Dana (and others):
Last August you asked about getting a replacement for the Hoyt panel voltmeter on a CD 30 powerboat electrical panel. This is the rectangular 3" x 2 1/4" voltmeter - probably the same one is on lots of other boats too.
First off, this is a pretty standard size for panel meters, and some (probably all) meters requiring a 2 1/16" mounting hole will fit the same stud holes and be close enough to the same size. Any marine catalog will have some.
Second, I just bought an expanded state of charge voltmeter (Blue Sea) from West Marine. They're on sale (Yay!) for $4 off (Yuh.) - $39.95. These are nice meters - they show 11.6 - 14 volts. The scale is marked to show percentage charge for flooded and gel batteries, and it's plenty wide enough that you can see roughly how your batteries are doing (or exactly, if you want to remove all load and let them go to rest state). They have a little circuit board on the back that allows precise adjustment at both ends of the scale, and limits out-of-range voltage so the meter isn't fried when you're charging. I checked with a DVM, and the meter is bang spanking on.
Only problem is that it doesn't show charging voltages, so you need to watch the voltmeter on your engine panel to see if anything funny is going on - but that's the meter you see when underway anyway.
And if your friend still needs a Hoyt voltmeter - I have a spare one now. I even calibrated it.
bilofsky@toolworks.com
Hoyt electrical panel meter replacement (and better)
Moderator: Jim Walsh