Members' Online Book: Cruising Boat Electrical Systems, Chapter 14 of 22

Battery Monitors, Part 2—Recommended Unit

Published Aug 23, 2018 30 comments Updated January 10, 2019

In Part 1 I looked at the two types of battery monitors—volt measuring and amp counting—and concluded that which type we choose is all about how anal retentive and technically nerdy each of us is.

Now here's a test for you: Since I chose an amp hour counter, which type of monitor is right for anal retentive nerds? (If you fail this test you have not been reading my stuff for long!)

Yup, this post is for card-carrying nerds with a side interest in being a control freak. The rest of you can stop reading now, go buy a volt measuring monitor, and live happily ever after...OK, I can't guarantee that last part.

Still with me? OK, put on your propeller hat and let's dig into which amp counting monitor to buy and why.

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Book Chapter Navigation:

<< Battery Monitors, Part 1—Which Type Is Right For You?

Battery Monitors, Part 3—Calibration and Use >>

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Meet the Author

John

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

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Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.

Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.