FIRST SPRING PROJECT DONE: TBS Expert Pro Battery Monitor instal

With winter finally releasing is grip on the Isle of Long it felt good to finally start to make a dent in the spring outfitting ToDo list. I choose a fast and easy one. Last year I bought a new controller from Annapolis Hybrid Marine. Unfortunately, the new controller was not compatible with the old Xantrex XBM Battery Monitor installed ten years ago. So I bought a new TBS E-xpert Pro Battery Monitor that is compatble with the new controller. It was a quick replacement as both fit the same mounting hole and I just had to plug it into the new controller box. The old XBM Battery Monitor will still be used on board since my plan is to re purpose it's use as a battery monitor for my current house bank. But, that is a project for another day.

A POSSIBLE METER FAILURE

The brutal winter may have taken it's toll on one of the meters of my home built Helm instrumentation panel. I noticed also noticed a lot of condensation inside the plastic face of the panel even though I had a weep hole in the bottom of the case. I'll remove the panel and check on the wiring and replace the meter if it does not come back to life.

BLOG UPDATE:

I went back on board a few days later and discovered the meter that I thought had failed during the winter was now working. So it looks like I might be able to take it off the TODO list.

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT REDUX

Finally got around to making repairs to the helm instrumentation panel built last year. One of the 12 volt battery digital panels meters became intermittent and just went south. While the failure of the whole battery pack voltage meter was my fault. The meter was able to read voltages up to 90 volts but,  two of it's leads needed to be connected to a separate 5 to 30 volt supply to read anything over 30 volts. When I tested it on the bench I used 12 volt power supply and everything tested ok:

But, when I hooked up the completed panel the meter measuring the total battery pack voltage went poof! So I bought another meter one that did not require a separate voltage supply but, one that could read 30 to 90 volts directly. With a new replacements for the 12 volt digital panel meter and a proper 90 volt digital panel meter for the 48 volt battery pack voltage I sat down for what I thought would be a simple quick rewiring job. But I was wrong. Even though the displays of the meters match the others on the instrumentation panel the outside dimension of the replacement meter cases were just slightly larger than the meters they were replacing:

Which required me to spend a lot more time in the 95 degree heat trimming the openings in the panel so the meters would fit. So the quick rewiring job took considerably longer and was a little more messier than expected. 

INSTRUMENTATION PART 10: CURRENT METER INSTALLATION

With the battery voltage meter part of the instrumentation project finished. It was time to move on to the important current meter part of the project. BIANKA already had a Xantrex XBM battery monitor but, to see it required that I move away from the helm and lift a cockpit hatch and bend down to see it. It was awkward and inconvenient to look at while underway.

I went looking for another meter that could measure the current being drawn from or charging the battery bank. But, the catch was I did not want to have to put in another shunt for measuring  current in the battery circuit like the XBM battery monitor already used. I wanted to keep any extra connections to a minimum. To do that I needed to use a hall effect type of current meter.  It determines a current value by measuring the magnetic flux around a piece of wire with current flowing through it. I found exactly what I needed with a company called Devicecraft. They had a hall effect current meter with a transducer that would fit the 2 AWG wires that connect to  BIANKA's 48 volt electric propulsion battery bank.



The hook up is farely simple.


The display required a supply voltage and three wires that go to the hall effect transducer.  I needed to run the transducer wires about eight feet and used some   Twisted Servo Hookup Wire,   normally used in things like model cars and planes:

Like I did for some of the wires for the battery voltage meters part of this project I enclosed the transducer wires in a  Techflex General Purpose 1/4-inch Braided Cable Sleeve.  This was to keep the wires together and also protect them from chafing.

