Do I need a Smartguage?

[Sabcat]

It's not that difficult but you shouldn't have to do it. So far we have been made aware of one which was very obviously faulty. MtB may have one which is 0.05V outside spec but we can't be sure as yet.

 

If you do find that yours is faulty then it should be returned to your supplier (or Merlin if your supplier suggests it) not only for them to rectify it but also to determine why.

 

I will check it, it's about 18 months old and has never given me cause for concern but having read about a wrongly calibrated unit I thought I might as well find out, especially as it's so easy to.

[WotEver]

 

I will check it, it's about 18 months old and has never given me cause for concern but having read about a wrongly calibrated unit I thought I might as well find out, especially as it's so easy to.

Absolutely. Please let us know how you get on ?

 

Tony

[Graham.m]

It's not that difficult but you shouldn't have to do it. So far we have been made aware of one which was very obviously faulty. MtB may have one which is 0.05V outside spec but we can't be sure as yet.

 

If you do find that yours is faulty then it should be returned to your supplier (or Merlin if your supplier suggests it) not only for them to rectify it but also to determine why.

 

Graham, you have consistently demonstrated that you do not understand SmartGauge. Basing conclusions on a lack of understanding really isn't good engineering practice.

 

Tony

 

Sorry the gauge operates on the voltage in the system nothing else. I have a good understanding of how it works.

 

I see that now we have two more possibly not operating correctly

[Sabcat]

 

Sorry the gauge operates on the voltage in the system nothing else. I have a good understanding of how it works.

 

I see that now we have two more possibly not operating correctly

 

If youre counting mine as one of those possibles then you're over reaching, nothing but my own curiosity is leading me to check it. As far as I know it's working perfectly and I can tell you that having both an SG and a BMV there's only one I look at when I'm off shore power. The BMV is a fun bit of kit to see how little current my leds draw for example but the SG tells me what my batteries are doing and so far has given me no cause to think it's anything but accurate.

[WotEver]

I see that now we have two more possibly not operating correctly

Do we? Please enlighten me - which are they?

[Graham.m]

It's not that difficult but you shouldn't have to do it. So far we have been made aware of one which was very obviously faulty. MtB may have one which is 0.05V outside spec but we can't be sure as yet.

 

If you do find that yours is faulty then it should be returned to your supplier (or Merlin if your supplier suggests it) not only for them to rectify it but also to determine why.

 

 

Your own post

 

If youre counting mine as one of those possibles then you're over reaching, nothing but my own curiosity is leading me to check it. As far as I know it's working perfectly and I can tell you that having both an SG and a BMV there's only one I look at when I'm off shore power. The BMV is a fun bit of kit to see how little current my leds draw for example but the SG tells me what my batteries are doing and so far has given me no cause to think it's anything but accurate.

 

Noted we are down to another one

 

Mind you it could be a good idea to check them periodically

Edited January 21, 2016 by Graham.m

[WotEver]

 

Your own post

Yes, correct, that was indeed my post

 

I stated that we had a faulty gauge (Tommy's). I noted that we might have (MiGHT HAVE) one (ONE) which is 0.05V outside spec.

 

I don't make that two more - I make that a possible one more.

Edited January 21, 2016 by WotEver

[nicknorman]

Sorry the gauge operates on the voltage in the system nothing else. I have a good understanding of how it works.

 

Only if you know how God works, and we all know He works in mysterious ways.

[WotEver]

... do we have to take all that you say about the gauge on faith

Not at all. It has been repeatedly suggested that you test one.

 

Tony

[mrsmelly]

Anyway, there is an important point about Smartgauge which we have not yet mentioned. It is created by divine inspiration and it's readings are controlled directly by God. This is my firm belief and I challenge any disbelievers to prove me wrong.

 

Oh no..........not bloomin religion again.

 

Tim

[blackrose]

Of course you do. Why don't you and TC get a room...

 

Yeah, get a room!

[Top cat]

Of course let's be clear, you don't have a Smartgauge and thus don't know how well it works. When the Smartgauge shows 100% SoC, what do you think the actual SoC will be?

I was going to post a refution of most of your other points but do you know what? I really can't be bothered as you have been told them all before many times. you can lead a boater to water but you can't make him drink it if he is irrationally determined not to.

No I don't have a a smartguage but I have played with four different ones on friends boats. Two of them needed a special technique to get the buttons working, all of them were difficult to read in direct sunlight and one got very confused when intermittent solar charging took place.

