Battery monitors - best way to monitor battery status?

[24Seven]

Whilst we are taking about this...

How do people charge up their leisure batteries if they stay put for more than a day running a fridge?

Thinking aloud

Start up the truck for an hour?

Solar panels? If fitted to truck it means leaving the truck in the sun.

Don't use the fridge when stopped for more than a day or so?

Carry a small generator?

Have two leisure batteries?

Or just not stop for more than a day? (me)

Lorin, if it was me I would spend my money an a new pair of Toyota batteries for stating, then fit and forget them.

Fit a manual switched feed to your leisure battery for charging and control it yourself, zero to go wrong and will cost you less then a tenner. This is what Chris Scott / Matt Savage fitted to his Mazda pickup although I think I had my setup fitted before they did

 

[Chas]

Whilst we are taking about this...

How do people charge up their leisure batteries if they stay put for more than a day running a fridge?

Thinking aloud.

I've had my Engel on four four days without starting the engine and the battery (Optima yellow top) never went flat
Chas

 

[Chris]

I switch over to gas.

Incidentally, I measured the temp in my £100 fridge the other day. It was -1. OK I would love an Engel, but I can't complain about the one I have for the money. It only lasted two days running on the leisure battery through the inverter. Next test will be running on 12v straight from the battery itself instead of 240v from the inverter. That should be better.

Chris

 

[24Seven]

Whilst we are taking about this...

How do people charge up their leisure batteries if they stay put for more than a day running a fridge?

Thinking aloud.

I've had my Engel on four four days without starting the engine and the battery (Optima yellow top) never went flat
Chas

At what ambient temperature? and what was the battery voltage after 4 days?

Say at 40c the duty cycle of an engel is 100% mine hardly stopped at 42c this year.

Out of a 110 amp/h battery only 1/2 is usable before potential damage.

So after 16 hours you have used your half.

Ok at 30c the duty time maybe 50% so you have 32 hours

At 20c the duty time maybe as low as 15% so you have........well more than 64 hours anyway

 

[Lorin]

Lorin, if it was me I would spend my money an a new pair of Toyota batteries for stating, then fit and forget them.

Fit a manual switched feed to your leisure battery for charging and control it yourself, zero to go wrong and will cost you less then a tenner. This is what Chris Scott / Matt Savage fitted to his Mazda pickup although I think I had my setup fitted before they did

Excuse my ignorance, but if I did this am I right in thinking the alternator 'knows' when the battery is fully charged and stops charging automatically thereby eliminating any risk of overcharging? If not, is there anything 'simple' that could be fitted to do this?

 

[Andy]

I have one of these IBS jobbies

http://www.4x4overlander.com/products/e ... nt-system/

linked to 2 auxillary batteries, seems to do what I want with no prob, have stopped for periods of 2 days in the desert (hot), with engel fridge on & other bits (aux lighting etc), not running engine etc and no problems.........................so far!!!

Andy

 

[24Seven]

Lorin, if it was me I would spend my money an a new pair of Toyota batteries for stating, then fit and forget them.

Fit a manual switched feed to your leisure battery for charging and control it yourself, zero to go wrong and will cost you less then a tenner. This is what Chris Scott / Matt Savage fitted to his Mazda pickup although I think I had my setup fitted before they did

Excuse my ignorance, but if I did this am I right in thinking the alternator 'knows' when the battery is fully charged and stops charging automatically thereby eliminating any risk of overcharging? If not, is there anything 'simple' that could be fitted to do this?

Correct, it does just the same for the starting batteries, I would not change anything in my setup I had now, except fit a volt gauge to monitor the alternator however far I was travelling.

 

[Lorin]

Having just looked at what the IBS system does, it appears to me you could easily put together your own 'IBS' that does exactly the same with just a few relays and switches, and either a volt and/or LED monitor.

Even better though, you could retain all the good bits and add the function of rather than charging the auxillary and starter(s) together, which I now understand is the reason the leisure battery may not reach 100% and can take a long time to charge, you could simply use a switch or similar to switch between dedicated charging of the leisure and starters....

