AC/DC Power Monitor?

[rv_safetyman]

Wow, what good input!

Off line, I was informed that Vena still makes their monitor and it is apparently sold at Camping World ($299).

It would appear that there are several solutions that are at least close to what I would like to do.

I have not had time to look at the details of each system.  I will do that over the next few days (currently thrashing to get to Quartzsite tomorrow).  Also, my so called broadband with the DataStorm is terrible at night (upgrading this week)

David, I had forgotten about your system.  I will look close at that, since the meters will probably match my present Shurite analog AC volt meters

Chuck, you always think out of the box.  Your approach sounds a bit like the SilverLeaf VMSpc system that uses a PC to display all of the electonic engine data.  Great Idea.  May give that some further thought.

I suspect that cooler heads will prevail and I will not take on a new project.  The market would probably not justify the development costs.  However, it is sure fun to think about what an "ideal" meter would look like and how it would function.

[ChuckMC9]

Jim, did you ever build or buy one of these?

I want one!

[rv_safetyman]

Hi Chuck.  Wow, I about died when I saw this old thread crop up again.

I ended up with the TriMetric unit (http://www.bogartengineering.com/).  I am quite pleased with the unit.  I am still doing some playing with the constants you have to put in.  I like the ammeter function as it give me the net current delivered to (or drawn from) the house battery bank.  Some of those numbers really drive home what the big current items are (we know general concepts, but having real data really drive home the impact). 

Since I started that thread, I have added a separate alternator for the house batteries and some solar panels.  That really make reading the ammeter interesting!

I am a data junkie, so the gauge is really fun for me as well as providing good information.

For those of you just now reading this thread, I got started wanting to know the battery "state of charge".  If you do any reading on the subject, you will see that there is no good way to really check that value other than a good integrating ammeter system.  Voltage is not a very good way of "measuring" SOC.  It only works if the battery has not be charged or discharged over a several hour period and that does not happen with our systems.  A hydrometer is about as good as you can get with out buying a "computer" system.

As I reviewed the old thread, I noticed that my 110V ammeter system came up.  I have since changed from two direct reading ammeters to two shut type ammeters.  I just did not like the risk of running high current circuits up to the electrical panel. 

Jim

[ChuckMC9]

Thanks for the update, Jim! I brought this back up because I recently had some power challenges and doing some real monitoring is definitely getting moved up in the project list.

I have imagined that I would end up doing exactly what you have - a Trimetric + AC gauges. Would still love to have something like you first described, but life's too short, eh? It's also good to hear that you redid the AC ammeters. I had originally thought that AC amp & volt monitoring (and especially of each leg) was overkill, but I've absolutely changed my mind on that one. It's now a gotta do.

Thanks for the reply!

[rv_safetyman]

I wanted to add that the AC volt and ammeters for each leg was a "must" for me.  I check them several times a day if I am doing any power supply switching, or have any doubt about the quality of power.  I opted for the analog gauges, since they give me a better "picture" of what is happening.  I have the ability to check voltage and frequency with a digital gauge if necessary.

I have my 10KW generator wired for 240 because of our dryer.  With a generator that size, you need to be very careful to keep the loads reasonably balanced on each leg.  When we are on the generator, I use the ammeters often to select the air conditioners to keep things balanced.  I have each of the three ACs labeled as to whether they are on the red or black leg.  The meters are labeled accordingly.  This is especially important when we are running the dryer.

Selecting a location to pick up the current for each leg is a compromise.  I located mine after the load center.  That measures all of the current used by the coach.  However, it does not pick up the current for the generator fans (one large and one small squirrel cage blower - remote radiator).  I measured the current to run these two fans (11 amps!) and factor that into the proper leg.

When I started out, I made a list of what I wanted to be able to monitor on both the AC and DC systems.  While my current gauge systems (AC volt/amp and TriMetric) do not quite meet that list, they do everything I need.  It would be nice to have some alarms to warn me if things got out of range, but I am pretty careful to watch the systems.

One last thought, I check the post at each park before I plug in.  I have a dedicated 50 amp plug with outlets for each leg and plug in my "Good Governor" (http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=16036) into each outlet before I plug in.  Using the 30 amp adapter, my dedicated plug works for that supply as well.  Also, be sure your breaker is off until after you plug in.  There are folks who have had serious problems with the male plug making non-uniform contact during the plugging in process.  Both of these thoughts were covered in other threads on this BB.

Jim

[ChuckMC9]

One last thought, I check the post at each park before I plug in. 

Yeah, but then it changes! 

If you want to see a recent challenge I had,
http://www.busnut.com/bbs/messages/11/19611.html?1197987866