| Author | Message | ||
| Jim Wilkerson (Wagwar)
Registered Member Username: Wagwar Post Number: 183 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 69.149.14.14 Rating: N/A |
I recently installed a Trimetric 2025RV battery monitor and found that there is a .4 A load even with all of my low voltage loads turned off. The only items that should be pulling any amps should be the Trace 4024 inverter and the Trimetric itself. Is this a reasonable parasitic load or should I be looking for another somewhere? In a related question, I recently installed a CO/LP monitor with a shutoff solenoid on the propane tanks. It appears that between the CO/LP monitor and the solenoid it is pulling about 1.3 amps continuously as the solenoid should close if power is withdrawn. Is this a reasonable load for this type of device? Thanks for any advice/suggestions. | ||
| Brian Evans (Bevans6)
Registered Member Username: Bevans6 Post Number: 139 Registered: 5-2009 Posted From: 207.164.79.20 Rating: N/A |
The Trace manual suggests around 15 watts standby load if it doesn't go into a sleep mode, so 15 watts is around a half amp at 26 volts. I find that LP detectors draw a lot of power (compared to a smoke detector, say), so your 1.3 amps sounds reasonable. If you want to further isolate the load, just disconnect the Trace and see what happens. Brian | ||
| Edward J. Sommers (Sommersed)
Registered Member Username: Sommersed Post Number: 82 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 148.63.161.138 Rating: N/A |
I have a .7A draw when all is shut down. However, I have a remote switch by my easy chair for the inverter so I just turn it off when I go to bed rather than use the standby mode. Ed | ||
| Edward J. Sommers (Sommersed)
Registered Member Username: Sommersed Post Number: 83 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 148.63.161.138 Rating: N/A |
I have a .7A draw when all is shut down. However, I have a remote switch by my easy chair for the inverter so I just turn it off when I go to bed rather than use the standby mode. Ed | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1317 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.34  Rating: |
If your no-load draw on the 4024 is 0.4a you are doing very well. However, I will caution you that the meter is not very accurate at such low currents; I'm guessing you have a shunt designed for 500a, so 0.5a would be just 1/10 of 1% of the total design range. Down at these tiny currents, the losses in the cable connecting the meter to the shunt become significant. It is quite possible that you are actually drawing up to an amp and still seeing a reading of only half that. As to the LP solenoid, that sounds a bit high but not outside the practical range for such devices. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| les marston (Les_marston)
Registered Member Username: Les_marston Post Number: 510 Registered: 1-2010 Posted From: 68.151.225.213  Rating: N/A |
Sean. Can you recommend a battery monitor system? | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1319 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.34 Rating: N/A |
The Trimetric from Bogart (one model of which started off this thread) is probably the best of the bunch for our purposes. The Xantrex Link-10 is also a good alternative (but stay away from the similar but lower-quality "Xantrex Battery Monitor"). For our kind of use, the 500a shunt is probably the right choice. Just don't expect any of these to be very accurate at loads of an amp or less. Also, you really need to get the Peukert and Charge Efficiency numbers right for the meter to be somewhat accurate in the SOC display. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Jim Wilkerson (Wagwar)
Registered Member Username: Wagwar Post Number: 184 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 69.149.14.14 Rating: N/A |
Thanks to all who responded. I do have the 500A shunt and used CAT 6 ethernet cable (approved by Bogart for this use). I did a little more thorough testing and found the following: Trimetric only: .1 w/ Trace 4024 and House Master Switch off: .3 W/ Trace 4024 and House Master Switch on: .4 W/ CO/LP Monitor and Solenoid: 1.5 So, I think the solenoid is not pulling as much as I thought. Keeping Sean's caution in mind, while the numbers may not be exact, relatively speaking nothing seems to be pulling more than it should. |
