Forum Discussion

funpro's avatar
funpro
Explorer
Jun 24, 2015

generator charging 12V batteries

Going dry camping in two weeks. If I run my generator an hour in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon will that be enough to keep my batteries charged up.

Two optima 12V batteries. Frig. on gas, heater on gas, hot water on gas. Known battery uses - pump, lights, mandatory whatevers.
  • I do not think two hours/day will recharge batteries that are under heavy use, however...I am no 12V guru, (there are several on the tech forum) and, that being said, I will assume you are not using the furnace (it is summer time) and since daylight is lasting until 20:30 or so you will not need much lighting, and your pump does not run constantly, so with those assumptions I believe you will be ok for several days.

    You might mention where and for how long you plan on being off the grid.
  • Depends on the size of the batteries, how much you draw out of them, how large your charger is, how good your charger is, what kind of condition your batteries are in, etc.
  • Are you going to charge via a 40 or 50amp converter? Is the converter a three stage unit that raises charge voltage to 14.5 to 14.8 Volts? Propane furnace will be a big draw. Chris