Installation of Ammeter

[coopec43]

I'm still working on the alternator wiring. But I'm following advice given on this forum and intend putting in a 100A ANL fuse within 7 inches of the battery. (I should have the fuse holder any day now and I have two spares which arrived yesterday)

Now I'm considering an ammeter to check the output of the alternator. But I figure that will depend on the state of charge of the batteries as well as any load on the batteries e.g. winch. Is the ammeter really necessary or of any use?

If I want to put the 100A ammeter on the switch panel with all the other instruments I have concluded I need to "wire in" a 100A shunt between the alternator and the ANL fuse and then take two light wires up to the ammeter on the switch board. (My alternator is 24V 60A)

I would appreciate comments on what I am planning.

NOTE I have worked out the three wires on the alternator.

Some people may find this helpful.


Alternator Terminals Explained
https://jasoceania.co.nz/articles/al...nals-explaine

[sguerrero1971]

I wired the shunt to the negative side of the battery and use a switch to go between charge and discharge. For me it isn't the only monitor but it is another monitor, something to help me get an idea of what is going on with the systems I have onboard.

I am frugal (CHEAP) so I went with an inexpensive one off Amazon, I may upgrade it at some point to the much more expensive "SMART" monitor, but for now it is giving me what I want. I tend to use it more than I thought I would, every time I start the generator, turn on the motor, get good wind, or good sun I can see what is happening with the batteries.

Here is the one I went with for now.

https://www.amazon.com/bayite-6-5-10...8X3ZH5VAEJWFBM

[Stu Jackson]

What other monitoring device(s) do you have? If you already have a battery monitor that shows net amps, then this would be a waste. Net amps less the load = input amps.


Your boat, your choice.

[yalla]

these cheap little meters can be useful if you have several inputs to measure separately. Alot of (most?) boats have an alternator and solar. It could show you that alternator output is lower than usual (loose belt?) which you may not otherwise notice if solar is doing better than you expect.

I guess the same can be said for the load side, though a useful example escapes me just now.

[El Pinguino]

I have 4 analog ammeters plus the digital one on the switchboard which shows net in/out all sources and loads...

The 4 inputs are shore/Honda, alternator, solar and wind/water.

You can tell on the instant if any one supply has spat the dummy. You can even see when a bit of kelp has fouled the towed impeller .... when in wind mode that one also shows wind speed.... 20 amps = 60 knots apparent....

[coopec43]

Thinking about it, when I put a battery on charge I always look at the ammeter to see how it is charging to get an indication of how flat the battery is and then expect the charge to drop to drop back over a few hours. If the charger was still charging strongly after two days I would start to get alarmed.

Yes I can see I need to install one for the alternator and a separate one for the solar panels

Thanks.

[sguerrero1971]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

What other monitoring device(s) do you have? If you already have a battery monitor that shows net amps, then this would be a waste. Net amps less the load = input amps.


Your boat, your choice.

I have the charge controller for the solar and an analog Amp meter for the altenator, both of which show me charge amps for these two systems. The Wind generator has a built in MPPT controller so no display. I use the amp meter on the panel to show total charge rate, and since all of my load comes from the house bank I can see what my discharge rate is. If I want to get amp hours, I clear total watts, run my systems for an hour take a reading and do the math. Not the best but for $16 it works for me.