BlueSky IPN-Pro Remote: The IPN-Pro remote requires and works in conjunction with a BlueSky solar charge controller (like the 2512iX).The PentaMetric is overkill for all but the most extreme RV installations. The maker of the TriMetric also has available the much more expensive PentaMetric unit which does data logging and which can be interfaced with a PC. The TriMetric has a simple (though unattractive) LED display that shows you the battery % full readout, and which can also display battery voltage and current. It is also the most affordable battery monitor around, available for about $165. TriMetric TM-2020: The TriMetric has been on the market forever, and it is a trusted and well proven design.There are only a few options on the market however: If you are actually going to be using your batteries for more than a day or two of disconnected camping, I consider a proper battery monitor to be essential equipment. This at last gives you a usable “gas gauge” view of the sate of your batteries.īattery monitors are not cheap, but they are worth it. Once the monitor detects that your battery is full, it keeps track of every amp of outflow, and it gives you a percentage remaining readout or an easy to read empty to full bar graph. Trust me.Ī real battery monitor works by measuring the current flowing into and out of your battery via a very accurate shunt. In a car, this would be akin to pulling off the road, letting your engine cool, and then sticking a hose into your gas tank to see how much fuel remains. But doing this involves sucking up battery acid into a glass tube. You can also very accurately test the state of charge of well rested flooded lead acid batteries by using a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of each individual battery cell. That is not particularly conducive to getting anywhere….Ĭonsider the voltage meter to be essentially just a “guess gauge”, and not a gas gauge. Imagine if your car’s gas gauge was only accurate after you had been pulled off the highway for six hours. If the battery is not well rested, particularly if it is currently being used (even if just to power a light), the voltage reading is going to be off – and therefore nearly useless. That means no lights on, no charger connected, no solar running – essentially no use whatsoever. To get an accurate and meaningful voltage reading, your batteries must have been sitting idle for at least six hours, and preferably twenty four. The Oliver trailer includes a system status panel that will show you your battery voltage, and by keeping watch you can get a sense for how you are doing.īut there is a BIG catch. A fully charged 12V battery will read 12.73 V, at 50% capacity 12.10 V, and when you have just 20% left (critical territory!) 11.66 V. The simplest way to keep an eye on your batteries is via a voltage meter. Not good – particularly if you’ve invested in expensive AGM batteries. If you use the “lights are getting dimmer” method to tell that your batteries are running down, they will almost certainly be permanently dead within a year. This is particularly important when relying on solar, because you will rarely know for sure what state of charge the sun has left you with.īatteries will last longest if you never cycle them below 50% capacity, and going over 80% drained starts to seriously damage even the best “deep cycle” batteries. But if you are going to do any sort of serious camping without electrical hookups or a daily dose of generator, it is essential that you keep a close eye on your batteries. If you fill your tank up everyday and never drive further than to the corner store, this strategy can work just fine. Boondocking or “dry camping” in an RV without a battery monitor is like driving a car without a gas gauge.
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