Ammeter

J

JeffRad54

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2019
Messages
197
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2740K819
Non-Fluid Motion Model
None now
Vessel Name
MARGAUX
I've pulled a cord from the house bank to the helm in anticipation of installing an ammeter (Hall Effect sensor). As a minimum, I need a meter to monitor my house bank, but would like to read the engine and thruster batteries as well.

Ideally, the display will take 3 inputs and be able to show charge / discharge amps to a tenth of an amp, switchable at the display.

Any recommendations? I've checked Amazon, and the reviews are not much help, as usual. "This is the BEST unit!" to "This sucks", you know what I mean.

Thanks,

Jeff Radwill,
2019 R-27 OB with Generator
 
Belmar makes a very good battery monitor. There are posts about that and others on this forum. Do a search. I am sure others that have installed them will chime in.
 
I just had the Victron BMV-712 installed on our R29 to monitor house and engine battery. I like the bluetooth interface to smart phone so I can check it anywhere on the boat. It does show current use, amp hours, charge on battery and how many hours remaining at current usage for the house battery. The engine battery just shows charge level.

I had someone install it as moving the "sled" of batteries was not something I wanted to do. It took a professional about 4 hours to do. There is a gauge which I had installed close to the batteries in case the smart phone is charging...

So far very happy with the device. It came recommended to me from Lars on the Alexandria. Thank-you Lars.
 
and as I have posted before, I am very pleased with the Balmar Smartgage. It learns through multiple discharge cycles what you battery capacity is (reads out as %). But the simplicity of installation was great. One wire to ground, one wire to a positive terminal on your battery bank, and one wire to the positive terminal on your engine battery. A simple do-it-yourself installation. Check out the online reviews (not Amazon) of it and see what you think. I mounted mine just above the sink on the R-29 because it was so easy to fish a wire to the batteries.

Jeff
 
Hydraulicjump":7lfz784b said:
and as I have posted before, I am very pleased with the Balmar Smartgage. It learns through multiple discharge cycles what you battery capacity is (reads out as %). But the simplicity of installation was great. One wire to ground, one wire to a positive terminal on your battery bank, and one wire to the positive terminal on your engine battery. A simple do-it-yourself installation. Check out the online reviews (not Amazon) of it and see what you think. I mounted mine just above the sink on the R-29 because it was so easy to fish a wire to the batteries.

Jeff
Click to expand...

OK, so a little education please Don't all the batteries already have a common ground? Did you just connect to negative?
 
I installed the Victron BMV-712 on my C30, very happy with the extra monitor. Also nice that is blue-tooth to my phone so I did not have to run wires to the helm.
 
tdellaviola":z1286r69 said:
I installed the Victron BMV-712 on my C30, very happy with the extra monitor. Also nice that is blue-tooth to my phone so I did not have to run wires to the helm.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of no shunt required. Don't know the price of either unit or how they compare. I actually still have to convince myself that I need to know SOC beyond deducing from no-load voltage but new toys are always interesting.
 
I have the Balmar SG200 too. And really like it. I'm not an electronics guru, but my understanding is that the shunt is part of what makes it such an improvement over Balmar's previous SmartGauge (which I had on a prior R27 and also liked).

As Hydraulicjump Jeff experienced, installation was straightforward and simple. My house battery bank is Bank 1, and the unit gives me all the "smart" info for that bank (State of Charge, State of Health, Volts, Amps, etc). I also can read volts on the engine and thruster batteries (with alarms and faults on those batteries, but not the other info unless you add components). The shunt is part of the package. The bluetooth is an add-on, and well worth it. You can read all battery info on your phone through an app and perform software upgrades.

I can't compare the Victron. I know Victron makes top shelf stuff. I don't think, though, that the Victron has the self-calibrating and self-learning features that the Balmar has. If it does, the Victron and Balmar setups are probably comparable, and the deciding factor might be installation ease and total cost.

For some thorough reviews of the Balmar for the more technically-minded, these are worth a look:
https://marinehowto.com/balmar-sg200-self-learning-battery-monitor/
https://www.panbo.com/balmar-sg200-a-good-battery-monitor-gets-better/

I had a small issue after the latest software update (State of Charge goes to 0% after on shore power). Support from Balmar through quick turnaround emails has been great. They and I thought it got fixed by reinstalling the update and resetting the gauge. But when I came back to the boat after two weeks, it was back to 0% SOC. When I contacted them again, they already had the answer. Even though I had closed my support ticket, they kept working on it and trying to duplicate the issue. And they had succeeded. Turns outthe issue occurs only after being on shore power (and maybe on a float charge) for an extended time. They are working on a software fix and hoping to have it soon. I was impressed. How many companies keep trying to fix something that the customer thought they resolved? So I'll give them an extra shout-out for product development and customer support, for what that's worth.

Gini
 
I've had a few replies from other forums.
One suggested this item: http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/p ... nitor.aspx

I really don't need all the bells and whistles, like Blue Tooth, voltage, percent of charge, etc.. I can't see spending upwards of $200 for an ammeter.
After all, I am on an R27. Anywhere on the boat basically means I can see the display by taking two or three steps.

Hall Effect, vice Shunt type, is important to me. Ease of installation being the primary reason (think clamp ammeter).

Cheers,
 
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