ssthrd wrote:
I do have 260 watts of solar, but I am in a bad spot for solar right now in the bush. I end up running the generator for a couple of hours a day. I was thinking that charging the battery at the same time with the inverter would be helpful, but from what I read, it probably doesn't matter. Looks like the onboard system might be better in any case.
The batteries are 2x 6 volt T105 Trojans. My issue might be that the batteries are getting weak. After charging for a couple of hours, I can get them to 80% or so every day, but just charging my iPhone, and nothing much else, the level falls to below 65%. My hydrometer shows weak batteries in all cells......
What you are seeing is called "progressive capacity loss". Get to a shore power connection and do a full charge followed by an equalization charge.
It is best to recharge to 100% as often as humanly possible--but certainly it needs to be done at least every 9 cycles.
Doing it on the generator may be more expensive than getting to reliable shore power. Freecampsites.net has a filter that allows you to select camprounds that have power. Some of them are even free.
https://freecampsites.net/
