Does anyone have any experience using a digital battery monitor? I sail a Hunter 380 and have the standard starter battery and house battery configuration. There is an analog gauge that came with the boat, but it's hard to read and I'm not sure I trust it. What I'm looking for is something that would show me (like a fuel gauge) how much juice I have left in my batteries. I know that I could probably use something like a voltmeter, but I'm looking for something simpler than that and I have seen them advertised in sailing magazines. Several weeks ago, in winds gusting over 20 miles per hour, I discovered that my starting battery was dead just as we were heading into our home port. We were forced to sail into our marina, and successfully docked at the gas dock under sail (more excitement than I had wished for at the end of a long day!). I'm not yet sure why the battery wasn't fully charged...it's less than 10 months old and has never given me any trouble before. One possibility is that I discharged the battery when I started the engine leaving our slip that morning. I had read that if you haven't used the engine for more than a week, you should turn the engine over several times with the seacocks closed and the "kill" switch turned on to move oil from the bottom of the engine to lubricate the moving parts before fully engaging the engine. I think I did this 4 or 5 times for 5 seconds each time. Could this have been enough to fully discharge an almost-new battery? Without knowing what caused the problem, I'm not sure I trust the battery. Is a digital battery monitor a good solution? Is there some other easy way I can check the batteries to be sure that they are still OK and fully charged?
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
B
Buck Harrison
Carl,
A (Xantrex)Link 2000(R) will do what you want. See archive postings. The analog guage(s) on your panel ARE, in fact, fairly accurate. If you use a digital (handheld) test voltmeter, and carefully ck the analog guages against it, you should find that they are reasonably accurate... although,(as you said), more difficult to read. Re., dead engine start battery... carry a second spare one. Series 24 batteries are inexpensive ($35-40), and having a 2d one on board is just good insurance against what happened....Or, carry jumper cables to jump the house batteries to the engine start battery... or, better, carry both. Very unlikey that you signifigantly discharged the start battery when you pre-lubed the engine. Have you been checking the water in your batteries?? If yes, then something else is discharging your engine start battery. Get a digital test meter and start trouble shooting. If possible, find someone w/ some boat electrical experience to help you. Your last question... is there any other easy way to ck the batteries .... sure.... hydrometer, ... handheld test voltmeter,.. etc. But, in general, that's what the analog guages on your panal are for, although they only show voltage, not, necessarily, battery condition.... Again, ck out the archives and a Link 2000......... Good luck...
A (Xantrex)Link 2000(R) will do what you want. See archive postings. The analog guage(s) on your panel ARE, in fact, fairly accurate. If you use a digital (handheld) test voltmeter, and carefully ck the analog guages against it, you should find that they are reasonably accurate... although,(as you said), more difficult to read. Re., dead engine start battery... carry a second spare one. Series 24 batteries are inexpensive ($35-40), and having a 2d one on board is just good insurance against what happened....Or, carry jumper cables to jump the house batteries to the engine start battery... or, better, carry both. Very unlikey that you signifigantly discharged the start battery when you pre-lubed the engine. Have you been checking the water in your batteries?? If yes, then something else is discharging your engine start battery. Get a digital test meter and start trouble shooting. If possible, find someone w/ some boat electrical experience to help you. Your last question... is there any other easy way to ck the batteries .... sure.... hydrometer, ... handheld test voltmeter,.. etc. But, in general, that's what the analog guages on your panal are for, although they only show voltage, not, necessarily, battery condition.... Again, ck out the archives and a Link 2000......... Good luck...
E
Ed Schenck
Link 2000. .
would also get my vote(see Related Link). Just bought a new one off of E-Bay for about half price. But they are not an easy install. Especially difficult if the batteries are not easily accessible. Just curious, why could you not start the engine from the house batteries? Were they also dead? I have not seen a battery system that did not permit using the house bank to start the engine.
would also get my vote(see Related Link). Just bought a new one off of E-Bay for about half price. But they are not an easy install. Especially difficult if the batteries are not easily accessible. Just curious, why could you not start the engine from the house batteries? Were they also dead? I have not seen a battery system that did not permit using the house bank to start the engine.
R
RREgge
Do you have an electric halyard winch?
