merlin smartgauge battery monitor, how good?

[trebby91]

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

[mrsmelly]

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

 

Loads of people have them and swear by them. I dont for me there are better bits of kit out there that tell me far more than a smartgauge does such as my victron bit of kit and others. Fitting a shunt is a piece of wee and just as easy as fitting a battery

[blackrose]

I have a smartgauge and a shunt type monitor. They're both useful, but if I could only keep one I'd choose the smartgauge.

[Ark Right]

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

 

Hi Brian

The smartgauge monitor will not show you amp hour rate.

There are rumours they are bringing out a new model with A/Hr counting etc, this new item will no doubt come with a shunt.

Cheers

A

[Chalky]

Don't assume that the shunt based ones are accurate. I've got one and a set of dice. The dice are more accurate. You get what you pay for and many people swear by the smartgauge.

[jelunga]

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

I have one as well as an Adverc DCM monitor.

Rhe Smartgauge shows domestic battery vojtage avd state of charge as a percentage of fully charged and the voltage only if another battery like engine start.

It dies not show amps in or out. The Adverc Dcm does that.

I find the Smartgauge does seem to lose track now and then. However I have a strange battery arrangement abd charge from engine mains solar and wind at different points to the split battery bank. After an equilising charge it gets back on track again. For more normal ibarallations it will be fine. Good simple piece of kit.

[trebby91]

According to the add I have read it does show the amp hours in and out of the batteryand the total remaining,

found it here:- http://www.cactusnav.com/merlin-smartgauge-battery-monitor-p-11874.html

Is this the new model I have seen mentioned?

I did not want to collect any more shunts, I have two on the battery management system.

Regards, Brian.

[Chris Pink]

I find the Smart gauge does seem to lose track now and then. However I have a strange battery arrangement abd charge from engine mains solar and wind at different points to the split battery bank. After an equilising charge it gets back on track again. For more normal ibarallations it will be fine. Good simple piece of kit.

 

It was when Gibbo called me a liar for pointing this out that I cut my losses and sold my smartgauge.

 

Worth noting if you read the spec closely the smartgauge doesn't tell you the capacity of your battery just the percentage of whatever capacity it has which is not a static quantity. It's more appropriate to a boat with shore power than off-grid

 

If you know nothing about electric maybe it's for you but a voltmeter and a bit of nowse comes a lot cheaper. And an ammeter is very useful.

 

 

 

I toy about getting an amp hour meter but the cost puts me off what doesn't tell me anything directly useful.

[blackrose]

According to the add I have read it does show the amp hours in and out of the battery and the total remaining,

found it here:- http://www.cactusnav.com/merlin-smartgauge-battery-monitor-p-11874.html

Is this the new model I have seen mentioned?

 

Where does it say that Brian?

 

That's the standard model.

Edited March 15, 2012 by blackrose

[Ark Right]

According to the add I have read it does show the amp hours in and out of the batteryand the total remaining,

found it here:- http://www.cactusnav...or-p-11874.html

Is this the new model I have seen mentioned?

I did not want to collect any more shunts, I have two on the battery management system.

Regards, Brian.

 

Brian, I can't see any mention of amps on the link.

Two shunts already? what is your battery management system?

Cheers

A

[Albion]

According to the add I have read it does show the amp hours in and out of the batteryand the total remaining,

found it here:- http://www.cactusnav.com/merlin-smartgauge-battery-monitor-p-11874.html

Is this the new model I have seen mentioned?

I did not want to collect any more shunts, I have two on the battery management system.

Regards, Brian.

It says that conventional battery meters count amp-hours in and out but then goes on to explain why/how the Smartgauge does it differently.

Roger

[blackrose]

It was when Gibbo called me a liar for pointing this out that I cut my losses and sold my smartgauge.

 

Worth noting if you read the spec closely the smartgauge doesn't tell you the capacity of your battery just the percentage of whatever capacity it has which is not a static quantity. It's more appropriate to a boat with shore power than off-grid

 

If you know nothing about electric maybe it's for you but a voltmeter and a bit of nowse comes a lot cheaper. And an ammeter is very useful.

 

I think an SG is much more useful than a voltmeter, even for those who know something about boat electrics. The SG has a voltmeter too but you can't get an accurate SoC from a voltage reading unless you have no battery charge or discharge for 24 hours.

