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03-20-2018, 07:58 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Concord,Ca.
Posts: 59
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12 volt capacity
Does anyone know of a gauge I can install that will show the condition of 12 volt system better then the 3 red dots
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2014 Rockwood 2604WS
2019 Chevy Trail Boss 1500 Crew Cab 4x4
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03-20-2018, 08:05 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brazoria County, Texas
Posts: 1,460
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Just about anything, lol. Depends on how accurate you want to be or how critical it is to you. I just use a cheap multimeter and check voltage once or twice a day when it's been sitting for a few hours with nothing on. You can go the opposite way and install one of these
TriMetric Model Descriptions - Bogart Engineering
or somewhere in the middle of the price range. Many people get some sort of clamp on meter.
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2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ - HD tow package
2017 Rockwood 2703WS Emerald Edition
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03-20-2018, 08:06 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Foothills of Southern Alberta
Posts: 2,005
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One of these will work well for you. I have this monitor in my trailer and am quite pleased with it.
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2007 Surveyor SV230 - 200 Watts Solar/MPPT Controller - 220 AH Battery Bank (Two-GC2) - 600 watt PSW Inverter - (2) 2000 watt Inverter Generators - LED Lighting
2009 F150 - 5.4 Litre with Tow Package
Boon Docking 99% of the time.
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03-20-2018, 08:11 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brazoria County, Texas
Posts: 1,460
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boondocking
One of these will work well for you. I have this monitor in my trailer and am quite pleased with it.
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I may go with one of those myself. It's not so critical for me to really watch it, but I do go dry for a few days a year where I've got to watch power. Beats sticking a meter on a battery in the cold and wet.
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2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ - HD tow package
2017 Rockwood 2703WS Emerald Edition
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03-20-2018, 08:16 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Snohomish, WA
Posts: 1,151
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boondocking
One of these will work well for you. I have this monitor in my trailer and am quite pleased with it.
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This is interesting. Are you able to see Amps used or just amps currently being used?
How is it wired into your trailer to take an overall measurement?
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2017 Forest River Surveyor 247BHDS...
...Tugged by a 2016 F250 XLT FX4 SuperCrew, Shortbed 6.2L, 4wd, 3.73...
...Joined with a Husky Centerline TS 800-1200lbs WDH
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03-20-2018, 08:22 PM
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#6
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Always Learning
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Four Corners, FL
Posts: 21,891
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When I upgraded my batteries, I knew I wanted a good look at the state of charge, voltage, and amp hours used. This gives me everything I need and has a handy app on my phone that talks to it via Bluetooth.
http://learntorv.com/victron-battery-monitor/
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Officially a SOB with a 2022 Jayco Precept 36C
Checkout my site for RVing tips, tricks, and info | Was a Fulltime Family for 5 years, now we're part-timing on long trips
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03-20-2018, 08:45 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Foothills of Southern Alberta
Posts: 2,005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clarkbre
This is interesting. Are you able to see Amps used or just amps currently being used?
How is it wired into your trailer to take an overall measurement?
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Amps used, present amp usage, voltage, state of charge plus other readings.
It is wired in with a shunt. Comes with the install instructions.
__________________
2007 Surveyor SV230 - 200 Watts Solar/MPPT Controller - 220 AH Battery Bank (Two-GC2) - 600 watt PSW Inverter - (2) 2000 watt Inverter Generators - LED Lighting
2009 F150 - 5.4 Litre with Tow Package
Boon Docking 99% of the time.
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03-20-2018, 09:09 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Kalamazoo
Posts: 2,139
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The factory meters are worthless. Yesterday my batteries were so dead the landing gear would not work but the meter read full.
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03-21-2018, 09:16 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 334
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I used a less than $20 volt meter and the volts to % chart. This works much better than the 4 lights. Granted I had to pop the cover off the battery box to test the battery once or twice a day but it only takes a minute and is no big deal.
That being said, I think I finally found the interior one I am going to install this year. Tracks everything from amps in and out to total amps used and more. It's expensive but I like the features.
http://amzn.to/2uc5CzM
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03-26-2018, 10:23 AM
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#10
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,370
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The Victron 700 is a very nice unit and relatively easy to install.
