Project Journals > Chris Olson
Battery Bank Status Meter
ChrisOlson:
I got this thing from MidNite Solar, and it's great:
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I got it mounted on the kitchen wall right by the cupboard. It shows bank capacity - right now we're at 90% with the wind blowing tonight. The Green LED on the left shows how the system is maintaining the bank - if it's green the bank has been fully charged on a regular basis. If it switches to yellow then the bank hasn't been fully charged for a week. If it switches to red the bank hasn't been fully charged for two weeks.
The reason I like it? It's a simple thing. You can tell at a glance from across the room where the bank is at and you don't have to get right up to it to study little digital numbers or anything.
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Chris
Volvo farmer:
I'm surprised that you would like such a thing. I assumed you would rather look at real numbers, real amps in or out, real voltage, real cumulative Ahrs etc. The Midnite Battery Meter is a nifty thing in some circumstances, but for a guy who does the nuts and bolts engineering of his own power production, I have to admit, that I'm a little shocked that you are satisfied to look at a single LED on a graduated scale, with an unknown algorithm, and feel satisfied with that information.
Watt:
I have mine mounted on the wall of my car port. When I leave and later arrive, I have an at-a-glance look also. I have caught when I had a ground fault, tripped main breaker and tripped panel breakers by that at-a-glance reference.
I have been able to get past the extremes the meter represents with a only a couple of volts swing between 100 and 60 to 70 percent of charge.
Anyway, no matter, this meter is a valued tool for my RE project. I have mine connected to 48v of the 72v array. I kinda have an idea of the condition of the other 24v group. I've been thinking about getting one more for that set but I only hold off due to returning to a 48v system may be in the near future.
ChrisOlson:
Oh, I can go out in the utility room and look at all them numbers too. What I like about the MidNite meter is that when we get up in the morning and walk out to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast it's the first thing we see. At a glance from across the room I can tell where the bank is at.
I've been on a mission for the last year to get my system so it takes care of itself and doesn't have to be monitored all the time, and rarely requires any interaction from me. This little $69 meter fits right in with that mission because it's simple and you can see what you need to know by just walking by it. You don't have to stop and study a bunch of numbers to figure out what the frick is going on. And that's what I like about it.
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Chris
Watt:
--- Quote from: ChrisOlson on March 07, 2012, 10:59:43 pm ---Oh, I can go out in the utility room and look at all them numbers too. What I like about the MidNite meter is that when we get up in the morning and walk out to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast it's the first thing we see. At a glance from across the room I can tell where the bank is at.
I've been on a mission for the last year to get my system so it takes care of itself and doesn't have to be monitored all the time, and rarely requires any interaction from me. This little $69 meter fits right in with that mission because it's simple and you can see what you need to know by just walking by it. You don't have to stop and study a bunch of numbers to figure out what the frick is going on. And that's what I like about it.
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Chris
--- End quote ---
That's exactly why I got mine. I use mine for solar panels and have gotten where I can tell, that morning, if my kids were up late playing games and watching tv. 8)
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