 

What do I think the actual SoC is when SG shows 100% ? I have no idea and neither does any one else as the definition of 100% charge is contentious. Further even Merlin dont claim great accuacy when charging. On the other hand you can make an informed decision as to whether the batteries in your opinion are charged enough by observing the voltage and current being drawn, something the OP already has the kit to do.

 

As I said I'm not a fan the SG might be useful to some people but it is far from perfect and there are other ways to keep an eye on your battery which are also less than perfect but differently.

I was trying to answer the OPs qustion by pointing out what the SG will andcwill not do and what he can do with what he already has

[mrsmelly]

I have a Mastervolt MICC which tells me battery charge percentage, amp hours remaining etc.

What extra info does a Smartguage provide? In layman' terms if that's possible!

 

I am a layman with umpteen full time liveaboard years under my belt. I dont have a smartgauge and never buy one for personal use. However this is just personal choice I use a Bmv or Nasa as they give more information that I personaly want and I understand when my batts are charged etc etc, the a/h counting bit is a joke I never even look at.

I would think as a simple gauge to read the smart gauge is probably tops as far as I understand it I would treat it like a petrol gauge on a car insomuch as it tells the user when the tanks full and when he better fill it up so very handy knowledge especialy if you want to look after battery bank. I am thinking of buying one just for the hell of it as it certainly can do no harm.

 

Tim

[nicknorman]

No I don't have a a smartguage but I have played with four different ones on friends boats. Two of them needed a special technique to get the buttons working, all of them were difficult to read in direct sunlight and one got very confused when intermittent solar charging took place.

 

What do I think the actual SoC is when SG shows 100% ? I have no idea and neither does any one else as the definition of 100% charge is contentious. Further even Merlin dont claim great accuacy when charging. On the other hand you can make an informed decision as to whether the batteries in your opinion are charged enough by observing the voltage and current being drawn, something the OP already has the kit to do.

 

As I said I'm not a fan the SG might be useful to some people but it is far from perfect and there are other ways to keep an eye on your battery which are also less than perfect but differently.

I was trying to answer the OPs qustion by pointing out what the SG will andcwill not do and what he can do with what he already has

So you've pressed a few buttons on a few smartgauges and now consider yourself sufficiently well informed to pass verdict. Hmmm. Our buttons work fine, our SG is installed inside the boat where sunlight isn't an issue. Just like most people, I would suggest. You do realise that the display brightness is adjustable, don't you? And presumably you have checked these gauges with the display at its high setting before complaining about sunlight readability? When I installed ours, I reduced the brightness setting from its default mid value as it was on the bright side for use in the engine room.

 

There are a lot of people on here who have SG and solar and report no issues. Of course there are also lots of people who have alternators who report that they work very well. There are just a few who have alternators that don't seem to work well, does that mean that alternators are rubbish?

 

Anyway, you are quite entitled to say you don't like a smartgauge and you don't want one. What I feel you are not entitled to do (without expecting come back) is to present faux science as an argument against it.

Edited January 21, 2016 by nicknorman

[Richard10002]

To the OP....

 

I have a Smartguage and a NASA BM2. If I had to choose one for my wife to make decisions related to how full the batteries might be, and whether she needed to start charging, and when she could stop charging, it would be the Smartguage.

 

With a choice of one or the other 4 years ago, I chose the NASA as I wanted to know Ah in and out, above all else. However, the percentage SOC on the NASA is wildly inaccurate, so I always hankered after a Smartguage, and finally took the plunge a few weeks ago.

 

Neither answer all the questions but, together I think they provide a comprehensive monitoring system.

[bottle]

Very similar to Richard (above)

 

Had Smartgauge for over six years, fitted when boat built, it works.

 

Fitted 400 watts solar two years ago, no change, the Smartgauge works

 

Fitted Victron BVM 700 one month ago, no change, the Smartgauge works.

 

I knew my batteries were knackered but was interest to find out by how much so.

 

Reading the percentage used on the Smartgauge and the amp.hrs used on the BVM, I calculated that the batteries had a capacity of about 70 amp.hrs.

 

I adjusted the BVM battery capacity to this.

 

Guess what the two gauges agree (almost) when the batteries are fully charged.

 

Now my calculations etc were not accurate to the n^th degree but to me proves that they both work if you know what they are telling you and you can set them up correctly.

