Finally drank the trimetic kool aid

[craig333]

So I finally broke down and purchased a Trimetric with the 100amp shunt. I really liked the interface of the Clipper BM-1 Battery Monitor - Nasa Marine Instruments but two things made me decide to go with the trimetric. One is all the people here using it. I get to pick your brains if necessary. Two was an interesting coincidence. While I was doing my research I ran into a youtube review by r.c. brown.

Maybe Roger Brown? The electrical engineer and leader of our little expedition over the Dusy/Ershim trail many years ago? Sure enough. That was my first experience meeting people I only knew from the internet. Then people were going "you're doing what with people you've never met". Now we don't give it a second thought.

Not in a big hurry to get it installed but I'll go get a start on it They certainly give you plenty of reading material. Little annoyed the plastic box has no holes or punch outs though I'm leaning towards installing it flush next to the solar controller display.

 

[Bill D]

I hope all goes well for you on the installation.

I'd like to have one as well, but I just try to be ultra conservative with my single battery usage and hope amount of driving I do along with the solar panel is enough. It certainly would be nice to "know" exactly what is going on.

Hopefully you take photos of your before and after setup, to inspire confidence in the rest of us who are considering getting one.

It will also be interesting to read your before and after perspective and how it impacts your power consumption/usage.

 

[Bad Habit]

You'll be happy you have it. A lot better than trying to see where things were just with voltage (which is always skewed by solar input).

Flush mounting the face isn't too tough, just make a real good template and be patient with the cut out. The notches in the PC board for the mounting screws are awkward and there's not a lot of room for error. Take your time and it will go in great.

 

[craig333]

Probably not going to flush mount at least for now. Would be mounted to low for proper viewing.

 

[Vic]

Nice install BadHabit. I've got the same cabinet and mounting option in my Hallmark and want to replicate what you did. Very clean.

 

[BFH4N]

Here's an idea that may be worth considering:

I didn't mount the Tri-Metric in my camper, just attached a long cable. It can hang on a hook on the front wall or I can pass it through the sliding windows into the truck cab. This way, the charging from the truck generator can be monitored as I drive.

The cable is thin - about 3/16" - so the windows are only open a crack. I seal the gap by closing the windows on strips of foam rubber. When the Tri-Metric is in the camper, I can push the extra cable down through the hole where it comes out next to the bench cushion.

It's a versitile arrangement. You can always just leave the Tri-Metric in the camper if you don't need it in the cab. But the in-cab option is nice because you can see at a glance when you've reached 100% charge.

If you do it this way, be sure to use a good strain relief where the cable comes out of the Tri-Metric box. Maybe something like McMaster-Carr 7529K122.

- Bernard

 

[Bad Habit]

Nice install BadHabit. I've got the same cabinet and mounting option in my Hallmark and want to replicate what you did. Very clean.

Thanks! Make sure you have a good template, I did mine on a thin piece of cardboard that was a little flimsy. Cutting the overhead wasn't too tough. Hard part was figuring out what to cut the intricate corners with.

Bernard,
that's a great approach. I would think you could make it modular too and use a network patch cord and have different lengths / easy replacement if it gets damaged.

 

[Bwht4x4]

I didn't want to cut more holes in my cabinets so I put my Trimetric where my hot water heater switch was located. Right now the hot water heater switch is accessed by the cabinet where the water valve is, but so I'm going to hake a custom double gang switch and locate it with the exterior side lights switch that is located on the face of the cabinets in front of the sink.

 

[hebegebe]

I installed a 5' cable with a small mounting box as well. It lives in the cubby hole next to the 12v shutoff
I didn't feel like I needed to see the display constantly so I slip it out to check when needed


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West

 

[craig333]

I like that idea. Especially if feel the need to more than look (program etc).

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Welcome to the Trimetric family Craig

 

[craig333]

Okay, spent a few hours of my day off installing the trimetric. Required two trips for parts, well I probably really didn't have to go get a auto ignition propane torch but I've been wanting one for a while. The wiring is pretty simple, the instructions are easy to follow but, it does require a few tools.

The six gauge wire I only used a few inches of but thats for rewiring the truck to camper one of these days. Got a good deal on the wire but luckily they only had black so I can put that project off at least until I get red (or maybe white) wire.

A word of warning. Those screws on the back of the trimetric are tiny. Clumsy me managed to lose one. I borrowed the one for the second battery (hopefully won't need that one). I didn't use any cable clamps because I was thinking of using magnets to hold it up. Thought being able to move it might make programming easier but after using it I may ditch that idea.

I programmed it ( I thought) and then looked at the amps setting. 25 amps? WTF? Then I redid the part where you tell it you have a 100 amp shunt. Phew, looks like missed a step.
Why the percent full function
just has --- I don't know.

I didn't run the inverter through the shunt. Its seldom used anyway and I'm a bit worried it could overload the shunt.

Still have to lengthen one wire and use a few zip ties but I'll finish that up when its cooler. Its not all that clean, a few zip ties will help but its also partly the consequence of adding things piece meal over the years. I'd love to rip it all out and start over but realistically, that'll probably never happen

 

[craig333]

So I went to the Bogart support site, had a bunch of stuff of why that might not be working. Go out to the camper and lo and behold it shows 101%. Guess it just needed to run down some timer. Anyone doing more than the basic L1 stuff? Still need to finish reading the manual.