I recently installed a Blue Sea digital voltmeter with a momentary battery selector toggle switch. My plan is to check the battery voltage when arriving at the boat, prior to turning on any loads, to check battery voltage/SOC. I'll keep in mind the elapsed time since the battery charger was last on or motor last run, to account for surface charge.
(I don't leave the shore power plugged in when not at the boat)
I believe this will give me an idea if I'm slowly discharging the batteries or if the 3/4 to 1 hour of run time the engine gets when I day sail keeps up with my amp draw while sailing.
I've considered the Balmar Smart Gauge, which I believe does the same thing but much more accurately. I just question if I need to spend the money on it considering my use of the boat.
I mostly day sail for 4 to 7 hours, 1 to 3 days a week. Average motoring time per sail is 3/4 to 1 hour. When sailing I use AP, Chartplotter, Depth, Speed, Wind, i70S and usually an iDevice is charging.
I do plan to leave the shore power plugged in overnight once every 2 or 3 weeks to completely charge the batteries to 100%, especially if I spend a night or two on the hook.
With the Balmar Smart Gauge costing about $50 more than my house bank of two GC2 batteries, I question the value added by installing one.
Appreciate your thoughts on this.
(I don't leave the shore power plugged in when not at the boat)
I believe this will give me an idea if I'm slowly discharging the batteries or if the 3/4 to 1 hour of run time the engine gets when I day sail keeps up with my amp draw while sailing.
I've considered the Balmar Smart Gauge, which I believe does the same thing but much more accurately. I just question if I need to spend the money on it considering my use of the boat.
I mostly day sail for 4 to 7 hours, 1 to 3 days a week. Average motoring time per sail is 3/4 to 1 hour. When sailing I use AP, Chartplotter, Depth, Speed, Wind, i70S and usually an iDevice is charging.
I do plan to leave the shore power plugged in overnight once every 2 or 3 weeks to completely charge the batteries to 100%, especially if I spend a night or two on the hook.
With the Balmar Smart Gauge costing about $50 more than my house bank of two GC2 batteries, I question the value added by installing one.
Appreciate your thoughts on this.