 

To sum up, the Smartgauge is perfect for my other half (with some instruction) and the Smartgauge and the BVM are perfect for me.

 

 

 

ps. the knackered batteries are not the fault of the Smartgauge that is down to me.

Ooop! Forgot about the thread title, no one needs a Smartgauge, no one needs any other battery monitor but they are handy for two different types of user.

[Graham.m]

 

I see that now we have two more possibly not operating correctly

 

Yes, correct, that was indeed my post

 

I stated that we had a faulty gauge (Tommy's). I noted that we might have (MiGHT HAVE) one (ONE) which is 0.05V outside spec.

 

I don't make that two more - I make that a possible one more.

 

Might be an idea if you read the post properly the word used was possibly

[WotEver]

There might possibly be none.

 

There might possibly be water on the moon.

 

There might possibly be a batch of 1000 faulty BMVs.

 

Anything is possible. Whether there is any point in listing all the possibilities is another thing entirely.

[Graham.m]

I could not possibly comment

[blackrose]

To the OP....

 

I have a Smartguage and a NASA BM2. If I had to choose one for my wife to make decisions related to how full the batteries might be, and whether she needed to start charging, and when she could stop charging, it would be the Smartguage.

 

 

Yes, me too.

[peterboat]

Top Cat, I do exactly the same as you, except I have a Merlin Power Gauge which supplies in and out, used/remaining and voltage if domestics and starter, so the same information to work on. I shall join you at the stake.

Phil

virtual greenie flapper i have a nasa bm2 because i have a large full traction battery bank and large solar array i decided against the smartguage. now if i just had a smallish battery bank no solar i think the smartgauge would be the way to go. i had to make a choice and i had to know what amps were being produced only time will tell if i have got it right or wrong

[WotEver]

virtual greenie flapper i have a nasa bm2 because i have a large full traction battery bank and large solar array i decided against the smartguage. now if i just had a smallish battery bank no solar i think the smartgauge would be the way to go. i had to make a choice and i had to know what amps were being produced only time will tell if i have got it right or wrong

If you wanted (want) to track amps in and out to verify and tune your system then you made absolutely the right choice.

 

Nobody here has ever suggested that SmartGauge is anything other than a 'fuel gauge' for your batteries, particularly aimed at non-technical users who wouldn't know an amp form a volt.

 

Gibbo originally designed it prompted by a comment from his wife who said something along the lines of "Why can't we just have a gauge that shows how full the batteries are?"

 

That said, many folk have both, as can be seen from this thread, and they complement each other.

 

Tony

[peterboat]

To the OP....

 

I have a Smartguage and a NASA BM2. If I had to choose one for my wife to make decisions related to how full the batteries might be, and whether she needed to start charging, and when she could stop charging, it would be the Smartguage.

 

With a choice of one or the other 4 years ago, I chose the NASA as I wanted to know Ah in and out, above all else. However, the percentage SOC on the NASA is wildly inaccurate, so I always hankered after a Smartguage, and finally took the plunge a few weeks ago.

 

Neither answer all the questions but, together I think they provide a comprehensive monitoring system.

it turns out my state of charge for the nasa was very good, one of my banks was poorly and the state of charge used to go down fast, but after sorting with fresh acid and high frequency charging/discharging, [clever machine used by commercial battery suppliers] that bank is now ok, and the state of charge holds up very well now. the reality is the smartgauge would probably done the same less the amps reading in and out

edit due to fat fingers

Edited January 21, 2016 by peterboat

[nicknorman]

it turns out my state of charge for the nasa was very good, one of my banks was poorly and the state of charge used to go down fas.t but after sorting with fresh acid and high frequency charging/discharging, [clever machine used buy commercial battery suppliers] that bank is now ok, and the state of charge holds up very well now. the reality is the smartgauge would probably done the same less the amps reading in and out

I think the NASA is a bit of a halfway house because it uses some sort of voltage algorithm for discharge. I have zero personal experience of it but plenty on here report the SoC on discharge as being pretty unreliable, I think you are the first who has praised it.

[Top cat]

Note to OP

 

You might like to note that the Smartgauge manual cautions that ( paraphased) if your batteries have less than 50% of their original capacity then the accuracy of the Smartgauge may be compromised. Or words to that effect.

 

So how good you think your batteries are might influence your decision.

 

Top Cat