Battery Meter or Gauge

[cablerunners]

Hi All,

Is there a reasonably priced battery meter or gauge that show how much amperage is in your battery? I thinking of something I can permanently install like a fuel gauge on a car.



Thanks,
-phil

[bledsoe3]

Phil, This is what I have.
Voltmeter

[cablerunners]

Thanks Jim,

That link sent me to an AC Voltmeter...

But led me to this...

http://tinyurl.com/286xcm

Is this what I would need to tell how much "juice" is in the battery?



-phil

[Mary K]

Oooo, this is a good price! Now, will it work?

Mk

[bledsoe3]

Sorry Phil, I sent the wrong link. This is how mine is mounted.


Mine is a voltage meter, not an amp meter.

[Tear Les]

Thanks Jim,

That link sent me to an AC Voltmeter...

But led me to this...

http://tinyurl.com/286xcm

Is this what I would need to tell how much "juice" is in the battery?



-phil

Phil,

That link goes to an DC Ammeter; that measures current which is the power you're using at any given moment.

What you want is a DC voltmeter which tell you the voltage of the system (battery). That is...how much "juice" is in the batttery.

You're on the right track...get a digital voltmeter. A fully charged battery (rested, not just done charging) is 12.8 volts, a battery at 50% is 12.1 volts. It's hard to read that .7 volt difference on an analog gauge.

If you have a true deep cycle battery for longest life don't let your battery go below 12.1 volts before you recharge. For sure don't let it drop below 11.7 volts (75% discharged) or you'll damage the plates inside. A battery is dead (by definition) at 10.5 volts. By the way, these voltages are with no load on the battery.

HTH

[bledsoe3]

Here's the correct meter. ebay clicky

[cablerunners]

Thanks for link and clearing it up for me!


-phil

[Q]

A volt meter can give you a rough idea but a cumulative amphour meter nails it down. This is what I use in my home solar system.

http://www.bogartengineering.com/

Q

[Dave Bob]

A volt meter can give you a rough idea but a cumulative amphour meter nails it down. This is what I use in my home solar system.

http://www.bogartengineering.com/

Q

I have the TriMetric Battery Monitor in my cabin at the huntin camp....Its a real accurate dude and has more info than most need for a small camper unless you will bondocking for long periods. Also a little pricey with a shunt, about $160 is the cheapest I can find it for now.

Dave

[Steve_Cox]

Those LED DC volt meters linked above run on 5 Volts DC, do they come with a power supply? I used a 0-15 volt DC analog meter, not high tech but doesn't need a power source to operate other than the 12 volt battery.

[bledsoe3]

I'm building a dropping circuit for mine with a momentary switch so it doesn't stay on all the time and draw on the battery.