Dec 2003 - Digital Battery Meter

The Digital Battery Meter Kit sold by Tom Helm installed very easily and quickly. I had been plugged into shore power, so my batteries should have been at 100%. I was pleased to see the reading display 12.7 volts, which is a 100% state of charge. When plugged into shore power the meter displays 13.2, which is the charging voltage of the converter.

In the kit, Tom provides clear tubing to protect the thin wires for the meter and red activation switch. Note that I’ve run the clear tubing along the inside front of the hood and into the wiring panel cover.

I drilled a new attachment screw hole for the wiring panel cover to lower it slightly on one side to provide clearance for the clear tubing leaving just a small gap on one side where the panel used to be flush to the inside of the range hood.

Tom has great instructions and provides everything that is needed. I'm enjoying actually knowing the voltage output when we're living without shore power, which is 90% of the time!

Based on the 12v battery "State of Charge" chart from The 12-Volt Side of Life...

12.6+ volts 100%
12.50 volts 90%
12.42 volts 80%
12.32 volts 70%
12.20 volts 60%
12.06 volts 50%
11.90 volts 40%
11.75 volts 30%
11.58 volts 20%
11.31 volts 10%
10.50 volts 0%

...I made a little chart for the cabinet door that reads (since the monitor displays in tenths)...

12.6 volts 100%
12.5 volts 90%
12.4 volts 80% (78%)
12.3 volts 70% (68%)
12.2 volts 60%
12.1 volts 55% (54%)
12.0 volts 50% (48%)
11.9 volts 40% CAUTION
11.8 volts 30% (32%)
11.7 volts 25% (26%)
11.6 volts 20% WARNING
11.5 volts 15% (17%)
11.3 volts 10%
10.9 volts 5%
10.5 volts 0%

...so I can monitor our load under usage and the remaining capacity (state of charge) when only the LP and CO2 detectors are online.

Kudos to Tom for this great kit!