First time to 50% SOC
DW and I pigged out on amp hours on our last trip to the beach a week ago. According to the Victron, we used 364 Ah in 3 days. Oddly, the Iota did not go right to 14.8V like it did when I first connec...
Forum Discussion
Mena with a pair of 316 A/H L-16's it would take about 88 amperes charge rate to start at a charging potential of more than 14.0 volts. You just nudged the exact reason why too small of charger on a generator (not your case) is going to cause a lot of hours to pass before the batteries can gain a decent charge.
When I configured a system to be used with a generator, I placed enough generator charger on line to immediately gain 14.8 volts corrected to 20C. This is voltage limited (read it it's different than regulated) charging and is the cheapest and fastest way to recharge batteries.
It used to be viable to have a 12-turn diesel genset charge the batteries at 20% amp hour rating to afford maximum battery life. With the advent of greed in speculation meaning three dollar plus per gallon fuel, this is not possible anymore. Charge a pair of L-16's at 20% on a generator rather than a voltage limited regimen and those two batteries are going to eat more than a thousand dollars DIFFERENCE in fuel. Unless you live on Palmyra Island or Ulan Baator, fuel costs over ride battery prices. Down here a fuel load costs the eqvt of a hundred dollars to deliver. "For what I'll save in fuel alone I could have replacement batteries FLOWN IN" was a remark I heard last month.
Saddlebag Lake CA. "My motorhome generator is charging the batteries at 30 amps. For what it costs to go buy fuel ($5+ gallon) I could go buy a NEW battery"
Calculators don't fib.
If you do your recharging in your driveway or RV park overnight, a slower rate is easier on the batteries. The question is "Where Is The Break Even Point?" I suspect in your case you may have an acceptable setup. Going camping for an extended period would jumble this all around however.
When I top charge a single 29, I start at around 12.65 and it takes 4 - 5 hours at 2-amperes to reach 15.0 volts. For the first half hour the amperage is in the 6 - 8 amp range.
When I configured a system to be used with a generator, I placed enough generator charger on line to immediately gain 14.8 volts corrected to 20C. This is voltage limited (read it it's different than regulated) charging and is the cheapest and fastest way to recharge batteries.
It used to be viable to have a 12-turn diesel genset charge the batteries at 20% amp hour rating to afford maximum battery life. With the advent of greed in speculation meaning three dollar plus per gallon fuel, this is not possible anymore. Charge a pair of L-16's at 20% on a generator rather than a voltage limited regimen and those two batteries are going to eat more than a thousand dollars DIFFERENCE in fuel. Unless you live on Palmyra Island or Ulan Baator, fuel costs over ride battery prices. Down here a fuel load costs the eqvt of a hundred dollars to deliver. "For what I'll save in fuel alone I could have replacement batteries FLOWN IN" was a remark I heard last month.
Saddlebag Lake CA. "My motorhome generator is charging the batteries at 30 amps. For what it costs to go buy fuel ($5+ gallon) I could go buy a NEW battery"
Calculators don't fib.
If you do your recharging in your driveway or RV park overnight, a slower rate is easier on the batteries. The question is "Where Is The Break Even Point?" I suspect in your case you may have an acceptable setup. Going camping for an extended period would jumble this all around however.
When I top charge a single 29, I start at around 12.65 and it takes 4 - 5 hours at 2-amperes to reach 15.0 volts. For the first half hour the amperage is in the 6 - 8 amp range.
