Battery Levels

[CDENsomnia]

After looking at Sotally Tober's set up man I am jealous! I don't need the crazy loud system but one thing I liked was the battery gauges. Right now I just put a fluke meter on them to check them. What does everyone use to see how much charge is on each battery?

 

[Julian]

My Garmin GPS has a volt meter as part of it, so I use that for the house battery (has an alarm too). But now my Garmin died....so I need another.....or to get it fixed....

 

[Cowboy Casey]

you could use the stinger type like I have
http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-SVMR-Voltage-Gauge-Display/dp/B001HEGBWE/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_y

or something like this would work as long as it would be kept dry...
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Voltage-Panel-Voltmeter-7-5V-20V/dp/B005UWD2J4/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

I love amazon... there are allot of them but i didn't see one that was water proof..
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=Digital+Voltage+Panel+Meter&rh=n:172282,k:Digital+Voltage+Panel+Meter

 

[Bruce]

I bought, but have yet to install a Faria Battery Condition Gauge. It claims to be more than a voltmeter and is around $30.

 

[David Analog]

I've used the Stinger digital volt meter in many systems.
Mount the meter close to the batteries. Wire the meter directly to two battery banks via a switch and fuse the lead at each battery.
Use a small switch (On-Off-On) to toggle between the two banks and isolate the two banks with a standard dual battery switch or dual circuit battery switch.
If you have multiple batteries within one bank checking batteries in isolation twice a season or more can possibly save the bank. One bad cell leads to one bad battery which leads to one bad bank. If you catch a bad battery early on within a fairly young bank, it could mean only having to replace the one battery.
Keep in mind that to get an accurate reading the measured battery must sit at rest in isolation for several hours to fully dissipate the higher charging voltage from either the boat or the shore charger.

 

[jcyamaharider]

I need to install meters as well. I was looking at some digital ones off of ebay.

 

[maboat]

I originally had the Stinger voltmeters. Looked nice but a little hard to read in direct sun and not waterproof. It only took a few drops of water to screw them up. I have since replaced them with these, which are made for motorcycles and have held up to splash and spray for about 5 years now. They are also very bright in direct sun and have automatic dimmer for nighttime.

http://bluestormshop.com/p/4028618/Kuryakyn 4219 Chrome L.E.D. Battery Gauge-%2d%2d-3NCCO000TH5JB898.html

 

[Volffas]

These are some great ideas. Last year we decided to take a road trip to a new boat ramp about 45 miles south of us on the Ohio River. As part of my pre-launch check I turned on the blowers and nothing... Turns out our 6 year old had left the light in the head compartment on and the battery was completely dead. The closest auto parts store was another 10 miles away. If I would have had a battery indicator I probably would have checked it before we left and saved myself a good deal of money and stress. Now I detach my battery every time we put the boat on the trailer. I still have the older battery and have been able to charge it back up. I REALLY want to add a battery switch and 2nd battery to the boat this year.

 

[maboat]

I don't have a religious pre-launch check like many people, but I ALWAYS make sure the engines start before the boat ever leaves the driveway

 

[Volffas]

I don't have a religious pre-launch check like many people, but I ALWAYS make sure the engines start before the boat ever leaves the driveway

Yes, now I do that too. Usually we only take the boat 5 miles away from the house so it isn't such a big deal. This just had to happen when we were the furthest we had been in a long time. Lesson learned.

 

[TechRider]

I like the look of those battery gauges too. I also do the pre-checks before launch and have two batteries and charge them after each outing.

I took the free route for quick voltage checks and just use the on screen display for voltage. Click the key quick and don't start the boat and you get your gauges for about 10 sec before it shuts off again but you get a reading.

I compared with my fluke meter and was pretty close. I do understand others might not charge as frequently as I do so gauges are nice to have.

 

[davel501]

Is it only the 242s that have the battery voltages in their gauges?