When ours was installed on our 376 they ran it off the starter battery, not the house battery due to the high amp requirement. IF you use it alot for the mainsheet during sailing you could kill the battery. Just a thought. I like the idea of jumper cables, i'll buy a set today. Why not breakdown and call for a tow. 20 knots sailing into a fuel dock? That takes alot of nerve. Russell S/V Allie Kat
When ours was installed on our 376 they ran it off the starter battery, not the house battery due to the high amp requirement. IF you use it alot for the mainsheet during sailing you could kill the battery. Just a thought. I like the idea of jumper cables, i'll buy a set today. Why not breakdown and call for a tow. 20 knots sailing into a fuel dock? That takes alot of nerve. Russell S/V Allie Kat
J
JoeO
Link 2000 Alternative
The Link 2000 is a good instrument, but it is very expensive. For about $240 you can get a CruzPro VAH35 Battery Analizer or a Newmar DCE (www.newmarpower.com) and look under digital instruments. I think they are a bargain at the price
The Link 2000 is a good instrument, but it is very expensive. For about $240 you can get a CruzPro VAH35 Battery Analizer or a Newmar DCE (www.newmarpower.com) and look under digital instruments. I think they are a bargain at the price
C
Carl Krave
Answers to your questions
Thanks to everyone who has offered advice. To answer several questions: I don’t have an electric halyard winch. I did call for a tow, but I knew I would be waiting for a long time before they could get to me. Fortunately, we had a lot of room to maneuver despite the strong winds. It wasn’t nerve that made me sail to the dock…it was desperation. As it turned out, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Given enough room, all you have to do is carefully line the boat up and ease the mainsheet as needed (the jib was furled). Now that I’ve done it, it isn’t as intimidating to think of doing it again if I ever have to. I have started carrying jumper cables on the boat just in case I need to jump the starter battery from the house battery. Is there some way of doing this using the boat’s internal wiring without the jumper cables? For example, would the house battery turn the starter if I turned the round know for the starter battery to the off position? I’ve religiously checked the battery water levels. If there isn’t a short someplace, I guess it’s possible that I just didn’t leave the shore power on long enough to fully charge the batteries before I left. Even if the analog gauges are accurate, what is it I’m supposed to be checking? I’m not sure I would understand what the numbers mean in order to know if my battery has juice or not. What I’d really like is some foolproof gauge (like a fuel gauge) that will tell an idiot like me when my batteries are low. I wasn’t aware of the Xantrex Link 2000 model. I have seen the Xantrex 10 and 20 models. Can anyone tell me what the differences are? Would the model 10 do the same thing for me? I’ve never heard of the zPro VAH35 Battery Analyzer or a Newmar DCE. I’ll check them out, too.
Thanks to everyone who has offered advice. To answer several questions: I don’t have an electric halyard winch. I did call for a tow, but I knew I would be waiting for a long time before they could get to me. Fortunately, we had a lot of room to maneuver despite the strong winds. It wasn’t nerve that made me sail to the dock…it was desperation. As it turned out, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Given enough room, all you have to do is carefully line the boat up and ease the mainsheet as needed (the jib was furled). Now that I’ve done it, it isn’t as intimidating to think of doing it again if I ever have to. I have started carrying jumper cables on the boat just in case I need to jump the starter battery from the house battery. Is there some way of doing this using the boat’s internal wiring without the jumper cables? For example, would the house battery turn the starter if I turned the round know for the starter battery to the off position? I’ve religiously checked the battery water levels. If there isn’t a short someplace, I guess it’s possible that I just didn’t leave the shore power on long enough to fully charge the batteries before I left. Even if the analog gauges are accurate, what is it I’m supposed to be checking? I’m not sure I would understand what the numbers mean in order to know if my battery has juice or not. What I’d really like is some foolproof gauge (like a fuel gauge) that will tell an idiot like me when my batteries are low. I wasn’t aware of the Xantrex Link 2000 model. I have seen the Xantrex 10 and 20 models. Can anyone tell me what the differences are? Would the model 10 do the same thing for me? I’ve never heard of the zPro VAH35 Battery Analyzer or a Newmar DCE. I’ll check them out, too.
