Power meter for your 12V batteries - know how much energy you using in your motorhome or van build

[@softdorothy]

It seems the two wires directly from your battery gives the device a kind of reference. The two wires from the shunt measure the voltage drop across the shunt (which it can use to determine the current flow). Very simple and clever device.

[@driftwood5407]

just like the video ;)

[@peterroeland2640]

Two wires from the the battery show the voltage. - Top left hand of the meter. The device can measure from 6.5 volts to 100 volts DC. The other two wires - from the shunt show the Amperage (current) draw of operating devices. top right hand of the meter. multiply the voltage 12.23 x the amps 0.84 = watts 10.2

[@achdee6138]

Thank you, very informative. You answered all my questions

[@juanangonzalez399]

Thank you , It was so helpful. I am IT too by the way and I want to make my own camper van.

[@CriftinsCampers]

it can be used bidirectionally All you need to do is fit a DPDT changeover switch in the two sense wires to perform a coss over, I have installed a switch and I can easily see incoming and out going current

[@69THGILF]

Hello. I tried exactly what you said except I can't get it to read on the charging side.

[@CriftinsCampers]

@@69THGILF Although it worked initially, over time I found it was unreliable and also using a switch was often impractical so I replaced mine with one of the excellent Aili monitors. I made a Video about mine here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIqsoZl-Z8qJfLs

[@69THGILF]

@@CriftinsCampers I just watched your video. Thank you

[@Spaghetti888]

Awesome, thanks for the review. I'm planning on getting a 2000W inverter but only to run up to 1000w and will probably have the engine on if I do that. This should be good for up to 1200w!

[@Vantouristcom]

Yea i think its will be fine. Also i like that construction where electricity goes through huge chunk of metal and this device just connects on the side. I hope if it will overload the limit of 100A - the device just couldn't measure more, but actual circuit will be still alive and not burn anything

[@antonis2814]

Thank you very much.I will put it between one battery(12 volt)and one motor which is 500 watt at maximum speed.I will put a fuse for the motor which is 50 amperes.Do i have to put another Fuse for the digital meter?If yes,how many amperes?

[@jeffreyruth7881]

You can reset the watt hours (Wh) by holding the button until you see CLr

[@rogerj.3640]

Very good video. Your English is very good my friend.

[@dancanrv2]

Good job !!!

[@obadimuadewunmi3127]

Good video, please does this device have inbuilt wifi device connection

[@rikujkoivisto]

Thank you! This device is $5 in Ebay.. (You may clear the memory with button on right side the display)

[@starttherebellion9146]

Great video! You explained things nicely. Also, you have a great personality and a cool accent. :D

[@Snailmailtrucker]

Great video...thanks for taking the time to show us ! Liked/Subscribed !

[@symonchester]

Am I correct in thinking this will also show charge rate when charging too?

[@techworld7988]

Hi sir, I am using Amicisense dc meter to check how many volts and amps are coming from solar. The meter is working fine in daytime but in night it's showing solar charging symbol in my pwm charge controller(like reverse charging) Please help me on this

[@stuartbennion]

Great video Thanks for sharing this information

[@rasheedabudu7966]

Pls how can I use DC 0-100V 10A Voltage and current meter display to measure my Chinese Smaraad 1kw 48v wind turbine current? Pls send the wiring diagram. Tx.

[@mbburry4759]

Thanks for video. They are handy tools, I have 3 with the kwh trackers. What I would like to know is how you are they supposed to mount into a plastic/metal/other-safe box. Mine are just shoved behind some other wires in the panel box to keep them from dangling, works fine, but figure there is some sort of box/mount for it. Did you find a way To mount it?

[@OzbeachAndy]

Excellent info Thanks for sharing.

[@arduinomasterrobertmoller2904]

Only the PLUS (positive ) connections go to the fuse box. Not any negative cables need to be fused.

[@Vantouristcom]

+Arduinomaster Robert Moller both positive and negative wire goes to my fuse box for convenience. Inside fuse box there are no fuses for negative wire - only for positive connections. But is is more convinient to connect my devices in one place

[@christophermendonca7969]

Watch out i blew mine up connecting it to my cheap charge contoller and i guess the voltage was to crazy up and down that it killed it so you half to have a battery conneted to keep the voltage stable . im getting a new one and hopefully i dont make the same mistake.

[@picapica8846]

Nice video. Question; does this meter have memory or each time you disconnect it from the system the wh count restarts?

[@leonthornton1839]

How is your shunt mounted? I noticed the tie-downs on each of the negative cables but is that the only thing holding the shunt in place?

