Question about Onan Generator
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 ...
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Son of Norway wrote:Put your meter on the battery terminals. 13.6+ volts and you are charging. 12.5 volts or less and you are not charging. Post your measurement and you will be an honorary electrical engineer.
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.
