Battery Meter

[Doclocke]

The battery status display in our motorhome leaves a lot to be desired, and I've found through experience that I can't trust it when it comes to knowing if the shore cord needs to be attached during winter storage.

I'd like to install a small dial that would be be directly wired to the battery terminals, with an on/off switch to prevent the meter itself from using juice when I don't need it.

Have any of you guys done something like that? If so, where did you find the meter?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[jrloucks]

I was considering a nice flush mounted voltmeter to monitor the house battery. I even bought one which didn't work (got my money back). I eventually bought a portable cigarette lighter voltage monitor to plug into a cigarette lighter connected to the house battery.



The advantage of this unit is it's portable, and can be removed if the plug needs to be used to power something else. It doesn't require modifying the Systems Monitor, or cutting a hole to mount a more permanent meter. It can also be plugged into the dash cigarette lighter to check the chassis battery charge/status.

[time2roll]

This tells me all I need to know:

[deltabravo]

deltabravo wrote:
Ditto. It's the BMV-712.
Best one available in my opinion.

Here's a giant screen I installed over the weekend to read the BMV-712 data via the Bluetooth Victron Connect app

[Matt_Colie]

Doclocke,

I have this discussion with owners all the time.

You can get a 3-1/2 display that will tell you the Terminal Voltage of t the bank and not much else. Or, you can install a real battery monitor like Bogart or Victron and know what is really happening.

The entire existence of a 12V bank is between 11.9 and 12.8 VDC. If it gets outside of those, there is something wrong and a the voltage tells you is how much trouble you are in at this moment.

Matt

[Crabbypatty]

Tri Metric 2030RV. Ive been using it for more than a decade to monotr my Trojan 125's flooded wet cells. %charge, Amps, Voltage, works great. My batts are $900 for the 4 so its a worthy investment.

[deltabravo]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Victron Battery Monitor. Several different models, some with Bluetooth. Not cheap, but probably the best one out there.

Ditto. It's the BMV-712.
Best one available in my opinion.

Here's mine

[dieseltruckdriv]

I used one of the inexpensive ebay meters in my previous 5er, and put the BMV-702 in this one and I like the Victron MUCH better.

[wopachop]

Do you need any additional USB outlets?
Do you plan to get solar in the future?

I have something similar to this. It gives you USB ports, cig lighter, and voltage on a switch.

Dont buy the model i posted. The 2.1A USB is really old. The last USB port i bought was 3.0a and does fast charging. There might even be a newer style.

https://www.amazon.com/Kohree-Charger-Waterproof-Cigarette-Automotive/dp/B07T9HC65T/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=12v+power+panel&qid=1612998095&sr=8-6

[Sandia_Man]

On our most of our RVs we have kept it simple and used the plug in DC socket type on both interior and exterior of rig, a quick glance and we would have battery voltage and/or which phase our converter was currently charging in. We purchased a better quality unit that displayed battery voltage same as our Fluke, cheaper units were always a few tenths off which could be the difference between bulk and absorption phases. They use such a miniscule amount of power that we never had a need to unplug them, although it was easy peasy to do so.

[mbopp]

time2roll wrote:
Basic LCD meter will use less power than the battery self discharges.

Yes, my 3-1/2 digit panel voltmeter draws 9ma (.009A). It's hard wired, no switch.

[BarabooBob]

I use a digital voltmeter that I plug into a cigarette style outlet that I installed just inside the door of the TT. I can also use that socket to charge cameras, flashlights, anything that needs a 12 volt outlet. Cost me about $15 total and multipurpose.

[theoldwizard1]

Victron Battery Monitor. Several different models, some with Bluetooth. Not cheap, but probably the best one out there.

[time2roll]

Basic LCD meter will use less power than the battery self discharges.

[DrewE]

Lots of digital panel meters are available at Amazon, etc. One of those plus a switch would work (though without the needle, of course).

Here is a nice looking analog gauge for battery voltage, with an appropriately sensitive range. I don't think it would be great for your purposes, though, in as much as any converter would peg it on the high side. When operating off of battery power it would be fine; maybe have a momentary pushbutton switch to connect it in under those circumstances. (No numbers on the scale, unfortunately.)