Note the item in "Sail Mag" this month on how to build, on the cheep, a system to test the charge condition of your batteries. Looks good from here, now if I can just determine where to put it?
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neighbors
jack, we are neighbors. I have a 1978 Hunter 25 in the little cove across from BWB marina. Hope to see you some time. thanks for the word on the battery tester....was looking for that info. ramu nallamala S/V TarHeel
jack, we are neighbors. I have a 1978 Hunter 25 in the little cove across from BWB marina. Hope to see you some time. thanks for the word on the battery tester....was looking for that info. ramu nallamala S/V TarHeel
It won't work!
Unless that is NOT an ammeter that they are using. The drawing shows them putting an ammeter across the battery terminals (with a fuse and switch). All you will get is a blown fuse.
Unless that is NOT an ammeter that they are using. The drawing shows them putting an ammeter across the battery terminals (with a fuse and switch). All you will get is a blown fuse.
Now I am confused
Think we need to rethink this. Would not a volt meter be more appropiate? I would think that an amp meter would show what? Now I'm not sure what. Do we have an electrial engineer out there?
Think we need to rethink this. Would not a volt meter be more appropiate? I would think that an amp meter would show what? Now I'm not sure what. Do we have an electrial engineer out there?
Digital Voltmeter to Measure Battery Capacity
Jack, You can use a digital voltmeter to measure battery capacity (% of charge)available. I measure both at start of each day of use. 12.60+ Volts = 100% charge 12.55 V = 93.7% charge 12.50 V = 87.5% charge 12.40 V = 75.0% 12.30 V = 62.5% 12.20 V = 50.0% 12.10 V = 37.5% 12.00 V = 25.0% 11.90 V = 16.7% DONT go below 11.9 I have wired jacks with pushbuttons for each battery at the Nav Station to allow easy daily measurements. This also alows you to notice when a battery is not holding it's charge and needs replacement. I use Dual Purpose Batteries and alternate which one I use for starting. Regards, Dick C. S/V Puffin 1990 Hunter 33.5
Jack, You can use a digital voltmeter to measure battery capacity (% of charge)available. I measure both at start of each day of use. 12.60+ Volts = 100% charge 12.55 V = 93.7% charge 12.50 V = 87.5% charge 12.40 V = 75.0% 12.30 V = 62.5% 12.20 V = 50.0% 12.10 V = 37.5% 12.00 V = 25.0% 11.90 V = 16.7% DONT go below 11.9 I have wired jacks with pushbuttons for each battery at the Nav Station to allow easy daily measurements. This also alows you to notice when a battery is not holding it's charge and needs replacement. I use Dual Purpose Batteries and alternate which one I use for starting. Regards, Dick C. S/V Puffin 1990 Hunter 33.5
Battery Condition - Amp meter
An amp meter if installed correctly will tell you how much amps each DC unit operated consumes and of course if you have several turned on at the same time, it will read higher. In other words, it shows you at what rate you are spending the electricity supplied by your batteries. The more amps used, the quicker the voltage will go down. Having one makes you more conscious that you have something turned on somewhere in the boat.
An amp meter if installed correctly will tell you how much amps each DC unit operated consumes and of course if you have several turned on at the same time, it will read higher. In other words, it shows you at what rate you are spending the electricity supplied by your batteries. The more amps used, the quicker the voltage will go down. Having one makes you more conscious that you have something turned on somewhere in the boat.
Things That Don't Work ?
I too noticed that the erroneous diagram presented in Sail Magazine article "Things That Work" column on page 184. Sail will probably gets lots of reader comments on this one. I plan to add a digital voltmeter in this fashion. Dick C. should have written the article, his information is right on. I would add to his list of voltages those obtained while the engine is running that 13.6 to 14.2 volts indicat that the alternator is working correctly.
I too noticed that the erroneous diagram presented in Sail Magazine article "Things That Work" column on page 184. Sail will probably gets lots of reader comments on this one. I plan to add a digital voltmeter in this fashion. Dick C. should have written the article, his information is right on. I would add to his list of voltages those obtained while the engine is running that 13.6 to 14.2 volts indicat that the alternator is working correctly.
Type of Batteries - Wet Cell
Garry (& others), Thats a good question. I should have made note that the voltages listed were for Wet Cell batteries only. There would be a different set of data for Gel-Cells (highre Voltages), and still different for AGM batteries (I think higher still, but can't remember). Another good point made (by Wayne?) is that the higher voltages measured while engine is running will tell you if the alternator is charging or not. Also, you can interpolate the previous 'chart' for other voltage readings. Good Winds, Dick C. S/V Puffin (1990 H-33.5)
Garry (& others), Thats a good question. I should have made note that the voltages listed were for Wet Cell batteries only. There would be a different set of data for Gel-Cells (highre Voltages), and still different for AGM batteries (I think higher still, but can't remember). Another good point made (by Wayne?) is that the higher voltages measured while engine is running will tell you if the alternator is charging or not. Also, you can interpolate the previous 'chart' for other voltage readings. Good Winds, Dick C. S/V Puffin (1990 H-33.5)
I just completed the project.
Wired both batteries to a DPDT switch, and wired the switch to the meter. Switch to the left measures state of charge of battery 1, center position is off, and switch to the right measure voltage of battery 2. It was a pretty simple project.
Wired both batteries to a DPDT switch, and wired the switch to the meter. Switch to the left measures state of charge of battery 1, center position is off, and switch to the right measure voltage of battery 2. It was a pretty simple project.
Just received from Sail mag.
It should have been a DC voltmeter. We are printing a correction in the December issue's Letters section. Our mistake. Thank you very much for the note. _/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_ Elizabeth B. Wrightson SAIL Magazine Editorial & Art 84 State Street Boston, MA 02109
It should have been a DC voltmeter. We are printing a correction in the December issue's Letters section. Our mistake. Thank you very much for the note. _/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_/)_ Elizabeth B. Wrightson SAIL Magazine Editorial & Art 84 State Street Boston, MA 02109
PS, you can do it for a "smart monitor" too
If your going to spend $40 for a voltage meter, you might as well spend $100 and get a monitoring system that tracks your volts, amps, amp hours consumed, etc. And you don't need an expensive "dual battery model", I had a single battery monitor that I wired into a rocker switch so I could monitor bank 1 or bank 2 (loses track of accumulated amp hours, tho'. With an amp meter you get a much more valuable indication of what is going on: how much you are drawing from your system and how much of your battery capacity you have used.
If your going to spend $40 for a voltage meter, you might as well spend $100 and get a monitoring system that tracks your volts, amps, amp hours consumed, etc. And you don't need an expensive "dual battery model", I had a single battery monitor that I wired into a rocker switch so I could monitor bank 1 or bank 2 (loses track of accumulated amp hours, tho'. With an amp meter you get a much more valuable indication of what is going on: how much you are drawing from your system and how much of your battery capacity you have used.
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