Charging Battery with Generator
I have a 2015 Jayco 26BHS. How do I charge my batteries while dry camping for a few days with an 800 watt inverter generator? I checked prior posts, but couldn't quite figure it out. Do I p...
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You need to have a way to charge the battery without overloading the generator. More specifically, you need to keep the charging current limited to approximately 30 amps. Even if not horribly discharged, the battery will probably pull more than that in the first few minutes of charging. One approach is to just use a charger rated at maybe 25 amps maximum, or one that allows you to control the output. If you want to use the power converter, posting the make and model might get some feedback on how well it may or may not work with the small generator. This all assumes you'll be at a fairly low altitude. At a few thousand feet the generator performance goes down. Best to test it all out at home first.
I use an 800 watt Earthquake/PortaSource inverter generator, with two ways to prevent overloading it. One is to use a larger generator for the initial charge, then switch to the small generator. The other is to place the Progressive Dynamics converter into its 13.2 volt mode before starting, then bringing it up to 13.6 and 14.4 as the battery draws less current. Having an ammeter is pretty important to control all of this.
I use an 800 watt Earthquake/PortaSource inverter generator, with two ways to prevent overloading it. One is to use a larger generator for the initial charge, then switch to the small generator. The other is to place the Progressive Dynamics converter into its 13.2 volt mode before starting, then bringing it up to 13.6 and 14.4 as the battery draws less current. Having an ammeter is pretty important to control all of this.
