Battery Life and Low Temps
I have been having a ball up at Iris Meadow off of Rock Creek Road, Close to Mammoth Lakes, CA. It's the steeper side of the Sierras just East of Yosemite. It's a little known area comparably, but v...
Forum Discussion
PNICHOLS wrote:
"My EX650 takes about 1/2 gallon to run 5 hours at it's full rated 550 watts. The 2000i takes about 1/2 gallon to run 4.8 hours at 1/4 of it's rated 1600 watts (400 watts).
It appears to me that the EX650 has the edge, or at the very least it's a wash between the two charging methods and generators." (end)
... But it doesn't take 4.8 hours with the eu2000i and the higher voltage 45 amper. That's my point here. It takes less than 2 hours to replace the same amount of Ah's that the ex650 and low voltage 15 amper take 5hrs to accomplish.
FACT: You are doing about a 55-90% charge cycle with that 15 amper, in 5 hours, on a 200Ah bank.(4 hours at 15a, 1 hour at tapering amps, for a total of about 70ah replaced). I can do the same cycle on my 215Ah bank in 97 minutes! Therefore, I have been extremely generous with my comparisons. So, I can actually accomplish the same thing in just over an hour and a half and for about $0.72. That's 41% of your cost, and in 1/3 the time.
This is real world data:
Less than 97 minutes vs. 300 minutes of gen run time.
1/5 gallon gas vs. 1/2 gallon gas.
$.72 vs. $1.75
A charging system that fits into a park schedule if necessary.
No need to charge with a HUGE coach engine while idling at 0 mpg. (even more fuel cost)
250% -???% less pollution and exhaust fumes.
A charger that can charge in all temps.
A generator that can handle bigger loads with more efficiency.
A generator that can handle more than a 20a charger.
Initial cost aside, a free eu2000i would still do the job in 33% of the time, and with 41% of the gas; provided you use a higher voltage, higher amp charger.
But this isn't about getting free stuff (although that's nice), it's about charging efficiency. The simple fact is, the higher voltage, higher amp charger does the job in 1/3 the time, and at 41% of the cost in fuel... even when coupled with the larger gen engine. And btw, the eu2000i is lighter and just as quiet.
And yes, one could start comparing the ex650 with some huge, highly inefficient gennie, but that would be totally irrelevant. But just try using a $50.00 higher voltage, higher amp charger with that same (free) ex650 and watch your charge times and related costs drop significantly.
"But the converter came with the rv, so essentially free" you might say... ah, but you ARE paying for it... every time you use it... in extra fuel costs, unnecessary exhaust fumes, undercharged batteries in cold temps, etc., etc.
At an extra $1.03 per charge cycle, every other day for 6 months, that's about $95.00 in extra gen fuel, plus fuel to idle the coach, plus 300% more wear and tear on an already used gennie, Plus, your charge times / fuel costs would easily double in cold weather (and that's an additional 300++% wear and tear on the gen).
These are hard facts; no assertions, no assumptions, no excuses, just straight up real world data.
I'm gald you got a free gennie, I really am. But I'd also like to see you get many more years of service out of it. But at the rate you're going, you will NOT. Please tell me, if someone handed you a free hundred dollar bill, would you say "great, free money" and then run out and burn it in the campfire??? That's essentially what you're doing with this gennie.
I encourage you set aside your dogmatic beliefs, and consider the facts. But hey, it's your money to burn. I just don't wanna see the OP misled, as I was, and end up wasting his time and money, having to do things over and over 'til he gets things right. I'm hopeful his coming here in the first place is an indication that he desires the same.
"My EX650 takes about 1/2 gallon to run 5 hours at it's full rated 550 watts. The 2000i takes about 1/2 gallon to run 4.8 hours at 1/4 of it's rated 1600 watts (400 watts).
It appears to me that the EX650 has the edge, or at the very least it's a wash between the two charging methods and generators." (end)
... But it doesn't take 4.8 hours with the eu2000i and the higher voltage 45 amper. That's my point here. It takes less than 2 hours to replace the same amount of Ah's that the ex650 and low voltage 15 amper take 5hrs to accomplish.
FACT: You are doing about a 55-90% charge cycle with that 15 amper, in 5 hours, on a 200Ah bank.(4 hours at 15a, 1 hour at tapering amps, for a total of about 70ah replaced). I can do the same cycle on my 215Ah bank in 97 minutes! Therefore, I have been extremely generous with my comparisons. So, I can actually accomplish the same thing in just over an hour and a half and for about $0.72. That's 41% of your cost, and in 1/3 the time.
This is real world data:
Less than 97 minutes vs. 300 minutes of gen run time.
1/5 gallon gas vs. 1/2 gallon gas.
$.72 vs. $1.75
A charging system that fits into a park schedule if necessary.
No need to charge with a HUGE coach engine while idling at 0 mpg. (even more fuel cost)
250% -???% less pollution and exhaust fumes.
A charger that can charge in all temps.
A generator that can handle bigger loads with more efficiency.
A generator that can handle more than a 20a charger.
Initial cost aside, a free eu2000i would still do the job in 33% of the time, and with 41% of the gas; provided you use a higher voltage, higher amp charger.
But this isn't about getting free stuff (although that's nice), it's about charging efficiency. The simple fact is, the higher voltage, higher amp charger does the job in 1/3 the time, and at 41% of the cost in fuel... even when coupled with the larger gen engine. And btw, the eu2000i is lighter and just as quiet.
And yes, one could start comparing the ex650 with some huge, highly inefficient gennie, but that would be totally irrelevant. But just try using a $50.00 higher voltage, higher amp charger with that same (free) ex650 and watch your charge times and related costs drop significantly.
"But the converter came with the rv, so essentially free" you might say... ah, but you ARE paying for it... every time you use it... in extra fuel costs, unnecessary exhaust fumes, undercharged batteries in cold temps, etc., etc.
At an extra $1.03 per charge cycle, every other day for 6 months, that's about $95.00 in extra gen fuel, plus fuel to idle the coach, plus 300% more wear and tear on an already used gennie, Plus, your charge times / fuel costs would easily double in cold weather (and that's an additional 300++% wear and tear on the gen).
These are hard facts; no assertions, no assumptions, no excuses, just straight up real world data.
I'm gald you got a free gennie, I really am. But I'd also like to see you get many more years of service out of it. But at the rate you're going, you will NOT. Please tell me, if someone handed you a free hundred dollar bill, would you say "great, free money" and then run out and burn it in the campfire??? That's essentially what you're doing with this gennie.
I encourage you set aside your dogmatic beliefs, and consider the facts. But hey, it's your money to burn. I just don't wanna see the OP misled, as I was, and end up wasting his time and money, having to do things over and over 'til he gets things right. I'm hopeful his coming here in the first place is an indication that he desires the same.