The 100 amp Hall effect sensor will fit over the 2 AWG cable that is used in the my electric propulsion system but, would not fit over the existing lug. So I needed cut the existing battery cable. I used a ratcheting wire cutter like a Klein ratcheting cable cutter which cuts heavy duty battery cable easily:

and makes a nice flush cut:

I took the opportunity to trim some other 2 AWG  battery interconnections that were a little too long from my initial electric propulsion installation five years ago too.  The Hall Effect transducer has a polarity in terms of it's display. That is if you a drawing current from the battery the display should show a negative sign in the display. Likewise when charging the battery it is useful to see the current flow as positive (no minus sign) on the digital display.  In order to make sure I got the polarity right I used some of the trimmed battery cables and a jumper to check the polarity of the meter.

Once I had established the proper orientation for the sensor I put it on the battery cable and crimped a new lug on the end and reconnected it to the battery. I then ran the sensor wires up through the cockpit wire conduit I made and into the helm area using one of the  Fiberglass Wire Pull Rods    I carry on board:

It was then just a matter of hooking up the sensor and power wires to the current display and the instrumentation project was finished:

I mounted it the box temporarily at the helm and used it on my fall cruise up the Hudson River and back. I still need to make a permanent platform for the box at the helm location but, that is a project for another day.

HELM INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART NINE CLICK HERE

HELM INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART ONE CLICK HERE

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART SIX: Choose to Fuse

So it's time to start thinking about the wiring the instrumentation project up. Since I'll be running 12 volts out to the helm from each of the 8A4D batteries in the 48 volt propulsion bank. Also since each battery is also rated at around 210 amps it is real good idea to have fuse in line with each of the meters.  On the Paktrakr meter there was a 1/4 amp fuse soldered in line with the power lead.  It was easy to blow it when hooking it up to the battery terminals. So I soldered in an  In-line AGC Fuse Holder so I could disconnect it or replace it easily.  It worked OK. but, the two pieces when disconnected easily separated and the contacts could be come exposed  if one was not careful. Since I would be using at least four fuses in the instrumentation project I wanted to use a better fuse holder. One that would not expose it's contacts or wander around in the confined space around the batteries.


I found what I needed with a In-Line Waterproof fuse holder made by Bussman. The waterproof aspect of these fuse was not that important in my application. Because if these fuses are ever under water I would have other problems to worry about. But, other qualities of these fuses are useful for this project.

For example the yellow color makes them stand out in the dark space where the batteries are located. Even more important is that when disconnecting the fuse the two pieces are connected together and don't separate.

 Also the contacts are securely crimped and not just tack soldered to the contact face like the in line fuse holder I used with the Paktrker.

This makes for a secure connection that will not easily pull apart. For the wire connecting the fuse holder to the battery I cut open some 16 AWG duplex marine wire with a box cutter and removed the red and yellow wires for the fuse connections:

The 16 gauge wire was a little hard to install into the fuse holder. So I spread a little dish washing liquid onto the wire insulation which made it much easier to push the wire through the opening:

At the other end of the wire I crimped on a closed marine lug and used some heat shrink on the crimped end:

So now that I had the In-Line Waterproof fuse holders connected to the batteries on one end. On the other end of the fuse I used a short piece of the 16 AWG wire and connected it to an Anderson 30 amp Powerpole connector. I'll explain why I chose to do this in a future Instrumentation Project post.

FOR THE INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FIVE CLICK HERE

FOR THE INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART SEVEN CLICK HERE

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FIVE: Panel Mounting

Now that I had my chosen enclosure in hand it was time to start working on mounting the meters inside the Polycarbonate NEMA 4X Box .  In addition to the box I also bought the optional PNX-91425 Aluminum Internal Panel which is where I will mount the meters.  First I made and outline of the  panel on a piece of graph paper and then positioned the meters where I wanted to mount them:

I then traced their outlines to the paper and cut them out with an  X-ACTO knife . I transferred the outlines for the meters to the panel and cut them out with a nibbler tool:

After fitting checking the fit of the meters:

I removed them and took the panel outside and spray painted it with some Rust-Oleum flat black enamel spray paint to eliminate any glare from the polished aluminum plate once it was installed in the cockpit. Once that was done and I mounted the meters to the plate all I had to do was install it into the box. Since the panel was made to fit the Bud NEMA 4X Box with screw holes already drilled to match up to the ones in the box all I needed was some spacer hardware.  Happily, I was able to recycle these from the old Kings 8001 Loran hardware that I saved.

