Upgrading batteries and adding battery monitor

[quicky06]

Well I am halfway into the install ( all the stuff up front is done ) I have 1 question though. Would there be any side effects to disconnecting power to the battery monitor with the battery cutoff switch. ( pull power from the load side of the cutoff vs the battery side for the shunt)?

I know these work as amps in vs amps out and just want to make sure. I would hate to damages these batteries by letting the battery monitor drain them too low.

[RubyDually]

As long as your switch is close to the battery bank I can't see a problem with attaching the positive wire there.

The power draw from the monitor alone is barely measurable if at all so I wouldn't be concerned with it draining the batteries but it would be nice to shut it off while in storage without disconnecting the battery cable.

A word of caution when hooking up the positive wire to the terminal.... Take out the fuse first! Don't ask how I learned this.

[babock]

The power meter should be between the battery and everything else. You want the monitor in place so that you can see the current be supplied to the battery with the battery switch to the rest of the trailer in the off position.

[quicky06]

Originally Posted by babock

The power meter should be between the battery and everything else. You want the monitor in place so that you can see the current be supplied to the battery with the battery switch to the rest of the trailer in the off position.

What rest of the trailer? The shut is installed on the negative battery cable before it goes to the frame. It measures everything wether or not the disconnect switch ( positive side) is in or off. There is no rest of the trailer and when turned off the battery is completely isolated.

[babock]

What I meant is that you want the power meter measuring the current going to the battery from the solar independent even if the battery disconnect for the trailer is off.

The battery disconnect is not going to isolate the solar from the battery.

[quicky06]

Originally Posted by babock

What I meant is that you want the power meter measuring the current going to the battery from the solar independent even if the battery disconnect for the trailer is off.

The battery disconnect is not going to isolate the solar from the battery.

Oh okay. No solar for me. Well not yet. Just the generator and plug in. Solar is out of my budget/ needs.

[babock]

Originally Posted by quicky06

Oh okay. No solar for me. Well not yet. Just the generator and plug in. Solar is out of my budget/ needs.

I get so mixed up with so many posts going on that I can't keep track of what who is doing what.

[quicky06]

Well I've got everything installed except the battery monitor display, just plugged it in to the shunt for now.

Dumbest thing I have ever seen. They ran the 6 awg wire from the converter to the bus bar then shared a 12gauge wire to the frame with the 120v system.

I've only let the batteries get down to 90 percent. I've lgotten 39 amps /13.6 volts charging displayed so far. Witht the converter off and the lights and fans running it gives me 43 hours until 0%. So I'm assuming with that load it will take 20ish hours to reach 50 percent. So Monday or Tuesday I'll drain it down to 60 percent or so and see what bulk charging is like.

In the mean time i have a Bluetooth dongle ordered so I am mount the display in a less than convieant location ( aka not spend hours figureing out how to run the wire) and still be able to loiter on the phone/tablet.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by quicky06

Oh okay. No solar for me. Well not yet. Just the generator and plug in. Solar is out of my budget/ needs.

As long as the solar connects on the coach side of the shunt all will be measured as it should.