Just bought a new deep cycle battery, solar blanket, charger and " XTM Battery Box "........ I have a basic and likely silly question.
The battery box has a circuit breaker switch and built in voltmeter which seems to work fine. My question is .... should the circuit switch\voltmeter be on or off when charging the battery ? In my mind if the voltmeter/power switch is on and illuminated while charging either normally, or via solar panels or trickle charging, it would be drawing a small amount of current which seems counterproductive especially on trickle feed charging..... or should the switch/voltmeter be in the off position while charging ?
A voltmeter will draw virtually nothing when on, don't worry about it. As for the switch, what does it actually isolate? It is only isolating the meter and the cig/usb outlets. If your using the cigarette socket to charge then the switch needs to be on. The battery terminals and Anderson plugs are not isolated and will draw whatever is needed for what is plugged in, charging or not.
One could measure the load with a multimeter, but it is more than likely so little it is not worth worrying about.
Just left it a few hours with the switch/voltmeter turned off, connected to a trickle feed 10 watt solar panel and onto the external +/-terminals on the box. Seems to be charging so ,maybe I'll just do it that way and only use the switch/voltmeter to check state of charge.
If it is a solar panel simply connected to the battery make sure it has a diode otherwise it will discharge the battery when there is no sun on the panel.
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Open the box lid and you'll see the wiring. Battery terminals to box terminals, battery terminals to Anderson plugs via fuses, battery terminals to the circuit breaker then usb outlet, then voltmeter, then cig socket.
Phlipper wrote:The battery box has a circuit breaker switch
Is it a circuit breaker or a switch? If it is a circuit breaker then I suspect it would be protection for the output wiring. Does the outlets on the box work without the switch/breaker being switched on?
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Phlipper wrote:The battery box has a circuit breaker switch
Is it a circuit breaker or a switch? If it is a circuit breaker then I suspect it would be protection for the output wiring. Does the outlets on the box work without the switch/breaker being switched on?
Haven't fully tested it yet, will do so later. ATM I've just connected it to a trickle feed solar panel and onto the external +/- posts, with switch off. Seems to be charging slowly, and when I flick the switch on it shows voltage increase
The switch, which is a circuit breaker, not a switch, only isolates the meter, usb and cig sockets. Anderson plugs have their own fuses, battery has no isolation, fuses or cb between battery to terminals. Not much to test there.
