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condor22 said:
RR Given it's September and it'll soon be dark at 2pm in the UK, I'm assuming this is for next year lolol. :)

or

Is for the 3 days of sunshine next year.

Sorry memories of my childhood over there.......
Click to expand...

I got that covered, I'm gunna put a Candle in front of it and hope for the best,, ya right It is dark until around 08:00am and then gets dark again around 3 or 4 PM,

But I have cut back my power usage and my last power bill for about 3 months was about 30 bucks / 17Quid. so I can't knock that Ay. My normal daily usage is from about 0.600Kwh up to around 1.2/1.4Kwh per day at the most. And if this panel will run my Fridge then it will half that bill again, :Y:
 
condor22 said:
RR Given it's September and it'll soon be dark at 2pm in the UK, I'm assuming this is for next year lolol. :)

or

Is for the 3 days of sunshine next year.

Sorry memories of my childhood over there.......
Click to expand...

I just bought 2 X 150w Panels and I will buy another two later if I need them, 600w is way more than enough to run a very Large Caravan or a Small Cabin etc, I have seen a 500w Wind generator on the Horizon too, :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:

That portable 100w Panel turned up today, it cost me 8 bucks for next day delivery, I tried it out and it is pretty powerful for what it is, I hooked it on to a 85Ah battery and it took about 15-20 minutes to go from 13.09 up to 14.4v but when I have run it down a bit I will let it do it's job and see how it goes, :Y:
 
RR - Any panel (with a controller) will raise the voltage relatively quickly regardless of SOC. The true test is in the Amps and to check that a battery needs to be discharged at least to 70% SOC or a bit lower so that boost mode is achieved. The other method of testing a full battery is to put globe/s on the battery with a known current draw of more than the panels output.

Globes are better to test with as their load is more constant than something run by a DC motor (compressor)
 
condor22 said:
RR - Any panel (with a controller) will raise the voltage relatively quickly regardless of SOC. The true test is in the Amps and to check that a battery needs to be discharged at least to 70% SOC or a bit lower so that boost mode is achieved. The other method of testing a full battery is to put globe/s on the battery with a known current draw of more than the panels output.

Globes are better to test with as their load is more constant than something run by a DC motor (compressor)
Click to expand...

Yeah thanks for that I might use a Globe to pull them down,

Well when I first bought these Batteries the numbers didn't add up So I had to buy a proper battery tester So I bought this one that does it all and Prints out all the Info,

1568963631_battery_tester.jpg
 
Nice bit of kit.

To clarify, you don't need the globe to pull down a full battery to test it. What it does is offset the panels output. In other words, the load needs to be greater than the charge.
You then need an Ammeter on the panel to measure its current.

Think of it like a bucket of water, if the bucket is full, you can't put any more into it. So the extra water overflows and can't be measured. If the panel = a cup and the globe = a mug (as it's bigger), if you take out a mugs worth of water and put in a cups worth then you can see the difference in the level.

Sorry for that analolgy, but it works for those I explain it to with little electrical knowledge. Not referring that to you, lol.
 
condor22 said:
Nice bit of kit.

To clarify, you don't need the globe to pull down a full battery to test it. What it does is offset the panels output. In other words, the load needs to be greater than the charge.
You then need an Ammeter on the panel to measure its current.

Think of it like a bucket of water, if the bucket is full, you can't put any more into it. So the extra water overflows and can't be measured. If the panel = a cup and the globe = a mug (as it's bigger), if you take out a mugs worth of water and put in a cups worth then you can see the difference in the level.

Sorry for that analolgy, but it works for those I explain it to with little electrical knowledge. Not referring that to you, lol.
Click to expand...

Ok well I will give it a run like that and see how well the input handles the output,

Yeah it is a great tester, It handles batteries up to 2000 CCA and has 5 different scales plus one where it will just measure the CCA without the need to enter a CCA Rating etc and it does Load Testing Starter motor Testing and Charging systems as well as battery Testing,

Here are the Basic Screens,

1568981034_battery_tester_screens.jpg
 
My gear

1568981012_batterycheck-app.jpg

1568981012_bm_pro.jpg


All of the negative - cables both load and charge go through the Block on the battery. It's basically a 100A shunt, with a bluetooth Tx. The + fly lead (the one with the + on it) has 3 wires, 1 is the + power for the devices blutooth etc, the other 2 are for the temperature pickup in the + terminal.

I then have an App on my Android ph. It instantly shows the present voltage of the battery, this will vary depending on SOC or if under charge. As all - wires go through this, the Amps are a resultant of all loads and charge. BTW I can isolate all loads and all charge independently.

The way I use it is turn off loads and it reads a + number of charge amps. Turn off all charge and it shows the load total. Turn on both charge and loads and it calculates if a charge or discharge situation is happening, how long the battery will last at that rate and the battery temp.

Best thing I've ever bought, no holes to drill, bolt onto the battery at one end and the other replicates the battery terminal. Install the App and pair.

BTW BM pro is mine, the App pic is from their web site. As I've never seen my battery at that temp, lol.
 
condor22 said:
My gear

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1932/1568981012_batterycheck-app.jpg
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1932/1568981012_bm_pro.jpg

All of the negative - cables both load and charge go through the Block on the battery. It's basically a 100A shunt, with a bluetooth Tx. The + fly lead (the one with the + on it) has 3 wires, 1 is the + power for the devices blutooth etc, the other 2 are for the temperature pickup in the + terminal.

