Link 10 installation

Windborn · #1 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009

I'm looking for a little insight from some of the EE types.

We have a house bank consisting of four T-105s. Our power panel has digital multi-meter connected to the house bank negative lead via a 500A shunt. I'm looking to install a Link 10 to better monitor the house bank, which also has a 500A shunt. The questions are:

1. Do I place the Link 10 shunt in series with the existing shunt; or

2. Can I just wire the Link 10 leads to the existing shunt (in parallel with the multi-meter)?

Thanks for your help, and happy sailing!

soulesailor · #2 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009

I'm no EE but I DID drink a pile a beers when I installed my link 10.

Trying to recall how I did it and being away from my tarped up boat I remember the link 10 as a kind of stand alone unit. I hooked it up to my batteries, also 4 6v, and the shunt was installed very close to the batteries, right in my custom homemade battery box. Then I ran all the wires to where I wanted the display mounted and plugged them in. I think the only thing I had to plug the wires into besides that was my charge controller, nothing with the existing shunt.

I just followed the directions and it's been working great ever since. I might have bought extra wires made specifically to go with the link 10 because the run from the batteries was so long.

donradclife · #3 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009

You may be able to get away with the parallel connection, depending on the shunt resistance and the input impedance of the meter and the Link. Test it by hooking the Link up in parallel, putting a reasonable (10 amp) load on the battery. If the Link and the meter agree on amps, and neither reading changes when you disconnect the other measuring device, you are good to go.

Zanshin · #4 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009

I think it would be best to put the Link10 shunt before the existing one; I did a similar installation a couple of weeks ago on my boat and decided that I really wanted to be able to measure every electron with no possibility of another drain or interference. I am very happy with the Link10 and don't understand how I could have survived without it!