Rees Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 We have an Autocruise Accent panel van. It is equipped with the Sargent EC400 control box, a panel above the door that gives approx reading of all levels (including batterfies). There is a 80 watt solar panel and controller installed. We can read the specific voltage of each battery from the Ec400 Sargent box which is installed in the box beneath the bed but this is very inconvenient. The control panel above the sliding door gives approximate voltages but I want a readout that is more precise. I would like to have installed additional readouts to measure (1) output fromo the solar panel (amps) and the volts in the (2) engine and (3) leisure batteries. Please can anyone tell me which gagets (name of maker etc) to look for to provide his information. I should like to install these alongside the control panel above the sliding door or somewhere else which is more convenient that having to go under the seat to read voltages from the Sargent EC400 box (which is very inconvenient and this does not give amps output from solar panel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Rees Is it something like this you are looking for? http://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/khxc/gbu0-catshow/Regulators.html?gclid=CIWXyre4hLQCFaTMtAodACAAlw We have a Sargent E200 with readouts above the door and one of these solar panel controllers in the wardrobe. Which gives a lot of info on charge and discharge etc You are right the one above the door is not very accurate. (checked with a multi meter) We do rely on it to check the engine battery but that is looked after by a Vanbitz Battery Master anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Rees - 2012-12-05 11:27 PM I would like to have installed additional readouts to measure (1) output fromo the solar panel (amps) and the volts in the (2) engine and (3) leisure batteries. Please can anyone tell me which gagets (name of maker etc) to look for to provide his information. I should like to install these alongside the control panel above the sliding door or somewhere else which is more convenient that having to go under the seat to read voltages from the Sargent EC400 box (which is very inconvenient and this does not give amps output from solar panel). In general terms if the supply voltage is sound the current will likewise be good so perhaps there is no real need to know the amps unless looking for a specific fault? The only way to properly check leisure battery voltages is with both batteries disconnected both from each other and anything else and that usually means pulling a fuse or two otherwise the readings can be misleading. Alternator output in volts is best checked at the engine battery and again if the voltage is good so will be the current generally. Similarly you can check alternator input to the leisure batteries by checking them with the engine running although the voltage will probably be lower than at the engine battery as leisure battery charge rates are restricted. We always carry a digital multimeter and any suspicion of trouble out it comes - again! Hope this helps although not perhaps the solution you were looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Rees Digital voltmeters are available cheaply on e-bay (though I've no idea how accurate they are): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260834495099?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 Regarding obtaining accurate voltage readouts for your batteries, it does need highlighting that, when your motorhome's electrical systems are operating, this will affect the readings. What I'm suggesting is that, although you may feel the 'approximate' voltage readouts provided on the Sargent control panel are imprecise, you may find that fitting additional voltage meters that provide a digital readout are essentially no more informative. I can understand why it could be worthwhile having a solar panel output-amperage readout. However, I'm less convinced that installing extra gauges to provide battery-voltage readouts more precise than what you've already got would be worth the effort. Of course, if there's no correlation between the voltages shown on the Sargent control box and those shown on the above-door control panel, that's another matter. But, if you can 'learn' that a particular voltage reading on the EC400 box equates to a certain voltage-reading on the control-panel, even if the latter differs from the former, as long as the equivalence between the readings remains the same I would have thought that should be sufficient. My Hobby has no battery-voltage precise readouts - just a series of LEDs on the above-door control panel. These are normally good enough for me. If I really want to know what the battery voltages are, I'll use a multimeter and read the voltage at the battery terminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-12-06 10:17 AM Digital voltmeters are available cheaply on e-bay (though I've no idea how accurate they are): I have three of them - one at home, one in the van and one on the boat - two cheapies and one good one - and they are all within about one decimal point of each other and perfectly adequate for this purpose. The variations seem pretty constant across the ranges that we commonly use and as we are often looking for comparative voltages - variations between two points on the same circuit - rather than ultimate readings I wouldn't worry about minor inaccuracies unless I were going to build another inter gallactic space ship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Whilst the 'van is in use there will almost certainly be some input to / output from the batteries and so any voltage / current readings will not really be that informative regarding battery state. Batteries need to be 'rested' for a good few hours before the voltage they show can be interpreted. Don't personally see, therefore, why it's necessary to worry too much about it - the readings aren't of much 'real-world' value in my view. If you are just curious regarding what equipment adds / draws what current , then monitors such as this: http://www.nasamarine.com/proddetail.php?prod=BMN-1_Battery are probably as good as you could hope to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Each to their own of course, but don't know why anyone would want to know all that, if it is working that is good enough for me, when the lights go out I will light a candle and worry about it then Maybe LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Tracker - 2012-12-06 10:28 AM Derek Uzzell - 2012-12-06 10:17 AM Digital voltmeters are available cheaply on e-bay (though I've no idea how accurate they are): I have three of them - one at home, one in the van and one on the boat... Are you referring to hand-held multimeters, perhaps? These are not what Rees asked about, nor what my ebay link referred to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-12-06 2:37 PM Are you referring to hand-held multimeters, perhaps? These are not what Rees asked about, nor what my ebay link referred to. Yes I was Derek - but they all seem to use virtually the same lcd display and probably their internal measuring electronics too - and probably all come from the same place in China? The point is that they should be good enough for this sort of use - nothing more, nothing less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I have found that for monitoring FREE electricity from solar panels a simple ANALOGUE moving coil meter connected in series with the panel is best. The voltage drop is only a few millivolts when the sun shines upon the panel and it does not draw anything from the leisure battery. If you have a MPPT solar regulator then you may also wish to monitor the output from the regulator to see the benefit it provides. To measure battery volts you need a digital voltmeter. All digital meters require power to run them so either get one that has its own little internal battery OR have a "push to read" button alongside the display so that it is only taking battery amps when you press the button. Mind you there is a nice analogue to digital converter board from MEASUREMENT COMPUTING in Ma America that connects to a Laptop via USB and with this you can record and display anything you like. Mine that I use for tests is model USB-1208FS. Or Just check that your electrics work as they should and enjoy your motorhome!!!!!! Take care C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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