deep cycle battery status indicator

[rickwalley]

What high quality accurate gauge or meter have people added to their 12V deep cycle battery used to run their fish house stuff? I don't recharge mine with a generator or any solar stuff, so I'd like to be able to quick glance at something and know it's about time to take it in at the end of the night to start over. What is the gauge or meter really telling you about? Is it the voltage or amperage? I have a regular amp/volt meter. Is it as simple as taking a quick voltage reading at the end of the night, and then knowing what the minimum # is to trigger a recharge? Before you start harming the battery? I've seen the dial/gauge type and also a digital readout type online so far.

[SnowGuy73]

Not high tech or high quality, but it was cheap and accurate!

[JSK76]

Marcum DCS 100

[Whoaru99]

You can use your multi-meter.

There are lots of voltage vs. approximate state of charge graphs and tables on the web.

As far as a minimum goes, depending on how you look at it, there isn't one. Just that the more you discharge the battery the harder it is on it. Also, sulfation occurs most when the battery voltage is ~12.4V or less. That's about 75% charge.

Ideally, the battery would never sit for any period of time at less than full charge. Fully charging as soon as you can after any amount of use is the best. The slope for battery life is downhill from there.

[SnowGuy73]

Not high tech or high quality, but it was cheap and accurate!

Sorry, I guess the pic didn't load on mobile.

[OutlawBiz]

Not high tech or high quality, but it was cheap and accurate!

This is what I use also...nice to just glance over and get a readout immediately...

[DoyleLevro]

What high quality accurate gauge or meter have people added to their 12V deep cycle battery used to run their fish house stuff? I don't recharge mine with a generator or any solar stuff, so I'd like to be able to quick glance at something and know it's about time to take it in at the end of the night to start over. What is the gauge or meter really telling you about? Is it the voltage or amperage? I have a regular amp/volt meter. Is it as simple as taking a quick voltage reading at the end of the night, and then knowing what the minimum # is to trigger a recharge? Before you start harming the battery? I've seen the dial/gauge type and also a digital readout type online so far.

I have never used high quality accurate gauge or meter..A cheap one does produce good outcomes..

[Iceman77]

I use the same one as pictured above and it reads accurately with my high end multimeter and best of all it was only a few $'s.

[DoyleLevro]

What high quality accurate gauge or meter have people added to their 12V deep cycle battery used to run their fish house stuff? I don't recharge mine with a generator or any solar panel solar panel, so I'd like to be able to quick glance at something and know it's about time to take it in at the end of the night to start over. What is the gauge or meter really telling you about? Is it the voltage or amperage? I have a regular amp/volt meter. Is it as simple as taking a quick voltage reading at the end of the night, and then knowing what the minimum # is to trigger a recharge? Before you start harming the battery? I've seen the dial/gauge type and also a digital readout type online so far.

I have never used high quality accurate gauge or meter..A cheap one does produce good outcomes..

The one shared in pic is good..

[JSK76]

I've got that exact one pictured above too.