Charging the batts__Less noise to get the job done.

Old & Slow wrote:
Without solar;

Lots of 1000i/2000i inverters on the market. If I am correct, they output about 400w on econo (low noise). How much 12v charging can be accomplished with just 400w ?

Pretty much every 20 amp charger will work, many 30 amps and possibly a 40 amp running at maybe 36 actual if it has a good power factor and amazing efficiency. For max power and lowest throttle I'd go for something with a 30 amp setting to stay below 400 W.

Jim

I just knew this was the right place to post a question. I did not fully list all my needs. Being old and now really slow, I have three types of batteries. One, my electric scooter is 24v sealed lead acid. It uses the charging block AC100-240v 1.8a input, output DC24v --@ 2a__I always fear going to far and running out of battery power. (therefore the thought of some way carrying a small inverter) and it could also be brought along on the Club Car 48v golf cart. Being Old is enough, don't need to create lots of noise. Then last is std 12v batts.

Thanks for helping return to my starting point, with no worry.

Floyd

Heck, I use my 1000 at times to keep my 40 ft DP charged while boondocking. The charger has to be turned down or it will trip the little genny. I run a long cord off into the trees if possible or use one of those portable round trash cans that collapse and set it almost all the way inside. Drop a towell over the top and it is even quieter.

YC1,

Old saying is true, 'there is more than one way to skin a cat'. Or quiet a gen. and not wake up the chickens maybe at 4am.

This thread is always awesome. It will cause one to go on the hunt for the ol' thinking cap and then too, some one will come through with great info' thanks,

Floyd

If you have the space for it, I've seen people put up wind turbines, using a pipe attached to their rig, perhaps an additional section to get it higher. Here in central Texas, there is always wind to catch, and you get four times as much power when the wind speed doubles.

Dunno about noise though. I am going to look into this because I park my TT at the same place for a quarter of the year, so if a 400-600 watt windmill is quiet, even if it just trickled 50 watts/hour on average, it would go a long way to offset the furnace fan and other loads.

Depending how much you are willing to tinker, there are certainly ways to charge the scooter from the big battery bank in the Club Car, or bring along more battery capacity on the scooter to extend its range. As you mentioned the least intrusive (but less efficient since you are on a power budget and a small genset) is to have an inverter and power supply. Even on the scooter you could carry along a battery to charge back up.

More work but better results could be had by expanding out the scooter's direct battery capacity.

Something like This could give you 500w of power from the 48v batteries in your Club Car.

Jim

I am thinking a solar panel or two on the golf cart. (~450w) A panel on the RV. (~225w) Then a 300w inverter on the RV to charge the scooter :B
$1500 and you are all set.

Hey Floyd, you must be an expert on noise reduction generator boxes. Are you getting tired of that yellow one?

I think you're attacking this issue from the wrong point of view. The econ mode will not limit power to 400W. The gen will rev up to whatever power is demanded.

You really want to know which converter will work with a 2000W inverter/gen. You want to minimize gen run time and charge batteries as fast as possible.

Sal

I've forgotten the question.

Sal,

Yes, I do have some knowledge of building gen boxes for the ol' 'Yellow and Black' C46540 (it's now in the genhouse) running great when it's cranked. I built a box for it that reduced the noise. I find it hard doing what I like in the shop these days.

When the inverters became the talk of the RV world, I said, okay, time to go with the flow. Now having three different battery needs, the choice seems to be the 1000i or the 2000i. The mention I made of 400w input max for the charger was to keep the inverter's output at that level, so the noise would be at the lowest possible. I have one charger that can be set for 4a DC output for 12v batts. One charger for the scooter only requires 1.8a input. So far so good until we get to the 48v Club Car. Need the 2000i here.

Right now I'm thinking, the 1000i would be a good choice to carry with the e/scooter. Or like has bee said, just carry a extra batt. No noise to worry about.

Good to see all posts with different ideas. Hey, I don't count the wind mill out. That would be fun to see. Old man with his wind mill on a e/scooter.:B

One of our old posters built a beautiful box for the Honda 1000i and no extra fan was needed. The last time he updated the info' on that project, he noted over 500 hours running in the box with no problems. I think it could be used 24/7 in any congested area. Don't know if there is enough left in the tank for any shop time.

Floyd