Minnkota Outboard

[Caminoman16]

I'm sure this has been covered before, but I have an Endura 30 O/B, plus 100AH nickel ion battery, and need some way to track how much the battery will last before it goes dead. Basically, I'm cruising along but need to know how much juice is left. We're talking inland waterways, slow water cruising.
The battery(mega dear) came with virtually no instructions, and Minnkota website is not much better. I guess I need some kind of voltmeter, but which sort, and how will I know when the battery is getting low?

 

[Kelpie]

You could fit a battery monitor- just make sure the shunt is able to handle the current.
A voltmeter is easily fooled and can only give a rough indication of capacity.

 

[Caminoman16]

Many thanks - I'm a complete technophobe, and know virtually nothing about electrical matters.
Spoilt for choice on Amazon, but I guess like most things, you get what you pay for?

 

[andsarkit]

You need something to monitor the current and this is usually done with a very low resistance (a shunt) in series with the negative cable and measuring the small volt drop across this.
I have one like this and it seems to work. battery monitor
It is usually left permanently connected and will draw a very small current which will eventually discharge the battery.
In your case it is probably best to charge up the battery and connect the monitor and set the battery capacity in Ah and the state of charge to 100%. It will then track your discharge.
Lots of other monitors are available at increasing cost and quality. You just need an appropriately rated shunt for your discharge current.

 

[Caminoman16]

Many thanks. I'll rely on your superior knowledge and go for the same one' or similar, looks like plenty on Amazon