battery charge monitor

[tinman50]

Like everyone else i realize that all factory sensors are worthless. Iv,e at least found a fairly inexpensive hack for telling the actual charge in my batteries. I found an led voltage gauge on amazon for about six bucks and mounted in my switch panel it shows the actual voltage in my batterys all the time. So if the voltage falls below about 11.8 volts I can start the generator to recharge them. Since we dry camp most of the time this was a great add on. I just cut a hole in the panel that holds all the switches and the meter snaps in then i wired the gauge to the battery light on the panel.

[the sodfather]

Nice. I'm gonna check into that. Thanks!

[Desert185]

As an option, I use my surge protector to indicate generator charging amps (disregarding the grounding alert). I use the gen in the morning for coffee and microwave and during the evening for a bit. When the amps indicated on one pole reach 1A or less the batteries are sufficiently charged. Seems to work well for our purposes, and batt voltages never seems to drop to a harmful to them level.

[drdarrin]

Battery voltage under load will read lower than it actually is and it's a lousy way to check State of Charge (SOC). Remove the load and let the batteries rest for 30-60 minutes and your SOC will be more accurate.

This is what I have installed. http://www.bogartengineering.com/products/trimetrics/

The 2030-RV is easy to install. I and everyone I know who uses solar use them. It's a much more accurate way of determining the charge state of your batteries.

[mikell]

This is what i did but changed out the cig plug for 2 more USB

https://smile.amazon.com/Cllena-Func...eywords=rv+usb

It made me a super hero. now I'm putting one on the golf cart

[Yak]

11.8 is too low