* RW Salnick wrote, On 7/24/2007 10:23 AM:

BTW, I agree about the DVM, its essential on any boat that has more
than a minimal electrical system. Better yet is an Amp-hour meter,
certainly pricey but worth every penny if you have larger loads, such
as a fridge, and tend to live off-grid.

I second the comment that you need a way to monitor amp-hours in and out
of your batteries - it is the only real "fuel gauge" for batteries that
there is. And it is essential if you are not living plugged into shore
power. We have a Link 2000 and I absolutely love it.

Yes, I love mine also. Since we have a single house bank, and the
stating batteries don't need a meter, we run the fridge through the
second leg of the meter so we can monitor its usage day by day.

One must be careful though - our meter has a "drift" that I've never
been able to adjust out. I've found that the best measure of battery
state (other than specific gravity) is actually the charge rate. In
any case, I read the monitor several times a day so that I don't get
caught by surprise.