 

Surely the fact that the SG displays real-time capacity not static capacity is an advantage, not a disadvantage? I don't know how you come to the conclusion that the SG is more appropriate [than a shunt type monitor] to a boat on shore power ?

Edited March 15, 2012 by blackrose

[matty40s]

Where does it say that Brian?

 

That's the standard model.

may be the standard model, but thats the cheapest I have seen it, new one must be imminent.

[blackrose]

may be the standard model, but thats the cheapest I have seen it, new one must be imminent.

 

As far as I remember £149.95 inc VAT was about the same as I paid a few years ago.

[trebby91]

It would appear that I am not reading between the lines very well!

Maybe I will just leave it alone for a while and carry on looking at the voltmeter and the amp meter.

I have the Sterling Battery management system, needs two shunts, up to now it seems to work just fine.

Sterling have brought out a “power management panel” it does measure the amp hours, just to expensive and another shunt with more unsightly battery cables running every where.

Regards, Brian.

[Grace and Favour]

As far as I remember £149.95 inc VAT was about the same as I paid a few years ago.

 

I'll second that

[Chris Pink]

I think an SG is much more useful than a voltmeter, even for those who know something about boat electrics. The SG has a voltmeter too but you can't get an accurate SoC from a voltage reading unless you have no battery charge or discharge for 24 hours.

 

Surely the fact that the SG displays real-time capacity not static capacity is an advantage, not a disadvantage? I don't know how you come to the conclusion that the SG is more appropriate [than a shunt type monitor] to a boat on shore power ?

 

It doesn't show real time capacity unless you know the theoretical capacity of your bank which takes as long to measure as you postulate it does with a voltmeter. A voltmeter gives me ballpark and most important when I need to charge.

 

It is more appropriate to batteries that are regularly charged to 100% Such as happens with shore power. Off grid where soc fluctuates widely due to shorter charging times not giving 100% and multiple charging sources the poor thing just hasn't got a clue. Gibbo told me the reason I got the wrong readings off the smartgauge was because I undercharge my batteries. I do, it's a decision I make, not an ignorance. In those circumstances it was wildly inaccurate. . It is my opinion that it doesn't cope very well at all with solar. It also struggles with 0-1-2 battery switches. The thing it really couldn't cope with was my use of a laptop while the sun was shining.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Chris Pink

[dmr]

I have to agree with Chris here, some patterns of usage can give the Smartguage a hard time, and in this case it becomes rather less acurate than the spec says. When mine says 50% a check of specific gravity usually indicates more like 60% state of charge. It is also quite inacurate during charging and takes hours to correct itself (not a few minutes like the handbook says).

Despite this I still find it a Really Useful Machine. Its tells me at a glance when my batteries are getting close to the point when I must recharge them.

Before I got the smartguage I deduced battery charge by looking at voltage, and now that I have the Smartguage I realise that it does a better estimate than I ever did!

I can deduce state of charge quite well by measuring voltage but I have to turn everything off for ten minutes or so to get close. Once I forgot to turn the fridge back on so I won't ever do that again!!!!

Its not as good as many on this forum say it is, but its still a very good investment.

 

..........Dave

[blackrose]

It doesn't show real time capacity unless you know the theoretical capacity of your bank which takes as long to measure as you postulate it does with a voltmeter. A voltmeter gives me ballpark and most important when I need to charge.

 

It is more appropriate to batteries that are regularly charged to 100% Such as happens with shore power. Off grid where soc fluctuates widely due to shorter charging times not giving 100% and multiple charging sources the poor thing just hasn't got a clue. Gibbo told me the reason I got the wrong readings off the smartgauge was because I undercharge my batteries. I do, it's a decision I make, not an ignorance. In those circumstances it was wildly inaccurate. . It is my opinion that it doesn't cope very well at all with solar. It also struggles with 0-1-2 battery switches. The thing it really couldn't cope with was my use of a laptop while the sun was shining.

 

I see, but being off-grid doesn't necessrily mean undercharging your batteries with solar panels. I get a fairly full charge with a generator and battery charger when I'm away from shore power for any length of time, and my alternators don't do a bad job either.

