Batteries/charger |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Topic: Batteries/charger Posted: 22 May 2019 at 5:13pm |
Those lights are not 25, 50, 75-100. There are two scales on the panel. One is for the tank levels. The other is for the batteries. The top light does not indicate 100% charge, but that the battery is charging. The next light indicates that the battery level is Good if not being charged. The next one indicates that the battery charge is Fair and the bottom one indicates that the charge is Low. I agree that the lights are less than helpful as a general indicator but are not useful for understanding the state of charge. That is why I installed a voltmeter. I installed the battery cut-off switch so I did not have to keep removing and replacing the battery terminal cable.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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EchoGale
Senior Member Joined: 10 Mar 2019 Location: FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 461 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 5:41pm |
Thanks for this. I've read in other places on the forum that the lights aren't reliable. How else would one check to see how much charge the batteries have?
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Julie
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Ben Herman
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2018 Location: Gr Junction, CO Online Status: Offline Posts: 355 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 6:26pm |
I installed a simple digital voltmeter right next to the fuse panel. I used this one: |
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podwerkz
Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 7:10pm |
I installed one of these, yep they cost more but also include temperature display.
You can install the temperature probe anywhere: in the fridge, inside the cabin, or outside. |
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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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Jeepinator
Groupie Joined: 08 Sep 2017 Location: Seacoast NH Online Status: Offline Posts: 72 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 7:34pm |
I recently purchased the Victron BMV-712 to ensure I don’t deplete my dual deep cycle batteries to less than 50%. I’m sorting out how to install it but I think I’m going to place the shunt near the inverter.
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2018 Jeep Wrangler Willys
2017 179 |
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Jeepinator
Groupie Joined: 08 Sep 2017 Location: Seacoast NH Online Status: Offline Posts: 72 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 7:38pm |
I am installing a battery cut off as well. Did you install it at the converter? I’m nervous there might be other drains that I’ll miss by not installing it at the battery.
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2018 Jeep Wrangler Willys
2017 179 |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 9:24pm |
The battery cut-off switch is installed in the lid of one of the battery boxes (I have two 6V batteries wired in series). There is a picture in one of my mods.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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WillG
Newbie Joined: 28 May 2016 Location: Oregon Online Status: Offline Posts: 22 |
Posted: 22 May 2019 at 11:54pm |
Interesting - I thought it was always 25,50,75,100. I'm wondering why it showed 1(low) then 2(fair) after draining more and not being charged in any way - guess it shows hoe inacurate it is. I think you are all correct - a voltmeter is the only way to go. if it wasn't a pain to open you could simply touch a voltmeter to the battery terminals.... From the litte bit I've seen today the only way to add a kill switch and make sure it is not draining is at the battery on the case or right on the battery.
I'd like to add a voltmeter I could push button test on the battery case so it's not another item slowly draining the battery. I'm assuming CO2 / Propane alarms are required to have a light so you know they are working but every little bit drains when your not hooked up.
Thanks for the helpful info.
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R-Podder by process of elimination
2014 RP179 2011 GMC CrewCab Short Bed |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 23 May 2019 at 7:06am |
No, a voltmeter is a poor indicator of battery state of charge (SOC). SOC is measured in percent of total amp hour capacity of the battery. To measure that properly you need an amp hour meter. A voltmeter will give you some idea, but since the voltage of a battery changes with the rate at which you're charging or discharging it and with the temperature is only a rough approximation. I don't find it much better than the little lights. If you really want to know where you're battery is, get one of these or similar: You would be installing a current shunt in one of the battery conductors. This will provide a measurement of the actual current in and out of the battery, which the device uses to track the SOC. Don't get one of the cheap battery SOC monitors available that use a hall effect donut instead of an actual shunt to measure the current, the hall effect devices are notorious for inaccurate readings.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Posted: 23 May 2019 at 8:14am |
Doesn't a hydrometer measure the state of the charge of the battery? It won't do it do it on a continuous basis, but for around $10, it sure beats not knowing. We put our batteries into a tongue box that I bought from Harbor Freight, aka China Hardware, before all their prices went up, and the battery access is such that it takes less than a minute to check the level. And, it's a good way to monitor the water level, too.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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