I then have an App on my Android ph. It instantly shows the present voltage of the battery, this will vary depending on SOC or if under charge. As all - wires go through this, the Amps are a resultant of all loads and charge. BTW I can isolate all loads and all charge independently.

The way I use it is turn off loads and it reads a + number of charge amps. Turn off all charge and it shows the load total. Turn on both charge and loads and it calculates if a charge or discharge situation is happening, how long the battery will last at that rate and the battery temp.

Best thing I've ever bought, no holes to drill, bolt onto the battery at one end and the other replicates the battery terminal. Install the App and pair.

BTW BM pro is mine, the App pic is from their web site. As I've never seen my battery at that temp, lol.
Click to expand...

That's a cool set up plus being able to monitor the battery temp is an important thing when it comes to charging, I like that,

I bought this Gizmo because I bought a battery from a big company and the rating didn't match it's performance, So I ordered another one and they sent the wrong one and then They sent me the right one but the run times did not match so I bought the BST-500 tester and it all became clear, They were selling 800 cca batteries as 1000cca batteries and One turned out to be a 110Ah and the other a 115Ah One turned out to be a 740 CCA and the others were 800 CCA and instead of it taking me days to run them flat to check their capacity this thing told me what all 4 batteries were with 3 minutes.

People need to be very aware when buying batteries that just because they look the same does not really mean that they are the same, And if any one is buying a set of batteries get the store to test each one with a Meter like mine and get a DATA Print Out of it's Capacity and it's SOH / CCA and if they don't Match then Walk Away, :Y:
 
Initial setup is Battery Name - Battery Age - Temp Unit - Battery V - Battery AH

Then you can set Alarms for low V etc

Save and Pair.

I have one BM on my 4x4 and another on the Van, but one App on the phone. Both batteries are setup, connected and saved, so assuming I'm currently paired to the van, I go into setup, make a new connection and it lists both batteries. I select on the touch screen which I want to use and it reconnects to the car and vice versa to go back to the van.

The App is on the Android Google App store (free download). Each battery has a 4 digit PIN security code used when first connecting or if a reconnect occurs i.e. the BM is disconnected. It might not be the cheapest, but it replaces an Voltmeter, Ammeter, extra wiring to meters, no holes to drill and keeps an easy and immediate viewable SOC.

Given the cost of batteries and I've met plenty of campers that have had to buy 2 or 3 batteries in the time I've had one, I'm in front.

From their web site -

SPECIFICATIONS
Output 0.9/3.0/4.0 Amps
Voltage Measurement Range 8V to 30V
Voltage Measurement Resolution 100mV (or 0.1V)
Current Measurement Range 100A
Current Measurement Resolution 100mA (or 0.1A)
Temperature Measurement Range -20 C to 70 C (Battery Terminal)
Temperature Measurement Resolution 1 C
Monitored Battery Capacity 7Ah to 800Ah
Visual and Audible Alarms Low Voltage, user settable level. Low State of Charge, user settable level.

Standby current drain is <10mA, so roughly 1 Amp in 3 months. Weighs 1kg - 140mm x 60mm x 20mm
 
Condor,
At a current drain of 10mA, I make it 7.2Ah per month, or ~21.6Ah in 3 months.
i.e.: 0.01A * 24hrs * 30days * 3months = 21.6Ah

I have an Enerdrive 125Ah Lithium (I needed light weight), which also has the battery monitor built in, allowing bluetooth monitoring on my iPhone.
I didn't really want it, but it has come in useful.
1569032508_enerdrive.jpg
 
Nightjar said:
:playful: Do you blokes take your batteries to bed with you?
$200 to keep a check on them while you are away. :lol:
Click to expand...

No I just hate being ripped off by Battery companies Who try and sell you a battery saying that yours is stuffed or sell you batteries that are not up to Spec,

Having been screwed over about 3 or 4 Times was the reason I bought that Tester,

I bought a 85Ah deep cycle battery that is meant to be 900 cca according to the sales Blurb and the Label stuck on the thing, this Tester told me that it is in fact 500 cca and when fully charged and allowed to rest for a day the cca comes up to around 542 cca

and the So called 1000 cca / 115Ah Battery I bought turned out to be a 740 cca and when it turned up it had a label on it saying it is 1000 mca which works out to be 800 cca, and the best CCA I have seen after being charged and allowed to rest was 751 CCA But being a 740 CCA works out that the battery is only 102 Ah Not 115Ah that I bought and Paid for.

Then when I ordered another one they sent me a 1000 mca /110Ah Battery, which again is a 800 cca Battery, This one actually read 843 CCA so it is above it's overall rating. But is 5Ah Lower than the 115Ah I ordered So again Not Matching.

The reason for buying the Tester is because there is no way to work out what the True Ah is of a battery Unless you fully charge it and then Flatten it with a Known Load and do this several times which takes Days to perform and in the end Kills the Battery, So buying this Tester was the best and cheapest option, And I only found out that there was a problem with the ratings after a couple of months after the batteries were bought and paid for.

Why is it So Important ?? Simple because when you are trying to build a reliable Solar System your panels have to match and So do your Batteries,
 
Have decided not to use the 1220 powered by solar. Instead it will be a 10A solar controller, but switched by a relay.

Should cost me about $200 for all of the gear.
 

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