Balmar SG-200 Battery Monitor

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Ken is suffering from Illeism now?

Yes he is.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Yes he is.

Oh good, that’ll be entertaining.

[Exile]

I think Ken may be suffering from what all boat owners suffer from if they own their boats long enough, namely wishing they could have back all the money they spent on marine products that didn't live up to their advertising. It makes us a bit skeptical initially, and then cynical if our skepticism is ultimately realized.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Yes to me even if both are equally accurate for SoC they are complimentary. If not, then a sanity check is helpful for troubleshooting.

So is a standard battery meter, and more versatile.

If the SG-200's SoH indicator is accurate, that alone is well worth the price for many setups.

Yes, especially towards the end of a battery bank's life. Most cruisers understandably replace preemptively, but an accurate SoH indicator could save some money from premature replacement. An inaccurate one could have serious consequences if out on passage with older batteries. It HAS to be accurate (within an acceptable margin) to be worthwhile for these purposes, and I don't understand why Balmar might require you to pay more for its BT dongle just to make it so.

And a meter that can guesstimate SoC reasonably with less reset / calibration fussing is well worth helping to get there.

No "guesstimating" if you simply know how to read trailing amps and have an easy display for it. My old Xantrex charger has a simple remote monitor which displays voltage, along with amps going in for each bank. Just turn off all loads, wait a few minutes, and look. My BMV is what's "complimentary" to determining SoC because it also displays trailing amps (with all loads off). I don't rely on the BMV's SoC readout, however, because doing so as the batteries age would also be "guesstimating." Reading trailing amps is an all too easy, more accurate alternative, so why guess?

The BMV can then show the "live" current reading, and totalize Ah in & out for those that like that info.

Which the SG-200 can't do (totalizing). A valuable feature in my mind that's worth paying for. Which is another reason why I bought a BMV.

[lateral]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Ken takes no pleasure watching other people suffer, so he has a habit of calling things as he sees them, then trying to warn others of problems.

Ken is also a big advocate of products which work out well, and tries his best to pass on the positive reports.

Smartgauge.

Seeing he is *not* in the room.
Not trying to cast this Ken fella in disparaging light, having become accustomed to his thorough appraisals, rather pondering the level of his amazement regarding the masses trying to make the bling work.
Then, it is rumoured that he spent a summer on it.

[lateral]

Originally Posted by rgleason

From post #511 Please correct to "early adopters". funny mistake to make.

Freudian slip ....methinks.

[missourisailor]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Yes he is.

Ken,
I'm sorry to hear about your problems and disappointment with the SG-200.


As I'm currently contemplating replacing my Smart Gauge with a SG-200 (mainly for the Repeater function), I would be most interested in hearing the details about the issues you had with it.


Thanks

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by lateral

Freudian slip ....methinks.

At least I can get a chuckle about it and can laugh at myself! BTW I am not at all disappointed that I purchased the SG-200, and believe that in time there will be some good answers to some of these questions.

I have to also chuckle about slightly superior human reactions when we are discovering new things which need resolution. Improvements are made through commitment, hard work and observation.

[lateral]

Yep me too.
Just wish I was using the boat more to establish the settings that best suit my discharge/charge/maintain scenario.

[lateral]

Originally Posted by ayates

Received my first photo of the SG-200 in action. No idea if the 100% is correct or not. All I can tell is that the battery chargers were in the absorption phase at the time. The 22A charge current is about 3% of the 740 AH 20-hour capacity.


Allan.

Is your tail current set to 3%?

[marty9876]

6% SoH after two cycles to ~50% DoD on a new gel bank with less than ~15 cycles on the banks overall life.

Huh, I think this puts me in the lead for goofiest reading. Just got to the boat, something to figure out tomorrow I guess.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by missourisailor

Ken,
I'm sorry to hear about your problems and disappointment with the SG-200.


As I'm currently contemplating replacing my Smart Gauge with a SG-200 (mainly for the Repeater function), I would be most interested in hearing the details about the issues you had with it.


Thanks

Actually, my dissapointment was with the Smartgauge not living up to the hype and the associated zealot behavior surrounding it. I found it to be nothing more than a cheap $10 ammeter. I spent the entire summer 2017 trying to get the thing to work, but despite this, I almost pulled the trigger and purchased the new (and improved) model Balmar SG200 instead of the Mastervolt system I ultimately bought. I’m so glad I went with the Mastervolt after reading reactions to the Balmar SG 200.

No issues at all with the Mastervolt.

[lateral]

OK, full disclosure here.
Gibbo's SmartGauge and the the Balmar SG200
are entirely different animals. The original Smart gauge I resold before installing
was in part to Kenomac experience and partly because I intended 24/7 charging.

It was misleading of me to associate Ken's experience to the Balmar SG200.
It should be noted also that Balmar did and maybe still does market Gibbo's original
SG. (Now Merlin)
Clear as mud? This has been discussed before.

I do have an SG200 installed and are happy with its accuracy in all but the SOH and SOC which I feel will fall into line when I have configured it best to my use & it has had time to adapt to my use.

[a64pilot]

So how many besides Ken have had their original Smart Gauge be inaccurate?
Mine got flaky, after a year or so, but it was pretty easy to track down to corrosion on the fuses and the holders, cleaning them off restored it’s accuracy.
I replaced the fuse holders with sealed ones though.
But I’ve heard no issues with the original Smart Gauge, except for Kens.

Just as a glance through this thread it seems many if not most of the issues are from incorrect programming, but as I don’t have the new one and for me my amp counting monitor combined with the original SG fills my needs

[lateral]

How do you get accurate readings with the original if you are most always charging?
I though resting was required?