Question about Onan Generator

Son of Norway wrote:
Something I have never understood about generators (I have an Onan 6.5 Emerald III.) A 12-volt DC battery is used to start the generator, which then produces 120V AC. The battery supplies the energy needed to run the generator, right? So, while the generator is running, does it send a 12-volt DC current back to the battery to keep it charged, or does the generator just continue to drain the battery until the battery no longer has enough voltage to keep it running?

So if the generator drains the battery, then there must be a converter in the circuit to keep the battery charged, just like the alternator on a car engine. OK, I'm no electrical engineer, I just want to be sure that I understand this correctly.

Thanks for your tolerance on this post.

I don't understand the why of your question ... and some of the responses to it.

Our motorhome's built-in Onan generator is started by power from the coach batteries ... so however the coach batteries are kept charged is also ensuring that they are kept charged up enough to always start our generator.

Aren't all motorhome (and some towables') built-in RV generator setups similar to this?

If so, of course a follow-on question of yours could be "... then how are RV coach batteries kept charged up?"