J
Jerry Olivero
Link 10 will monitor a single battery or bank
The answer to your question about using the Link 10 is that it does provide battery monitoring functions for a single bank or battery. I use a Link 10 to monitor my house bank (3 Group 27's - position 2 on the battery selector switch. The starter battery another Group 27 - position 1 on the battery selector switch, I only monitor its voltage with a panel mounted digital voltmeter. The house bank normally is used to start the engine and I only switch to position 1 if I am unable to start with the house bank. I do occasionally verify that position 1 is capable of starting the engine, but I use it primarily as the 1st backup should the house bank fail to start the engine. I would be surprised if your boat was not wired with the same 1,2 both battery switch so that you can start the engine with either the starter battery or the house battery(s). I also carry one of the portable starter batteries (49$) as an emergency backup for when I forget an to switch from both on the battery selector switch and run all four batteries down while keeping the beer cold. Redundancy is always a good idea.
The answer to your question about using the Link 10 is that it does provide battery monitoring functions for a single bank or battery. I use a Link 10 to monitor my house bank (3 Group 27's - position 2 on the battery selector switch. The starter battery another Group 27 - position 1 on the battery selector switch, I only monitor its voltage with a panel mounted digital voltmeter. The house bank normally is used to start the engine and I only switch to position 1 if I am unable to start with the house bank. I do occasionally verify that position 1 is capable of starting the engine, but I use it primarily as the 1st backup should the house bank fail to start the engine. I would be surprised if your boat was not wired with the same 1,2 both battery switch so that you can start the engine with either the starter battery or the house battery(s). I also carry one of the portable starter batteries (49$) as an emergency backup for when I forget an to switch from both on the battery selector switch and run all four batteries down while keeping the beer cold. Redundancy is always a good idea.
B
Buck Harrison
Carl,
Link 2000 moniters 2 batteries (of your choosing). Link 1000 moniters 1 battery. I believe the 2000/1000 are simply newest versions of older Link 20/10. (Link 2000R.. is Link 2000 plus a "smart" alternator regulator designed to integrate with the Link 2000) When you see them in operation these Link systerm guages are, indeed, "Fuel Guages' for your batteries... for either (L-2000) battery you select, they (digitally) show voltage flow in (and out); amp flow in (and out); remaining amp-hours in batteries; and other battery parameters...... yes, they may be a little pricy; yes, they take a little time to install (but, not that bad)... but, they sure are NICE ! ! !... and do exactly what you are asking for.
Link 2000 moniters 2 batteries (of your choosing). Link 1000 moniters 1 battery. I believe the 2000/1000 are simply newest versions of older Link 20/10. (Link 2000R.. is Link 2000 plus a "smart" alternator regulator designed to integrate with the Link 2000) When you see them in operation these Link systerm guages are, indeed, "Fuel Guages' for your batteries... for either (L-2000) battery you select, they (digitally) show voltage flow in (and out); amp flow in (and out); remaining amp-hours in batteries; and other battery parameters...... yes, they may be a little pricy; yes, they take a little time to install (but, not that bad)... but, they sure are NICE ! ! !... and do exactly what you are asking for.
D
Daniel Jonas
Links
Buck, Actually the 1000/2000 also control the inverter/charger. The Link 10/20 just monitor batteries. The 10/1000 do one battery or bank, the 20/2000 do two batteries or banks. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
Buck, Actually the 1000/2000 also control the inverter/charger. The Link 10/20 just monitor batteries. The 10/1000 do one battery or bank, the 20/2000 do two batteries or banks. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
S
Steve Winkle
Dealer Check
Carl, Your questions aside, I recommend you get your dealer involved. I have a H380 of nearly identical age and have never had a problem starting. The solar battery charger ought to keep your starting battery fully charged. You may have a bad battery or the charger may not be providing a sufficient charge, however the warranty on the battery ought to be pro-rated if you need to replace it. Fair winds, Steve & Linda S/V Options
Carl, Your questions aside, I recommend you get your dealer involved. I have a H380 of nearly identical age and have never had a problem starting. The solar battery charger ought to keep your starting battery fully charged. You may have a bad battery or the charger may not be providing a sufficient charge, however the warranty on the battery ought to be pro-rated if you need to replace it. Fair winds, Steve & Linda S/V Options
- Status
- Not open for further replies.