Recommendations on voltmater/ammeter for daytime riding?

[Synon]

Yes, I know the cycle analyst is the way to go, but I'd like to hear about other options available that aren't $150. I'm just getting started and all I want to see is volts/amps at the moment and I figure that can be done at 1/10th the cost.

I'm going to be running a 1kw yescom motor/controller, I believe the controller is 30amps. I bought a digital voltmeter on ebay and it's impossible to see riding in daylight without some kind of shroud. This is making me consider a analog ammeter/voltmeter so it will be easy to see during the day and I don't really ever ride at night. I'm not taking the bike offroad, but will bumps in the road and sidewalk throw an analog meter off?

Would a 0-30a meter be appropriate or would I need something like a 0-50a to cover bursts? I figure most of my riding will be well below 30a, but I obviously don't want to fry the meter.

Anyone have a favorite?

Here is one of the 0-50a anolog ammeters I was looking at -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261223814461?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[Gregory]

The GT Power RC 130A LCD Battery Balance Watt Meter gets regular mentions for $20 and should be daylight visible and this one is even cheaper (worse..?.).

Neither are super easy to mount on the handlebars cleanly.

 

[d8veh]

Neither are super easy to mount on the handlebars cleanly.

They're pretty easy to modify so that you can get a neat installation on the handlebars. You just unsolder the shunt and make a remote one out of a bit of battery wire instead. Here's how to do it:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/the-best-value-wattmeter.16869/

 

[friendly1uk]

Why are you monitoring the power?

I just fitted an lcd3 and it had battery level and wattage being used. Plus voltage if I'm not mistaken. Amps are easy to calculate from that if needed. I would be happier with such readings integrated into the stuff I have to have anyway, than adding more items to the clutter. But I don't know your goals.

 

[d8veh]

These power meters show watt-hours and amp-hours used, which is the most accurate way of predicting how much battery you have left. If you have a 10ah battery and know you have used 9ah, you know you have 1ah left. This is especially important for lipos without a BMS, because it keeps you out of the danger zone.

It's also nice to know exactly how much help you had on a ride. You can compare for fitness regimes, and it's also useful to compare the performance and efficiency of different motors. The numbers on the LCD3 change all the time, so you can't do accurate comparisons.

 

[d8veh]

Most or all of those gadgets are made for solar applications, and their internal calculating ability, lets name it as CPU power, is not enough to calculate voltage and current which bounces every second.
It is better than nothing, but no one should expect true accuracy from them.

Ebike and voltage monitoring concept – mini article created for young people
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=972.0

I think you should try one before pronouncing judgements like that. Those wattmeters measure current and voltage at a high sampling rate, so are able to give a repeatable measurement and stable display of AH or WH used. They might not be accurate, but that's not important because after a couple of cycles, you get a number for the maximum capacity of your battery, which is what you need to keep in mind when deciding how much further you can go. The other parameters are also displayed in a way that you can get meaningful information.

Please try one and report back your findings. They only cost a few Euros.

 

[scfoster]

No I am in denial to spent any Euros for your own curiosity.
But if you wish to defend such electronic designs, you may do it for free, by sending an email to their manufacturer so to learn their exact sampling rate.
The only difficultly is to find his door bell, as in all no-name electronics.

I am subscribed to this topic so to discover if you feel lazy so to even try my suggestion.

If the usage is monitoring then the sampling rate argument doesn't really hold water. The meter is not being tied into another control system to effect changes to anything. It's merely a reference guide to look at what changes.

See that B-52 & F-104 in my avatar? We used to use tape or whiteout to mark the gauges for "normal" ranges, rather than waste time calibrating them.

The Cycle Analyst is a quality piece of hardware because it needs to be... it effects changes into other systems.

I have the GT Power Wattmeter shown in the pictures... works just fine for my needs.