 With the meters mounted into the panel I could now start on the wiring of the instrumentation project.

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FOUR CLICK HERE

 INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART SIX CLICK HERE 

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INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FOUR: Choosing the Enclosure

Once I gave up on using the obsolete Kings Loran case new possibilities opened up. I could use a bigger enclosure that would hold more meters and therefore have more information on the battery bank. I planned to mount the enclosure at the helm so I would not have to move to see it.  I would need to make sure that the enclosure would be able to endure the weather conditions at that location. Looking at my choices I choose a
 BUD Industries PN-1325-CMB Polycarbonate NEMA 4X Box with Mounting Bracket and Clear Cover.
It had dimensions of 8.74 x 5.75 x 2.17 in.  Big enough to easy house the four battery meters I planned to install originally. Now I could also add a total battery pack voltage meter and also an amp meter too. Plus I'd still have space for other instrumentation meters I may plan in the future.

It also has flanges so I could mount it easily without drilling holes in the back of the enclosure. Since the box may be exposed to the elements keeping the amount of holes drilled into it is a good idea. The box it's self is designed to IP65 of IEC 529 and NEMA 1, 2, 4, 4x, 12, and 13 specifications and is UL Listed. The NEMA 4X spec is especially relevant in my application on board BIANKA:

"Type 4X  Enclosures constructed for either indoor or outdoor use to provide a degree 

of protection to personnel against access to hazardous parts; to provide a degree of 

protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects 

(windblown dust); to provide a degree of protection with respect to harmful effects on 

the equipment due to the ingress of water (rain, sleet, snow, splashing water, and hose 

directed water); that provides an additional level of protection against corrosion; and 

that will be undamaged by the external formation of ice on the enclosure."  

Sounds like it should be able to hold up for most of the conditions experienced at the helm position. It also comes with Threaded brass inserts and cover screws are M-4 stainless steel, non-magnetic and fasten into threaded brass inserts. The cover has a gasket material of Silicon Sponge. The body and cover are also UV stabilized.
I also bought the BUD Industries PNX-91425 Aluminum Internal Panel which fits inside the PN-1235 box and mounts to the brass inserts molded into the bottom. This panel will be used to mount the meters inside the box.
With the enclosure now in hand it's time to start wiring things up.

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART THREE CLICK HERE

 INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FIVE CLICK HERE

  

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART THREE: Plan B

Finding that the obsolete Kings 8001 Loran case would not fit in my plans for the electric propulsion battery bank instrumentation project was disappointing  The four digital meters where just too big for the case. But, deciding that I needed a bigger case to house the meters also opened up more possibilities for me.
The first plan was to simply have a digital voltage panel meter on each battery with a master on/off switch so I could check each battery's voltage when I wanted. I was also thinking of keeping the Paktrakr connected too but, perhaps with a switch to turn it on and off too instead of keeping it on all the time. When I found out I would need a bigger box to install the meters I thought why not add another meter that would measure the full pack voltage too.  This is what the original schematic looked like:

I also decided to add the all important battery current meter into the same enclosure and mount at the helm position so I would have all the important parameters of the battery bank available there. I would not have to open any cockpit hatches to observe the Xantrex XBM battery monitor for voltage and current readings. I'd also have room to add more instrumentation devices into the box at a future date if I wanted. Because I had already installed a PVCconduit tube in the cockpit for previous helm projects running the wires for the meters would be pretty easy to do:

So the plan looked pretty good. Now I just needed to decide on a enclosure to house all this instrumentation.

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART TWO CLICK HERE

 INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART FOUR CLICK HERE