ABR Charging meter

Hi

Are these fitted as additional meters to the existing setup in the van etc.? The standard meter in the van we are to purchase has only a volt meter (regulator) to measure the daily solar input. I queried this and was told that a meter could be fitted to monitor in more detail (amps, hours of charge left etc.) but these are expensive like over $450. The ABR at $39.95 seems ideal.

Bob.

Hi Bob,
I fitted my own solar panel on the roof of the Tvan. It is regulated by a Ctek D250S and the power meter is wired between the D250S and the battery. So it measures the battery voltage and the current being put into the battery.
I agree - a $40 amp/volt meter delivers the 2 most important pieces of information and is all you need.
Cheers
Phil

All the simple meters do is to show if there is any current going into the battery and how much there is at the time you view it.

What you really want to know is the state of charge (SOC) of your battery. You can do this with a volt meter by resting your battery for a few hours and then measuring the voltage. If you want to know the SOC whilst the system is in operation you need a monitor like hooks mentioned in FollowUp 1. These meters monitor the current flowing into and out of the battery. They incorporate a computer to calculate the SOC by summing the charge and discharge currents. They also take into account the Peukert's constant of the battery to give an accurate reading. You don't get accurate monitors at elcheapo prices.

Gday Peter,
They are simple meters, but it's up to the owner to know what to make of the information.
There are only 2 voltage measurements that matter - when you get up at the crack of dawn for a wee, the voltage measurement reflects the SOC of the battery. So worth noting.
The second is the voltage during the day - around beer o'clock - if it gets up to 14.4ish then we know that the few amps being put out by the panels are now being regulated as the battery is near fully charged.

I like to keep it simple and ...quite frankly.... couldn't give a f**k about Peukert's constant when I'm camping :-) hehe

Cheers
Phil

Steve agree,
just one other thing. Derek seems to be very thorough in choosing the quality of products he sells.

clamp meter just circles single cable

Hi G.T.
No, it is not a clamp type but an in line style and I fitted Anderson plugs each end to connect into my solar panel cable which also has Anderson plugs each end. Have a look at ABR web site and all will be revealed.
Ian

Can a clamp meter be used to measure the Amps that a solar panel produces? Regards G.T.

from sidewinder