high rate charging on generator
Hi all, The batteries: 556 amp-hours of surplus acid AGM batteries 12 volt jars 105 lbs each. They are wired as two banks with balanced wiring. The depth of discharge: 12.1 volts under 425...
Forum Discussion
Hi Niner,
I'll use them right into the ground as I did with the flooded batteries I replaced.
I do understand that recharging via a generator is a totally different kettle of fish that using shore power.
My brief excursion into the region of 50% state of charge was 3 hours of generator run time to return to 8 to 12 amps of float. Out of pocket for fuel was a whopping $12.00 Cdn. I only run premium in the generator and it was $1.149 per liter.
Turning down the maximum charge rate from 125 to 108 is going to make a difference of about 14% in generator run time, worst case. But I think, given my charging style, it will not cost me any more to limit the rate.
Again, because I'm by nature a shallow cycler, up until my deliberate deeper discharge the greatest charging rate I've seen was about 70 amps. 30 minutes of generator time gets me back to a 14 amp recharge rate. That is approximately 97.5% of fully recharged.
I'm fortunate to have remote control of the Yamaha generator, and so I can start it and stop it at will. It takes about 30 minutes for the oil filled heaters to start to cycle. When they do, I shut down the generator and let the space heating "coast". During the coasting I am generally running a laptop and a 50 watt heating pad, which I operate on a 300 watt MSW inverter. At 4 C (30 f) I stay comfortable with the bedroom about 18 C (64 F) .
At -4 C (24 F) I need about 800 watts to keep the bedroom at that temperature. If I wanted to stay at or above 60% state of charge I could do the 800 watts for approximately 3 hours.
The lowest voltage I've seen in the morning is 12.4 volts with about 2 hours of generator run time overnight. This was at the 4 c ambient temperature.
Now that winter is upon us I need shore power to keep warm and shortly will need either 3 fifteen amp circuits--or go to the only campground that is still open, where I have access to 50 amp power.
I'll be going the campground route probably on November 1st.
I'll use them right into the ground as I did with the flooded batteries I replaced.
I do understand that recharging via a generator is a totally different kettle of fish that using shore power.
My brief excursion into the region of 50% state of charge was 3 hours of generator run time to return to 8 to 12 amps of float. Out of pocket for fuel was a whopping $12.00 Cdn. I only run premium in the generator and it was $1.149 per liter.
Turning down the maximum charge rate from 125 to 108 is going to make a difference of about 14% in generator run time, worst case. But I think, given my charging style, it will not cost me any more to limit the rate.
Again, because I'm by nature a shallow cycler, up until my deliberate deeper discharge the greatest charging rate I've seen was about 70 amps. 30 minutes of generator time gets me back to a 14 amp recharge rate. That is approximately 97.5% of fully recharged.
I'm fortunate to have remote control of the Yamaha generator, and so I can start it and stop it at will. It takes about 30 minutes for the oil filled heaters to start to cycle. When they do, I shut down the generator and let the space heating "coast". During the coasting I am generally running a laptop and a 50 watt heating pad, which I operate on a 300 watt MSW inverter. At 4 C (30 f) I stay comfortable with the bedroom about 18 C (64 F) .
At -4 C (24 F) I need about 800 watts to keep the bedroom at that temperature. If I wanted to stay at or above 60% state of charge I could do the 800 watts for approximately 3 hours.
The lowest voltage I've seen in the morning is 12.4 volts with about 2 hours of generator run time overnight. This was at the 4 c ambient temperature.
Now that winter is upon us I need shore power to keep warm and shortly will need either 3 fifteen amp circuits--or go to the only campground that is still open, where I have access to 50 amp power.
I'll be going the campground route probably on November 1st.
