Looking for battery charger advice.

[Guysakar]

Hi guys,

This is not really for an RV so to speak (going in the van), but I am looking at purchasing a small, inexpensive inverter generator to charge a 60-120 A battery bank. That is all the gen will be used for.

I really want a Progressive Dynamics with the charge wizard, but the smallest they have is 45 amp, which pulls 725 watts, which would mean that I would need to get something like the Honda 2000i to run it, which at a grand is over kill for me and this application.


So, any advice on a good charger that will pull around 400-500 watts?

Advice on a cheap inverter generator welcomed as well.

I really don't want to spend a lot on this set up, but I am not seeing too many options that are reliable, etc...



Thanks in advance.

[wa8yxm]

I believe the PDI 9245 can be run by a Honda EU-1000i.

I know it can by a Yahama EF-1200i (About the same price)

and by a Genrac 1,000 (Traditional generator, Weight, noise and fuel consumption compare to the Honda EU-2000i but it puts out a true 1,000 watts)

I know this because my 9180 with wizard ran on the Genrac 1000

A Genrac 900 should also handle the 45 amp job. About 400 bucks when I got mine. New, in the box no discount.

[RoyB]

The other side of just having SOLAR PANELs is if you want to charge your batteries in a quick three hour recharge time the solar panels may not produce enough initial DC Amps to do this. There is rules for charging deep cycle batteries which wants you to start out with 14.4VDC@17-20AMPS DC Current for each battery you want to be charging. A 120WATT SOLAR PANELS may only produce around 5-6AMPS usable DC CURRENT.

This is the same reason as in one of your other comments "why can't I just use the Battery Charging cable that come with the generator to charge my battery." There is usually only unregulated 12VDC on this cable and only has the capacity of around 6-8AMPS DC Current. This will work but will take many many hours to charge your battery. To charge a battery in a quick three hour time period battery science as stated by PROGRESSIVE DYNAMICS says you need to have around 14.4VDC with the capacity of 17-20AMPS for each battery being charged.

What works for me is having a battery bank that runs all of the things I want to run using an Inverter and direct connected to my battery bank terminals. I can use my battery bank to run these items until it reaches it 50% charge state which is indicated by reading around 12.0VDC at the battery terminals. Then I will want to re-charge the batteries by connecting my smart mode converter/charger or a portable smart mode battery charger to the 120VAC Receptacle of the generator which will start charging my batteries. This will take three hours to get from 50% to 90% charge state.

Bottom line is I need 14.4VDC@17-20DC-AMPS capacity for each battery being charged in the battery bank and will also need my generator capacity to be able to operate the converter/charger or the portable battery charger.

Not many ways around these requirements.

If you want to use the solar panels then unless you can get 14.4VDC@17-20AMPS of usable DC power from them it will still charge your batteries but will take much longer time. The problem will be you will run out of HIGH SUN before you get them back up to their 90% charge state. You can only get almost full performance out of your battery bank when you start out with a 90% charge state. Of course 100% charge state is best to have but that will take a good 11-12 hours of charging using 14.4VDC@17-20AMPS DC current available. This is battery charging science again at play here.

I would want to use the generator method as primary and fall back to SOLAR when you have high sun available. Actually only running the generator for the initial high current stage of charging and then switch to solar power for the remaining sealing time might be a good solution to not have to run the generator as much.

Just my thoughts
Roy Ken

[time2roll]

For the price of a Honda 2000 you can have plenty of solar, an inverter to run those small items, and $400+ in your pocket.

[westend]

Just go solar, right away. For the price of the Chinese generator, you can install a small solar system that will charge your batteries continually, at no additional fuel costs, eliminate the need for carrying gas, and not intrude on your life with noise and logistical issues. Solar will also keep your batteries charged while in storage, a not insignificant function.

Buy a decent converter and install a power inlet w/shore cord. If the sun never shines, you can stay at an inexpensive campground with electrical and recharge. I would also suggest to rethink your battery storage needs. For the price of two Sam's club 6V GC2 batteries (about $200), you can stretch your 12V needs out for about double of what you presently have.

Good luck with your 12V system!

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I'd use a solar system and double the capacity of the battery bank.

12 volt charging cables on most inverter generators are unregulated and often do less than 10 amps. Not recommended, except in an emergency.

[Guysakar]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

What will the power from the batteries be used for?

Run a TV, lights, maybe a fan, charge laptops, etc...

[Guysakar]

OK, I am looking at this generator and see that it comes with a 12volt charging cable.


How bad would it be for a standard RV type deep cycle battery to just hook it up directly to the generator?

I wonder how many amps it would be putting into the battery, charge times, etc...


Edit: OK, I see that those DC ports are for emergency use basically

http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/gen_charge.htm

[pianotuna]

Hi,

What will the power from the batteries be used for?

[Guysakar]

smkettner wrote:
Have you ruled out solar?

Otherwise a 30 amp IOTA with IQ controller should do fine with Honda 1000 and possibly an extended run fuel tank.

Thanks. I found it on Amazon and bookmarked it.

My problem now is, all of the cheaper generators I am seeing seem to be somewhat problematic.


I am leaning more toward the $1K Honda EU200i, but I really, really don't want to spend that amount.

[Guysakar]

dockmasterdave wrote:
Does it need to be an inverter type, if all you are doing is charging batteries?

I was thinking the inverter type because of how quite, efficient, small, etc... they are.

[time2roll]

Have you ruled out solar?

Otherwise a 30 amp IOTA with IQ controller should do fine with Honda 1000 and possibly an extended run fuel tank.

[dockmasterdave]

Does it need to be an inverter type, if all you are doing is charging batteries?