Poor Man's Guide to Homemade Amp Meters
Build a 2,000 amp dc amp meter and learn to make a very easy and inexpensive dc ammeter shunt.
I include this great program free of charge with the ebook download. I then learned another trick (which is in the ebook) that allows me to flip a $3 switch and my cheap multi-meter shows Power in Watts coming from a 12 volt battery bank. (this could be modified for 24 or 48 volt systems) I can flip the switch back and it will go back to amps.
So, to reiterate, with this program and ebook, you can do the following:
<ul>
<li>You can measure the current draw in your renewable or backup system</li>
<li>You can even use existing wiring in your system as a shunt</li>
<li>You can measure the current coming from your windmill or solar panels</li>
<li>Make a (500 amp / 6,000 watt @ 12v) amp and power gauge for under $25 (This can be scaled up to 24v or 48 v battery banks)</li>
<li>Make a 2,000 amp shunt and amp meter for under $20 (actually can be 3,300 amps by making one little change)</li>
</ul>
 
You don't need electronic skills to make the shunt. And you don't need to take your meter apart. You just hook up the test leads to the shunt. You can even use little alligator clips to do this.