Blue Sea Battery Monitor and Fridge Monitering

[gscriba]

I have had fun this past week installing my new VSM 422, which has proved to be a fantastic addition to my battery system...at last, I finally KNOW what is actually going into and out of my house bank. One very cool variation to the installation that I have enjoyed: the VSM has a function that will monitor a bilge pump showing On/Off, pump minutes per hour, cycles per 24 hours, and ongoing pump cycles (which can be reset at any time). I was not interested in monitoring the bilge pump in this way, but I was VERY interested in monitoring my fridge/freezer pump. I have a Nova Kool refrigeration system installed. By wiring a relay into the Nova Kool system, I am now accurately monitoring the above mentioned using my VSM. I now know exactly how well my refrigeration system is working; all for less than $10!

Wiring the relay was tricky (for me anyway) as the VSM requires an On/Off 12 volt positive wire, but the Nova Kool has a constant 12 volt supply to its circuit board, so no real simple way to add the relay. This had not been done by anyone at Nova Kool, so it took a bit of trial-and-error, but the relay is finally wired in and the refrigeration and monitor are working great!

Next addition will be the water and waste tank sensors.

[hellosailor]

And a VSM is a what?

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

And a VSM is a what?

Vessel System Monitor.

Very cool. Vessel Systems Monitor VSM 422 - PN 1800 - Blue Sea Systems

Thanks for the write-up as I have been considering one as well. I will have lots of questions for you in a little bit :P

I wish how I wish that it output NEMA 2k data.

[goboatingnow]

The other monitor worth considering is the BEP Marine 600 series monitor. It has even more flexibility
Dave

[gscriba]

BEP vs Blue Sea: In what way is the BEP more "flexible"? Thanks.

[Matt Johnson]

I've had a VSM 422 for about two years and love the thing! I was originally going to install just a normal battery monitor, but this tells me how full the waste tank is, how full the water tank, bilge and anything else I could want.

Good choice! I like your idea on wiring the monitor. Were you also able to change the name to show fridge instead of bilge?

[gscriba]

Yup. Changed the name from "Bilge" to "Fridge". I now know that my fridge/freezer is cycling on approx twice/hour for a total of 20 minutes. This will be very useful info come this summer when temps go up. Hopefully I will not have to alter the box build/insulation. It is fantastic to finally know what we will need for solar.

[Highland Fling]

simple cheap and easy to connect and miserly on current draw BUT only shows Active Hours great for fridge run time ETC

12VDC Running Time Meter-MPJA, Inc.

and yes i have a VE 602 BM for battery system usage /status

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by gscriba

BEP vs Blue Sea: In what way is the BEP more "flexible"? Thanks.

Read the BEP manual. It monitors more variables, it's a colour display, etc