Can I charge batteries with a charger and generator?

It depends on the trailers built in converter and the external charger.. There are several things that can happen.

1: They combine their efforts resulting in a faster re-charge
1B: this faster recharge may or may not be faster than the battery can be safely charged (Too fast shortens battery life) NOTE MAY or MAY NOT be, You got to do the addition and measurements.

2: Converter sees charger output and says 'Ok, full up" and goes into float mode

3: Charger sees converter and goes into float mode.


Bottom line is: Try it and see

using a good Clamp on DC ammeter, or a good Shunt Ammeter. measure charging current with just the converter, with the charger and with both, Compare to battery size and figure it out.

Hi,

So long as the charging voltage is under 15.4 you can leave the battery bank connected.

My memory is fuzzy, but I think the last time I checked voltages, charging with genny and just my outboard charger gave me the same charging voltage as using the trailer and outboard charger together? I thought the two together would increase voltage, but it didn't. Now, I don't understand electricity too well...maybe it did increase amperage and that's what counts?

A related question: Are you guys implying that I can charge my batteries with an outboard charger and leave the batteries connected to the trailer? I've been disconnecting every time I charge, and it would be nice to eliminate that step.

To the OP ... yes it will work.

I often charge our RV's batteries faster when camping without hookups by using a generator to power both the RV's built-in converter and for powering a little inexpensive charger connected directly to the RV batteries' terminals. The currents from the converter and little extra charger do not directly "add up" however. Only part of the small charger's current capability gets added to the current that the converter is providing - not all the way up to what the small charger is capable of. So this technique does help some - but not dramatically.

Hi

Welcome to the forums.

A built in generator usually powers the converter (which is more or less a fancy word for battery charger) in an RV.

You could add the 6 amp charger to increase the speed of recharging.

Do you know the make and model of the converter? And of the generator?

Does your battery recharge while on shore power? If so the TT has a built in charger. Just connect your trailer to the generator and your battery will recharge.

It may take a while depending on how big you battery bank is and how far down they are. Also while charging the load on the genny could be 300-500 watts so you may not be able to run appliances such as the microwave.

I have a Honda eu2000i and an external 30A charger for my AGM battery. When the charger is running full tilt if my microwave starts it will trip the overload on the Honda. For me it's no big deal, I just yank the charger plug til we're done with the microwave. On a built in charger it would be a pain.

Yes, it will work as you describe.