HOWEVER, I wound up with a big disappointment. Installed it in our new Wildcat to monitor the batteries (when dry camping) because of the residential refrigerator (est. 7 amp draw) that uses an inverter when not hooked to shore power. Got the Victron installed, started the inverter to read the refrigerator draw on the batteries; NO CHANGE.
Further investigation showed me that the inverter has a whole separate circuit off of the batteries (that I hadn't really noticed). Therefore, the Victron does not measure the draw on the batteries for the inverter.
I know, I kinda hijacked the thread but thought the OP's question had been answered.
Big disappointment.
Anyone got any ideas how to get around this issue? I'll say that the inverter battery connections are a lot larger diameter wire.
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2021 F350 Lariat 7.3 4X4 w 4.30s, 2018 Wildcat 29RLX
2012 BMW G650GS, Demco Premiere Slider
1969 John Deere 1020, 1940 Ford 9N, 1948 Ford 8N
Jonsered 535, Can of WD-40, Duct Tape
Red Green coffee mugs
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03-26-2018, 10:35 AM
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#11
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World Wide Wanderer
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Sprung Leak, NC
Posts: 1,732
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I use a cheap plug in gauge in the 12 volt outlet by the television. Gives me a quick read of what is going on. I also have a SOC table taped to the wall right by the outlet. Eventually I plan to spring for the Victron with the bluetooth.
Aaron
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Aaron & Rhonda
wahoonc & Airangel60
2016 Coachmen Concord 300DS
2015 Fusion Hybrid following along
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03-26-2018, 10:02 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 1,502
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wahoonc
I use a cheap plug in gauge in the 12 volt outlet by the television. Gives me a quick read of what is going on. I also have a SOC table taped to the wall right by the outlet. Eventually I plan to spring for the Victron with the bluetooth.
Aaron
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Using voltage as a measure of battery charge requires that ANY load on them be removed for at least 4 hours for battery to reach equilibrium. At that point voltage is a fairly accurate representation of state of charge.
Although I'm a firm believer of using a Trimetric or Victron battery monitor for folks who are fairly dedicated dry campers, for $88 (almost 1/2 the cost of the monitor plus shunt plus wiring and time install) you can get a 2 stroke harbor freight generator that puts out 800 watts to top off your batteries for a couple of hours each day. The generator isn't that noisy and I barely hear it running when I'm inside the camper. A 20 feet extension cord would make the generator noise virtually non-existent.
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03-27-2018, 12:13 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Foothills of Southern Alberta
Posts: 2,005
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I wouldn't say 91 db is not very noisy, that is annoyingly loud.
That would be like listening to an old gas lawn mower (90 db) operating for a couple hours every day. No Thank You!
__________________
2007 Surveyor SV230 - 200 Watts Solar/MPPT Controller - 220 AH Battery Bank (Two-GC2) - 600 watt PSW Inverter - (2) 2000 watt Inverter Generators - LED Lighting
2009 F150 - 5.4 Litre with Tow Package
Boon Docking 99% of the time.
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03-27-2018, 12:44 AM
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#14
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Site Team
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyliner
you can get a 2 stroke harbor freight generator that puts out 800 watts to top off your batteries for a couple of hours each day. The generator isn't that noisy and I barely hear it running when I'm inside the camper. A 20 feet extension cord would make the generator noise virtually non-existent.
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Yea, but how loud is it to the campers next to you?
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Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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03-27-2018, 07:26 AM
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#15
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,370
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Yes, I tried using a voltmeter and it didn't help much at all . . . .
__________________
2021 F350 Lariat 7.3 4X4 w 4.30s, 2018 Wildcat 29RLX
2012 BMW G650GS, Demco Premiere Slider
1969 John Deere 1020, 1940 Ford 9N, 1948 Ford 8N
Jonsered 535, Can of WD-40, Duct Tape
Red Green coffee mugs
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03-27-2018, 05:43 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,098
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I find a $7 digital voltmeter (from Amazon) does everything I want it to. I put in a permanent installation near the door with a switch. I turn on the switch to glance at the system voltage, and then turn it off.
The current draws of my little A-frame are small enough (3.7A for the heater fan) that the voltages are a reasonable approximation of battery state. And when plugged in, the meter shows what mode the converter is in. Without a generator or solar to mess readings up, the voltmeter is good enough.
batteries: 2 GC-2 232AH Interstate batteries from Costco ($150 for the pair in 2016)
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
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