Voltmeter--RIP?

[M. R. Bober]

It appears that the indicator on my voltmeter is loose on its "axle" and neither returns to the full left nor reports accurately. It reads way into the red zone when my digital multimeter shows13.6 vdc.

Does anyone know of a digital meter that will fit the hole that will soon be appearing in my CD electric panel? I think I would rather upgrade than replace, even if the original is still available.

TIA

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where I have enough volts to win an election.) VA

[Dean Abramson]

Mitch, my meter just took up the same behavior. See my recent post called "Strange Electrical Occurrences."

I would have thought a dead meter would zero out; in other words, go to the left, not read high...

Anyway, I too am looking for a replacement to fit in that hole; digital preferably, but even one like the stock one.

Dean

[Kevin Kaldenbach]

I bought the Link-Lite battery monitor and it fit in the hole.

[M. R. Bober]

I bought one today, and will probably start the installation--with some degree of dread--tomorrow. The dread starts every time I have to open a CD electric panel. It started in 1980 on TIA MARI (CD27) and continued with RESPITE (CD330) and now with STARVIEW (CD36).

Working behind the panel assures a sore back. Somebody should be embarrassed by the design/installation of the Cape Dorys' electrical systems.

Oh well, incremental improvement is the order of today.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where when the going gets tough, the going gets tough.) VA

[Steve Laume]

I still dread opening Pandora's box but it has become much less painful after some work in there.

If you have the original installation and it is similar to what Raven had, I could make a couple of recommendations. The first will be easy as you are already going to be removing the volt meter. On Raven all of the grounds went to one of the nuts on the gauge. Before you open up the panel, do yourself a favor and pick up a terminal block for the grounds. I fastened mine to the back side of the panel so all of the wires reach. This will take them off to the side and greatly simplify the mess. Each ground then has it's own connection and can be dealt with on an individual basis.

The second is to pick up a mess of wire ties in several sizes. just straightening up some of the runs and grouping them together will make things much neater. Some plastic wire conduit will also help. If stuff has been added over the years, the wires were often just put in on top of whatever was already there with no regard to neatness. Rerouting some stuff can drastically improve the mess.

You are going to love your new, no guess, meter, Steve.

[Dean Abramson]

Mitch, did you get the "Pro" or regular one? It sure seems to me that I could get by with the standard one.

My panel has a momentary toggle switch which selects which battery is being checked. Will this hook up the same way? It appears that I would select one battery for a lot of data collection (plus voltage reading); and on the other battery, I would just get a voltage reading. Right?

These Link-Lite suckers are pricey! Does anyone make a replacement for the old non-digital one? It served my needs just fine. All I really care about is a ballpark voltage reading.

Our routine is quite simple. Start on Batt 1, let it charge for about 15 minutes. Switch to Batt 2; let it charge all the rest of the time the engine is running. User Batt 2 for everything other than engine starting. This regimen has worked for many years, on two boats. BTW, we use two Grp 27 AGMs. The last pair gave us six years. Bought a new pair this year.

Dean

[Duncan]

...we use two Grp 27 AGMs. The last pair gave us six years...

Even though I have heard of many similar experiences, I am still surprised that your AGMs didn't last longer than 6 years. Would this be a reason to use less expensive batteries (e.g. Trojans), which might last just as long?

My expectation (although I'm no expert) is that batteries should last hundreds of cycles, if not thousands. This is provided that they aren't deeply discharged or operated at high temperatures or levels of vibration.

If we guess that a northern sailboat will cycle the batteries maybe 25X a season, then 6 years amounts to 150 cycles, which seems very low to me.

[Zeida]

Folks... if you find any postings from Maine Sail, he has a fabulous site called "musings with Maine Sail". In it you will find answers for almost any problem related with our boats. When my Link 10 died last year I needed to replace it with something that would fit in the same place.

Maine Sail recommended the Victron. He has perfect instructions and photos of how to install it. i followed exactly what he said. My new Victron works perfectly. It is also cheaper than most others, especially the new Link. I am very happy with it so far.

[img[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... G_2690.jpg[/img][/img]

[Zeida]

I hope this link works. It is Main Sail with the instructions on the Volt Meter...

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com ... p?t=125606

[M. R. Bober]

Mitch, did you get the "Pro" or regular one? It sure seems to me that I could get by with the standard one.

My panel has a momentary toggle switch which selects which battery is being checked. Will this hook up the same way? It appears that I would select one battery for a lot of data collection (plus voltage reading); and on the other battery, I would just get a voltage reading. Right?

These Link-Lite suckers are pricey! Does anyone make a replacement for the old non-digital one? It served my needs just fine. All I really care about is a ballpark voltage reading.