[@mortenlerstrup]

Hello will this device show negative current as well? I.E. when you battery is charging?

[@Vantouristcom]

No, its only one way measure. But you can add one more meter to the same shunt and measure other way

[@bobcatt2294]

Is there an update to a device for monitoring lithiums? Thumbs up.

[@jpbeck825]

Good video brother!

[@Vantouristcom]

thank you! i look up at your channel vids and they are pretty nice and useful, keep doing that!

[@FeatherzMcGraw]

Just trying to figure out the wiring on mine... little confused as where to take the shunt connections from as to get reading for all battery draw (inverter etc included).

[@Vantouristcom]

You need to install shunt between negative contact of your battery and all consumers

[@eeshane604]

Great video, one question. What happens to the meter when you start the engine and the alternator begins to charge the battery? The amps would essentially be moving in the reverse direction across the shunt. Does it show a negative number indicating how much charge energy is flowing back into the battery?

[@Vantouristcom]

Hi! My alternator charging and appliance are connected in different separated electrical circuits (and solar charger is separated circle too). So charging from solar or alternator not affecting data on my appliance wattmeter. I think it couldn't measure negative amps flow btw. In conclusion i plan to install separate meter to all of my circuits and have separate data about any of solar, alternator and appliance data

[@ideafromkurdistan5257]

Hi frind , can u help me to install Shunt and this display ?

[@Daniel-odanio]

does the device still work properly so far?

[@mysterychemical]

Can we use two power meter and just reverse the wiring on shunt of another meter to measure reverse current?

[@Vantouristcom]

Yes

[@mysterychemical]

VanTourist Ok. Thanks :)

[@Vantouristcom]

mystery chemical but if you will have like "10A goes one way and 10A goes other way" same time - both meters will show 0A

[@mysterychemical]

VanTourist The setup is like inverter and solar panel connected to solar battery. Inverter is normal which charge and discharge and solar panel is connected to battery with charge controller. I want to put three of these. Two between inverter and battery(just reverse in shunt) and one between solar panel and battery. So, that I could measure how much energy is stored in battery. Or is there any other possible way to measure Tubular solar battery's energy level?

[@n.g.1577]

Hello, Van Tourist. Are you able to answer some questions about the same set-up that I'm working with? Thanks.

[@TerrydeAlaska]

I bought this unit and couldn't get the amps to work. I tried to switch the wires and still it doesn't work. The other functions work, but the amps only read 0. It also won't give % of battery charge like a Bogart Engineering TriMetric Model 2030RV-F Battery Monitor or energy in and energy out of your batteries.

[@Vantouristcom]

+Terry Landis thats strange. Could you share your connectuon scheme?

[@TerrydeAlaska]

I connected it just as the drawing on the back shows. I'm an electrician and this is an easy schematic to follow. It still didn't work.

[@Vantouristcom]

if you electrician i think you know what are you doing, have no reason to ask for installation photos i guess. You could send it back and ask for replacement from seller than. This things works for me, i have two now.

[@gabrieljfox]

Hi, I have a question about how to wire this meter. I have a motorhome with a converter. Regarding the diagram on the back of the meter what does "load" mean? I saw on your video that you wired it to a fuse box for "load". Would I wire it to my converter? If I am supposed to wire it from my converter which wire off the converter would I use? Please be specific. Thank you.

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

Things that consume power are the load. An inverter, a fuse panel for low voltage devices, etc. in your rig. I believe these meters can go between any source of power and any load as long as they do not exceed the limits listed. In your case, the shunt would go between the output side of your converter (usually 12v) and your fuse panel for all your low voltage devices. A shunt always (in my limited experience) goes on the ground side of the circuit. Note that this device seems to have a wiring diagram on the backside to help you wire it into the circuit.

[@charleshoward9983]

that should be what are you using for the load?

[@hotforit]

Thanks for sharing. Nice wiring job in the van. I'm considering mounting my shunt on plastic. Does the shunt get warm under load?

[@Vantouristcom]

It could get warm if you load it close to maximum capacity (150A) for a long time. Probably you will not. In normal usage (under 50A) it stays cold

[@hotforit]

VanTourist Thank You!

[@citizenx6337]

Might be a dumb question, but does this work if you have multiple batteries?

[@Vantouristcom]

Yes

[@maninavan.2043]

Hello, i have just received my Shunt and monitor. I shows on the back that you have a "LOAD" + and - do you not worry about that so do i just run it like you have on your video?

