Adding this post for anyone considering a TriMetric 2025RV battery monitor but thinks it might be too difficult to install. Apologies if there are already posts about installing one of these devices but I could not find any via the search tool. The key point here is that I found the online instructions to be a bit intimidating so was hesitant to install it myself but got through it without any disasters. Trust me here...if I can do it, anyone can.
Comment: this post is not intended to trigger a debate about the merits of one system over another or that battery monitoring can be done cheaper – clearly it can. This is only intended to describe getting a 2025 installed because I thought it was going to be far more difficult than it turned out to be. For background though, my intent was to add a monitor for measuring usage of the batteries and for measuring load for the eventual addition of solar. My decision to buy the 2025 was heavily influenced by HandyBob’s solar blog - http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/ and a few WtW posts by contributors who are or will be using it for the same reasons as mine. Once I retire, I plan to travel extensively with a variety of devices that require electricity so a good monitor seemed important. Now that it is installed I think it will be a very valuable asset for making travel decisions and sizing a solar system. It is too soon to know whether it is really worth the cost but my initial impressions are that it will be. I totally understand though if anyone out there thinks it is overkill for a pop-up.
Now about the installation: I installed the monitor on the cabinets under the sink area, next to the thermostat and water/battery monitor – picture below. I ran the wire to the battery compartment with the wire bundle from the electrical components. This step turned out to be much easier than expected – just remove the plywood seat over the water tank and there is a track to follow. Feeding the wires through the various holes was easy because FWC cut oversize holes for the stock wire set. It was also a good learning experience for understanding how that area of the Fleet is constructed.
The hardest part was installing the 500 amp shunt in the battery compartment. After trying it in several locations, the one pictured below turned out to be the best, at least for me. From there, it was just making the connections on the batteries, shunt and monitor and programming the monitor which was also easier than expected. I bought the monitor from AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com/) along with an installation kit that had everything I needed.
As for time, the longest part of the install was to understand the installation and wiring connections. The actual install was about 3-4 hours but could be done much faster by someone with better skills than me. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
Cheers!
Comment: this post is not intended to trigger a debate about the merits of one system over another or that battery monitoring can be done cheaper – clearly it can. This is only intended to describe getting a 2025 installed because I thought it was going to be far more difficult than it turned out to be. For background though, my intent was to add a monitor for measuring usage of the batteries and for measuring load for the eventual addition of solar. My decision to buy the 2025 was heavily influenced by HandyBob’s solar blog - http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/ and a few WtW posts by contributors who are or will be using it for the same reasons as mine. Once I retire, I plan to travel extensively with a variety of devices that require electricity so a good monitor seemed important. Now that it is installed I think it will be a very valuable asset for making travel decisions and sizing a solar system. It is too soon to know whether it is really worth the cost but my initial impressions are that it will be. I totally understand though if anyone out there thinks it is overkill for a pop-up.
Now about the installation: I installed the monitor on the cabinets under the sink area, next to the thermostat and water/battery monitor – picture below. I ran the wire to the battery compartment with the wire bundle from the electrical components. This step turned out to be much easier than expected – just remove the plywood seat over the water tank and there is a track to follow. Feeding the wires through the various holes was easy because FWC cut oversize holes for the stock wire set. It was also a good learning experience for understanding how that area of the Fleet is constructed.
The hardest part was installing the 500 amp shunt in the battery compartment. After trying it in several locations, the one pictured below turned out to be the best, at least for me. From there, it was just making the connections on the batteries, shunt and monitor and programming the monitor which was also easier than expected. I bought the monitor from AM Solar (http://www.amsolar.com/) along with an installation kit that had everything I needed.
As for time, the longest part of the install was to understand the installation and wiring connections. The actual install was about 3-4 hours but could be done much faster by someone with better skills than me. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
Cheers!
