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Old 08-02-2017, 02:09 PM   #1
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Pre-Wire Battery Monitor or not?

We are finalizing our build sheet and trying to decide to pre-wire for battery monitor or will the solar controller give us the information we need to inform us of our battery levels? Any advice would be great. Thanks everyone.
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Old 08-02-2017, 04:14 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by slipspe View Post
We are finalizing our build sheet and trying to decide to pre-wire for battery monitor or will the solar controller give us the information we need to inform us of our battery levels? Any advice would be great. Thanks everyone.
The solar controller provides a good bit of information, but if you want an accurate readout of your battery levels, amp-hours, etc, a shunt connected battery monitor is the way to go. I plan to install the Victron soon. If I'd thought of having it prewired, I'd have definitely done so.
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Old 08-02-2017, 04:46 PM   #3
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I think it depends how much you like to watch numbers.
I have a $10 voltmeter that plugs into a 12V outlet and gives me a rough idea of the condition of the battery.
My solar controller for the portable panels has three LEDs, green, orange and red ( or maybe only two ). It tells me that charging is occurring.
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Old 08-02-2017, 05:43 PM   #4
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The 2 posts above, Rbryan4 and gbaglo's, pretty much cover it. Just pick which camp you belong to.
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Old 08-02-2017, 09:38 PM   #5
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I just finished installing a Trimetric meter and solar controller. I had ETI prewire two cables..
It was worth the money to me.
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