On Jun 18, 3:11*am, Salomon Fringe wrote:
... Does your battery monitor show % discharge of your bank? If so that might be
better than relying on voltage that changes depending on load.

It does, but it's funky. I've fiddled with the Peukert a fair bit
(now trying 1.150) and with the charge efficiency % (97). Still, it
always tells me the batteries are worn down long before the voltage is
weak and then it shows them fully charged while they're still
accepting current. And it periodically has a two's complement / over-
run thing that sends it off into huge negative numbers sounds the
alarms and requires a re-set... It is a nice volt/amp meter, it does
a good job of controlling the alternators and it does an adequate job
of controlling the solar, but it's not all that useful as a battery
gauge.

...
What does your1500w inverter power? I suppose the inverter will be the
heaviest load at possibly 120A @12v.

The computers mostly. I also have some battery powered tools that I
recharge with it and a dremel tool that I run off of it and when we've
got cell phones we charge them, too. Typically it is off.

We're basically a 12v DC boat. Sounds like you're on the other side
of the coin being mostly 230 AC (50 cycle, I presume). In theory,
your way should save a lot on wire and transmission losses.

Anyway, I'm very happy with my AGMs and I'm glad to hear that you're
happy with your tractor batteries. I think we'll all be happier yet
when nickel, lithium or maybe even fuel cells are affordable.

-- Tom.