BoatBanter.com - Battery Monitoring System

Aquaholic wrote:
Can anyone recommend a good battery monitoring system for a 3 bank charger?

Thanks

Houston

I've been using a Xantrex Link 2000R for 7 years and have been happy
with it. The "R" version includes the regulator - its a pricey
combination but I was able to scrounge it cheaply at Defender.

I have three banks (two starters) but I don't bother monitoring
Amp-Hours for the starter batteries. Since they are never used other
than starting, they should never be run down and thus Voltage is
really all that's needed.

However, I run the refrigerator through the second monitor circuit and
can tell exactly how much juice it takes day by day. You may find the
the second circuit is handy for something else, like how much is
coming from solar or wind chargers, etc. It doesn't have to be only
for measuring discharge rates.

A few minor issues - although the unit can supposedly be tweaked to
correct this, I find that it "drifts" towards the discharge side a
bit. Thus, if we hang out at anchor for a week, the monitor thinks
the system is more discharged than it really is. Its easy to get a
feel for this, however, if you use the engine or genset for charging,
because the acceptance rate of the batteries normally gives you a good
sense of the true charge state.

One complaint of the regulator side of my unit - the setting to turn
off down or off the regulator is buried in the setup. I, however,
often want to reduce the charge rate because I don't need 110 Amps if
I know I'll be powering all day, or if I'll be on shore power that
night. I takes about 20 button pokes to change it. Also, there's not
way to turn the alternator off (other than pull the wire), the lowest
setting is 30 Amps.