Our routine is quite simple. Start on Batt 1, let it charge for about 15 minutes. Switch to Batt 2; let it charge all the rest of the time the engine is running. User Batt 2 for everything other than engine starting. This regimen has worked for many years, on two boats. BTW, we use two Grp 27 AGMs. The last pair gave us six years. Bought a new pair this year.

Dean

Dean,
I chose the LinkLITE, not the LinkPRO. The additional features of the LinkPRO were not--IMO--worth waiting for as the local West only had one LITE in stock and I needed to resolve the defective meter problem this week

The installation was straightforward although the "shunt" that Xantrex included is probably--IMO--unnecessary. It took me all day to complete mostly because of access issues in the engine room.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where it is mighty hot in the engine room.) VA

[Maine Sail]

Mitch, did you get the "Pro" or regular one? It sure seems to me that I could get by with the standard one.

My panel has a momentary toggle switch which selects which battery is being checked. Will this hook up the same way? It appears that I would select one battery for a lot of data collection (plus voltage reading); and on the other battery, I would just get a voltage reading. Right?

These Link-Lite suckers are pricey! Does anyone make a replacement for the old non-digital one? It served my needs just fine. All I really care about is a ballpark voltage reading.

Our routine is quite simple. Start on Batt 1, let it charge for about 15 minutes. Switch to Batt 2; let it charge all the rest of the time the engine is running. User Batt 2 for everything other than engine starting. This regimen has worked for many years, on two boats. BTW, we use two Grp 27 AGMs. The last pair gave us six years. Bought a new pair this year.

Dean

Dean,
I chose the LinkLITE, not the LinkPRO. The additional features of the LinkPRO were not--IMO--worth waiting for as the local West only had one LITE in stock and I needed to resolve the defective meter problem this week

The installation was straightforward although the "shunt" that Xantrex included is probably--IMO--unnecessary. It took me all day to complete mostly because of access issues in the engine room.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where it is mighty hot in the engine room.) VA

The shunt is what makes a Link-Lite work. Without it you have a simple volt meter that you paid about 10 times what you needed to for it.. Without the shunt it would be impossible to do what the Link-Lite is intended to do.

[Dean Abramson]

Where do I find a

simple volt meter

that will fit in that hole?

And what does the Link-Lite "shunt" do?

[Maine Sail]

Where do I find a

simple volt meter

that will fit in that hole?

And what does the Link-Lite "shunt" do?

The shunt measures current into and out of the bank and allows the monitor to count amperage in and out and thus very accurately predict your banks state of charge.

A volt meter tells you very little about your banks actual state of charge unless the batteries have been allowed to rest for 12-24 hours, something that rarely, if ever, happens when off cruising.

Most battery monitors pay for themselves rather quickly.. Analog volt meters are HORRIBLY inaccurate in the marine environment and I see this nearly every day. Working on a boat today that showed over 14 volts. Customer could not figure out why the batts could not start the engine. He could not start because his batteries were at 10.3v when measured with an accurate DVM. His charger had failed but he never knew it because his analog volt meter was toast after 25 years in the salt air and reading 14 volts vs. 10.3 volts..

Personally I'd buy the Victron BMV-600 as it cost about the same as a good quality stand alone volt meter from Blue Sea. If you want a cheap volt meter, and you normally get what you pay for, eBay...

I can often install a Victron BMV-600 for less than the cost of a just the Link-Lite when you factor in the wiring kit needed to install it. Depending upon the boats existing wiring about $300.00-$350.00 installed. I have yet to have any customer say they regretted the purchase of a monitor and the vast majority add a minimum of 1 year to their battery bank longevity after a monitor install. Some customers have added as much as 4 years to their bank life..


The brass colored device is a Victron shunt I installed on a Sabre while doing a major charge system upgrade..

[M. R. Bober]

The shunt that was provided with the Link-LITE appears to be nothing but a buss bar with two battery lugs and two screws for the current sensing leads. I see no electronics, and the meter shows all 4 contact point (and the bar) to be, electrically, the same point.

The shunt for the LinkPRO is an entirely different piece of equipment. See the photo of the Link-LITE shunt in this link:
http://www.tosimplify.net/2011/04/xantr ... recap.html

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where I am currently rubbing Ben-Gay on some seriously sore muscles.) VA

[Dean Abramson]

Truth is, I have done just fine with the simple CD-supplied volt meter in the panel for fifteen years and two boats. Actually, I seem to be doing fine with no gauge...

I am eyeing this rascal:
http://www.amazon.com/Cyberdyne-A000E25 ... 856&sr=8-1

Or even this beauty:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002I ... d_i=507846
I would just plug it into my cigarette lighter outlet (which is wired through the panel), flip the switch on and check it. Then switch to the other battery and repeat the process.

I really don't want to spend $200 or more for features I was not really shopping for. One can always buy something better for a boat, but I am just not hankerin' for a zooty meter.

Is there any reason to think that the $40 Cyberdyne gauge would not at least out-perform the old gauge?

Dean