If so, it could be put together for considerably less than the cost of the IBS and similar systems such as National Luna. Add a solar panel in for charging when stopped for a while and it may be pretty much the best system possible - especially when you factor in the simplicity of replacing any parts when needed.

Or am I way off....?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Having just looked at what the IBS system does, it appears to me you could easily put together your own 'IBS' that does exactly the same with just a few relays and switches, and either a volt and/or LED monitor.

You can, that's what I did at first on my 100 but without a low voltage alarm and I got caught out when the voltage sense device I was using failed and so the aux battery wasn't charging but once I noticed I just flicked a switch to manually link the batteries until I could sort it out. I ended up installing an IBS with a toggle switch to choose between standard split charge or the DC-DC charger.

It's about convenience and reliability as much as money. I am not very reliable so Matt's manual system wouldn't work for me. The switches and meters and alarms rigged yourself is ok but it's all a bit heath robinson and how reliable is it (alarms and cheap voltage sensing). How much time will you spend planning and then getting your solution working just how you want it vs buying an IBS wire it up job done

An IBS has 2 battery voltage displays and a charge voltage display. It will beep if one of the batteries are getting low. It will beep if the link solenoid fails. You can press a button to manually link the aux battery for winching or starting or ... and after 30 or 60 mins it will unlink in case you forgot about it It won't make you a cup of tea but it does most of the things you want in a neat little box to stick on your dash somewhere.

I wasn't convinced about them at first TBH but life's too short to be always inventing your own solution

 

[Chas]

You can press a button to manually link the aux battery for winching or starting or ... and after 30 or 60 mins it will unlink in case you forgot about it

How necessary is it to link the batteries while winching, if the engine is kept running will that not suffice?
Chas

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

How necessary is it to link the batteries while winching, if the engine is kept running will that not suffice?

I'm not very well qualified to answer that in terms of real world usage as I've yet to use my own electric winch (not counting putting the rope on ) but observing others over the years I've concluded an electric winch needs all the help it can get! Linking the extra battery will help keep the voltage up, most relavent when working hard, the lower the voltage drops the hotter the motor will get and the harder it will have to work. Obviously your aux battery cables then need to be up to the job but I wouldn't recomend skimping on the cable anyway.

 

[Chas]

How necessary is it to link the batteries while winching, if the engine is kept running will that not suffice?

I'm not very well qualified to answer that in terms of real world usage as I've yet to use my own electric winch (not counting putting the rope on ) but observing others over the years I've concluded an electric winch needs all the help it can get! Linking the extra battery will help keep the voltage up, most relavent when working hard, the lower the voltage drops the hotter the motor will get and the harder it will have to work. Obviously your aux battery cables then need to be up to the job but I wouldn't recomend skimping on the cable anyway.

Thanks Jon, I've never done it before but next time I'm winching I'll try linking the batteries (mabe this week-end, I will be up at the 4x4 without a club site at Aldermaston) my cousin is thinking of buying a 4x4 and I promised to give him a taste of what an 80 will do
Chas

 

[24Seven]

Just bought a couple of these. I will fit one in the front somewhere and one in by the rear door I think. I took chance on a Hong Kong sale as it's not much money to lose if it all goes pear shaped.

 

[Chas]

Just bought a couple of these. I will fit one in the front somewhere and one in by the rear door I think. I took chance on a Hong Kong sale as it's not much money to lose if it all goes pear shaped.

Very neat , the sellers got 100% feedback so should be OK, I've just bought one as well.
Chas

 

[Chris]

Free p&p??? Blimey. I'm on it.

C

 

[Andy]

Good find, ive ordered a couple for my boat as well!

 

[Lorin]

Is the ones I was on about!! Have ordered 2.

 

[Matt Wright]

Ditto, thanks all for very detailed write up. I've ordered 2 for mine and my fathers truck for our overland odyssey

 

[sae70]

Here's something that I've stumbled over this evening that reminded me of this thread http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Powering-Car-Batt ... 588634435f

 

[Chris]

My meters arrived today. Look fine. Not connected them to the electrickery yet though.

Chris