 

Also why did you need to put the SG through your battery isolators? Perhaps I don't know as much about electrics as you Chris, but I always thought battery monitors were connected direct? At least I'm pretty sure the SG installation instructions state this.

Edited March 15, 2012 by blackrose

[NB Willawaw]

I tend to fit them on every boat I work on.

 

Nothing is perfect and certainly not for £150, but it does give you an idea about the state of charge of your batteries, in a simple to understand "fuel gauge" type presentation that most family members can understand.

 

To be honest, I normally fit an ammeter as well, as I think its useful to see the amount of current flowing into and out of, your batteries.

 

Very useful for cycling batteries between 50 and 80 pct charge to avoid over discharge and running engine/generator longer than necessary, but this will depend to some extent on your particular installation and charging habits.

 

 

 

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

[canalowl]

Hi, all.

I am looking to purchase a merlin smartgauge battery monitor so that I can see the amp hour rate.

I have looked at a few but this one does not need a shunt.

Has anyone got one of these and how good is it?

Regards, Brian.

 

Hi there

 

I have had a SmartGuage SmartBank set up for the last 4 or 5 years and wouldn’t be without it. It’s fit and forget and helps me look after my batteries without resorting to mysterious measurements and constant wonder as to their relevance.

 

What its good at is telling me when its time to turn on the generator / main engine to charge my batteries and when to turn them off gain. If like me you are also using solar power it can save engine running time by letting me know that the batteries are now up to 90% and you can leave it to the solar to do the rest.

 

It can’t tell me how old / knackered my battery is, how much power my fridge is drawing or how much power my alternator is putting in. One of life’s great mysteries is that the solar controller can tell me how much power it is putting in, and with never a shunt in sight!

 

Dave

[nicknorman]

We have a SG and also a shunt type ammeter / SoC meter. The SG is easy to install, very convenient to use and whilst not perfect is surprisingly accurate on discharge. As has been mentioned, it probably doesn't cope well with switching different batteries into and out of circuit, but then what battery monitor would (trying to measure a moving target)? What it is very good for is telling you when it's time to charge the batteries. Despite what some on here say it is less good at telling you when to stop charging since it basically works on a timer - once in absorption it is impossible for it to tell when the charge current has fallen to a value representing fuly charged so it just counts time. It probably depends to some extent on your charging system but I find it is very cautious, the charge current will have fallen below 1% whilst another hour is required to get SG from say 90% to 100%. At least it means that when it says 100% it is definitely fully charged.

 

Still a good bit of kit and I would buy another one if we ever changed our boat (though hopefully the mythical "new one" with a shunt by then.

Edited March 16, 2012 by nicknorman

[Rich]

At least it means that when it says 100% it is definitely fully charged.

 

Still a good bit of kit and I would buy another one if we ever changed our boat (though hopefully the mythical "new one" with a shunt by then.

 

According to Mr Gibson, when it shows 100% charged, it ain't. Charging still needs to continue until the charge rate drops to about 2 or 3 amps before it gets anywhere near fully charged.

 

Of course, without an ammeter this is a little difficult to ascertain. I have a Sterling amp/hour meter which was fitted before the SG was available and this shows the charge rate. It also shows the state of the batteries seemingly accurately and has done for some 18 months without a reset.

 

Something I have noticed. The voltage showing on the SG and the amp/hr meter bear a surprising relationship to the state of charge as shown by both instruments, providing nothing is taking much current at the time.

 

If I had known then what I know now I wouldn't have bought the SG. This is purely my opinion arrived at after some experience of the thing and I have no doubt that there will be many who disagree.

[Chalky]

Some amp counting gauges need to have a period of time where they can carry out some internal house keeping and reset the values when the engine is not running - i.e. work out what the battery "constants" are, soc estimation based on voltage etc. A solar panel that is trickle charging the battery can confuse them since the battery surface charge is always there and the voltage is more than their algorithms expect. The unit I've got has these issues and it gets reset regularly. I tend to find I use the ammeter and voltmeter to gauge SOC and battery health.

[churchward]

may be the standard model, but thats the cheapest I have seen it, new one must be imminent.

It's teh same price as previouosly. The £124,96 value is Ex-VAT so inc VAT it is £149.95