Sometimes i check the amps volts coming out of my solar panel with an Anderson connected metre inline before regulator 

I would like to leave this connected as a more permanent thing to gauge exactly what is coming out from panel into battery 

Am i right in saying that this would take away a little bit of power although minimal that should be going into battery ! just like the regulator i guess !

Could be a dumb question but had to ask ?

Not a lot.

https://sound-au.com/articles/meters.htm

Hi 

My guess you have a meter like this below, so have I. Looking at the specs it only draws 7mA( 0.007A) so the loss of power is very low and can be ignored. 

All volt meters draw some tiny little power all the time to do their reading. Compared to the power of a solar panel it can be ignored. 

Go for it, and you get to know how your system is working in various conditions, so knowing what is going on is worth it ! Some people like to watch their phones for the information but I have my meters on the wall so I can see them at a glance. 

Jaahn

Yes thats right  jaahn  ..   find it very handy keep a check on things ..  Its surprising on using different gauges to measure things how the readings are not always the same !! slight difference between many but being so minimal doesn't  matter too much i guess ......

Thanks 

I have a voltage & amp analogue panel meters from Jaycar. They seem to be pretty accurate compared to my expensive clamp meter.

After a few months I don't really look at the meters any more as one gets a feel for the system.

goldenyears wrote:

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Yes thats right  jaahn  ..   find it very handy keep a check on things ..  Its surprising on using different gauges to measure things how the readings are not always the same !! slight difference between many but being so minimal doesn't  matter too much i guess ......

Thanks

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 Hi 

I worked as a testing lab tecko for quite some years before retiring and aiming at getting consistent and accurate measurements was our business. Everything was calibrated regularly even though it was expensive gear anyway. The old saying was with one clock you always know the time, if you have two you are never exactly sure  Even that is not true as the phones are all the same now. 

But really ordinary meters and such are much better today than in the past, so do not stress about some minor differences, life on the road is more flexible than that  . But do not be seduced by lots of numbers in a row. That does not make for accuracy necessarily. 

Good luck  jaahn