[@Vantouristcom]

+Gary Hiscutt I did correct wiring on video, but not sure how you meter looks like. It must have + & - connections for power and two more for shunt. It’s fine to connect shunt wrong - you just will see zero amount of watts - that means you need to rewire it opposite way

[@maninavan.2043]

VanTourist The meter I have is the same as yours. So I will wire it up the same as you have and see if I get the same outcome... wish me luck... like your videos.

[@Vantouristcom]

thanks! Wire it the same way and you will be fine! good luck!

[@accordioneddie]

i like this one!!

[@brandonlamondin6228]

Installing this device to my ebike... Do I use two phase wires as the load?

[@Vantouristcom]

Not sure how your ebike works. Only could say that this device needs 8-90V DC power to work and it could measure 0-100A DC power by shunt that need to be installed on negative wire between battery and load.

[@rajringshia]

Where do I buy this from?

[@onestopcuttingshop7857]

hey dude, cool setup! I just put one of these in my system but my wh reads odd... your says 707 but what batteries are you running? Mine hasn;t done much run time to 'learn' i guess but mine ready 167 at the mo but my battery bank is 12V and 1040 ah....any help appreciated man, I have a 3000W pure sinewave (6000peak) hooked up to it currently - it's just a backup system

[@Vantouristcom]

hi! The "Wh" meter showing how much energy was passed trough the shunt! It doesn't matter what capacity your batteries are. It just count all the watts you have used. For example if you connect to you batteries 300W drill and use it for 2 hours - this number will show "600Wh" (300w*2h). Also you can reset this counter by holding button near display. Now about your 3kW inverter - it's too much for this power meter. 3kW is 250Amps of power, but this device made for 100Amps! Shunt looks strong, so i think it can handle at least 200A for some time, but about the meter - i not sure what will happens after 100A++ of power. Maybe it will just show some "error" or "100A". Or it might die - i have not tested such big amount of power trough it. For inverters is better to use separate 110V/220V meters which can measure 10kW++ easily

[@onestopcuttingshop7857]

haha thanks man - I feel a bit stupid now as I fighured that out last night!! haha thanks for the heads up

[@eurofnac-4238]

do you know some 12v capacity meter?

[@charleshoward9983]

What size is that breaker you have in the hot side?Thanks.

[@Vantouristcom]

I have 100A for all my appliance and separate 200A for 12-220 inverter (because its 2kW)

[@charleshoward9983]

Thank you so very much!

[@TrevorMarty69]

Do you know if the device is always on, and how much it draws?

[@Vantouristcom]

it is always on Drains 0.2W (as manufacturer says). Backlight could be turned off

[@tluva1020]

Wouldn't it be ok to put a switch on the meter??

[@JohnnyYuma405]

I like your ceiling lights. Where did you get them?

[@Vantouristcom]

I have a video about them and all the links to items in the description - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYSVeaSbl8-Wq6M

[@WookieSenshi]

Does it come with those wires? thanks.

[@Vantouristcom]

It comes with shunt, but no wires

[@johno4566]

@@Vantouristcom what size wire will fit this unit thanks

[@RAVIRAGAVAN1958]

Circuit diagram?

[@gtredsker4289]

Is it bidirectional?

[@Vantouristcom]

No, only one way measure

[@7316bobe]

I have a proper house to live in.

[@echoyeggo898]

LOl I did this to myself and am using 72.6 put it up to your skin.

[@eagle1532]

The voltage reading on this meter is not very accurate, it's off by almost a volt

[@Vantouristcom]

I found out that too. It very depends of wiring length and connections quality. Eventually I make it work fine, but yea that's not ideal device. Very cheap tho

[@eagle1532]

@@VantouristcomYep, the price is great so once users understand that it's not spot on correct but will give you a decent reading you're good to go.

[@charleshoward9983]

I think I am getting it, but what arduous using for the load?

[@Vantouristcom]

what do you mean?

[@walterenzo99]

Don't connect this to the main battery of your vehicle guys!! 😂

[@viktornemchenko5660]

Привет а на русском можешь сделать видео спасибо

[@bruceforster3709]

I like your basic setup, but your wire runs are VERY sloppy.

[@Vantouristcom]

+Bruce Forster thanks. Most of this wire placing are temporary and waiting of interior completion

[@bruceforster3709]

I should apologize sincerely to you. I WAS a bit too hard on ya. When I first started building stuff like this, you should have SEEN the disaster some of my OWN early wiring jobs were! I would encourage you to keep at it!

[@Vantouristcom]

it's fine ) i know that my wiring not perfect at all, but it's fast, easy to do and works - that's all i really need for now

[@Spaghetti888]

Awesome, thanks for the review. I'm planning on getting a 2000W inverter but only to run up to 1000w and will probably have the engine on if I do that. This should be good for up to 1200w!