I will need to change out my lights since we rarely use the furnace and plan trips with hook up camping mixed with dry camping
In keeping with the dicussion here, does anybody know how 2 six volt golf cart batteries wired in series, to put out the required 12v might work. I understand that the plate construction in golf cart batteries is much heavier, and allows for a deeper discharge and recovery with less over all damage to the useful battery life. Also, might the recharge function be an issue with golf cart type batteries, given the existing battery management system on the Solera . Just raising a question here.
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