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Old 09-16-2018, 10:49 AM   #1
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Amp hours reading

I've got a new to me 2005 SMB with 2 solar panels, a AGM battery and Zamp controller. I had system down while I remodeled interior. Since starting it again the Ah reading, which I assume is amp hours keeps going up daily. It's now over 600Ah. Is that normal? Seems to go up about 20-40 a day. Could it be reading van battery too? System has a separator. The separator clicks when solar gain is low. Normal? Any advise or comments appreciated. Thanks Lance

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Old 09-16-2018, 11:01 AM   #2
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This would likely be Total Amp Hrs., So it would be reasonable to probably see an increase of 20 to 40 a day. Many times, total amp hrs. has a reset function so that you can zero it out.

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Old 09-16-2018, 02:33 PM   #3
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Thanks, I'll poke around and see if I can reset it. Wonder what the purpose of "total" reading would be? Lance
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Old 09-16-2018, 09:35 PM   #4
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Thanks, I'll poke around and see if I can reset it. Wonder what the purpose of "total" reading would be? Lance
If you were running on the battery, wouldn't total amp hours tell you when the battery was getting low?
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Old 09-16-2018, 09:53 PM   #5
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That's what I originally thought, but not sure what function is. Sounds like it's a measure of how much has been charged over a period of time, not whats stored. It never goes down and I've had frig on for a week. Only reads when it's charging.
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:08 AM   #6
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So I expect the Zamp Controller is measuring the current that is produced by the solar controller. It does not measure current in and out of the battery. It would need to have an external shunt to read current of the whole system. That is generally a function of the Battery Monitor (if you have one) , but may be a add on to a solar controller. Whiz Bang Jr for midnight solar come to mind.

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Old 09-17-2018, 09:44 AM   #7
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Greg, thanks for the explanation. More to this business than I thought. I might add a monitor, sounds useful. Lance
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Old 09-17-2018, 04:13 PM   #8
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I might add a monitor, sounds useful. Lance

Yes, very useful.......I was unsure when I put one in, but it tells me way more than the solar controller...% full, AH's, etc
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Old 09-18-2018, 09:31 AM   #9
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I'm getting one for sure, now. Thanks for the endorsement. I've got lots to learn about all this. Always fun to add a new gadget that is useful. I wonder why my controller gives Ah readout? What purpose does it serve? thanks Lance
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Old 09-18-2018, 01:26 PM   #10
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i wired in to meters across my battery shunt. One is Ah into the house batteries and the other is Ah out of the house batteries. Not 100% accurate but nice to have to give indication of battery state of charge.
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