FYI, I finally got the low voltage alert working today ... see this thread for more info - Vote for Shelly UNI - #70 by olliesshop.
I'm still waiting on that low voltage cutoff thing. Talk about the slow boat from China. It'll be 6 weeks if it arrives 'on time'. I didn't notice where it was being shipped from when I purchased it on Amazon.
Another thought occurred to me though. While the generator is running to recharge its own battery, the battery will, I assume, show the value of the charger's voltage, and thus be an inaccurate representation of the battery's state of charge. Is there any way around this?
Since the battery charger is connected directly to the terminals of the battery, the voltage across the terminals will be equal to the voltage across the charger. The only way to avoid this would be to put a dry contact switch in the positive wire from the charger to the battery and then disconnect the switch when reading the battery state. However, that is risky as if the dry contact does not close properly the battery might lose charge. I would not recommend messing with the system. As long as you get a voltage reading between 12-13.6 volts, you know things are working properly.
I came up with an idea. I measured the amps on the positive lead from the generator battery with a clamp on multimeter that had the capability to measure AC or DC current. My current thinking is a voltage monitor to turn on the generator to charge the battery, and a clamp on ammeter to tell the gen to shut down after the charging rate gets down to a suitable level. Now, to find one, and get that signal into the house. Although I did run some 6(?) conductor thermostat wire out there. It would be nice to get a digital display in the house for when I'm home as well.
I had another idea. Monitor the AC current supplying the charger when the generator (or utility) is running. Maybe use a spare Fibaro outlet I have and rig up a plug and outlet arrangement on the circuit.
I am very new to this Shelly World. I'm not one that just asks questions without doing my Homework. I am wanting to use a Shelly Uni to monitor voltage on a 12V deep cycle battery. Can anyone tell me how to wire this up on the uni? I smoked my Uni today trying to figure it out and guess it's better to ask than to keep smoking a Uni.
First, connect Red on + and Black on -. Connect to it via its web interface and ensure that it is set to 30v under the ADC range setting. Then, add white on + and green on - to mesure the voltage.
I’m not sure if the issue you encountered is because of reversing the black and red, because all 4 were connected at once, or a defective board… I have seen it happen before however…
Also, welcome to the community!
1 Like
Thank you very much. And thank you for the quick help!
1 Like
Got it hooked up and everything is good. Being so new to this I cannot figure out how to get the voltage of the battery. It seems to only be showing the uni's current draw. Once I complete one new operation and know how things flow and can go on with my other projects for the uni. I hate feeing stupid.
It can be a bit of a learning curve…. You’re not the first and won’t be the last to walk that path!
Have you downloaded and installed the driver? Once you have, if I remember correctly, you just need to put in the UNI’s IP address (be sure to make it a static address to avoid problems…). If you use Tom’s driver, it will automatically create the child devices. One of those will poll the UNI for voltage.
1 Like
Thank you. I'll follow all of those steps
1 Like
And I do have the drivers loaded. I do see the drivers and it did create the child devices. I have not attempted to configure in Hubitat yet but that's my next step.
1 Like
