Charging Amps engine alternator vs Generator
After spending 3 days dry camping in my Class C at Yosemite, I fired up my generator to defrost some bagels in the microwave. I have a Xantrex Battery Monitor and noticed I was down about 65 amps for...
Forum Discussion
MEX wrote:
Has anyone worked up a chart that reflects generator run watts versus charger potential limitations? Maybe that would be a help.
You bring up a subtle point that I have been trying poorly - and with minimum data other than personal experience - to make for quite some time in the forums.
In boondocking areas where generator use presents no problems to other campers any time of day or night, I'm not convinced that a small generator run for hours is a less efficient way to trade fuel for electrical storage than using a large generator run for way less hours to trade fuel for electrical storage.
In other words -
1) Are small gasoline four-stroke generators less efficient than larger gasoline four-stroke generators?
AND
2) Do lead acid (wet or AGM) batteries charge more "efficiently" (not talking charge speed here -> efficiency is not necessarily related to speed) when charged fast .... or when charged slow?
Of course if you have to run a rather largish generator for hours anyway for daily air conditioning, I guess is doesn't matter at what speed it's replenishing the batteries so long as it gets the job done during the air conditioning cycle. :h
As an example, we camp with friends who run a very quiet itty-bitty little four-stroke generator every evening for 4-5 hours to bring up their batteries while watching evening TV - so they're probably restoring 30 to 35 amp hours somewhat slowly and very quietly each day. We camp with them in places where they can get away with this procedure.
(By pure coincidence we have the same itty-bitty generator model as they and sometimes use it the same way.)
