Best battery charger options

I have to dial the voltage way way back on the Megawatts to get them to not knock the generator offline. The Harbor Freight 800 watt generator will power just a tad over 40 amps. The generator stops dead at 44-amps.

Trying to micro-manage slide rule compute amperage to wattage is a sure loser

You must know a 1000w gen cannot run a 55 amp charger that is not PF corrected. You also know your beloved PDs are 0.7PF and that the running VA of the 1000w inverter/gen is 900VA.

Meanwhile on a Kill-A-Watt with a 0.7 PF 55 amp converter putting out 56.8 amps with battery at 13.7v, or 778w, we see:

124.7v, 11.06a, 980w, and 1383VA.

So please stop posting that you can get 1383VA from a 900VA supply.

Meanwhile, your 9180 amper needs more than a 0.7PF 75 amper doing 75 amps with battery at 14.08. That was pulling 1693VA, so your 1000w gen running that 80 amper at over 1700 was indeed quite remarkable! BUT--look more closely, and just maybe----

You said the batteries were "dead" so let's say 10.5v and jumped to 11.5v with the charger doing 80 amps? So 920w output. Say 85% efficient, or 1082w input. and 0.7PF makes that 1546VA.

To make that work, the "dead" batteries must not have been accepting 80 amps, but some much lower number of amps. You can do the math for what must have been the output watts and then see if you can get the input VA anywhere near 1000. It is true that really dead batteries can only accept a few amps at first, then the amps slowly rise as the battery recovers.

I think there are far too many individuals who chime in and say "It charged my batteries"

When they should be saying "It said my batteries were charged"

At sane amperage input, a flooded battery is not charged unless it is bubbling slightly. The exception is a calcium calcium sealed battery which is not a deep cycle battery.

Remember the theme of this thread. You can connect a battery to a power post and charge at 13.9 volts for several weeks and it will be close to being fully charged. Those who protest should have chosen to be a lawyer.

This is cold hard reality when cycling a battery and finding a charger that exceeds 13.6 volts would be an even bigger miracle. My time proven rule of charging at 14.7 volts until every cell is bubbling has been valid for 75 years before I started testing batteries. And many years after I stopped.

Some of this depends on your generator and other needs

THe PDxx55 is a good choce for small generators (1000 watt and below) and for GC-2 Flooded wet. A pair of GC-2 can take up to around 65 amps tops.. A Honda EU-1000i MAY be able to feed a PD-9260 but not anything much bigger (And yes folks I know the numbers do not match up.. the PD is not 100% efficient).

A EU-2000i would have no problems with the 9260

A TRUE 1000 watt (Generac 1000) has delivered to my PD-9180+wiz with dead batteries... Took all it was worth but it hung in there. Not sure if every copy of it would do it or not. Mine did.

SoundGuy wrote:
Too little information -

Too much information.
K.I.S.S.

Did you even address the question that he asked ??

With AGM slight overcharge is preferable to undercharge.

ktmrfs wrote:
how fast you can charge is highly dependent on the generator and battery type. Most 2000W generators can run a 60A converter a few a 75A ...

Progressive Dynamics or Iota are FAR FAR FAR better than a WFCO.

Progressive Dynamics makes converters from 45A up to 80A. It won't "bulk charge" as fast as a 100A power supply, but the "smart charging" will make sure you don't over charge.

SoonerWing03 wrote:
I’m running (2) 6v 215AH gc2’s wired in series for a 12 volt system. I am trying to figure out the best/quickest way to charge them with a generator.
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However, we will be traveling a fair amount between campsites so the TV should help with charging some as well.

You won't like my answer, but the truth is you will need at least 3 battery chargers NOT including the charger in your converter.

First, for fast, but not necessarily complete/perfect charging get a "generic" 12VDC power supply capable of more than 100A. Make sure it can be adjusted to at least 14.5V. You must run it off of a timer because if accidentally left on too long, it will ruin your battery.

Second, to charge your house bank will driving, get a DC-DC charger, like a CTEK D250S or similar. After a short bulk charge with the first charger, this will finish the job.

Third, get a multi-stage charger for use when you are on shore power (or at home). This will take several hours but it will make sure the battery is properly charged before your next trip.

SoonerWing03 wrote:
As long as I can run a few lights and the AC if needed then I think we will be good.

You are NOT going to be running an AC for more than a few minutes with only two GC2 batteries. Even four GC2 batteries will not get you up to 1 hour of run time.

SoonerWing03 wrote:
As long as I can run a few lights and the AC if needed then I think we will be good. My wife is pretty nervous about the whole idea of boondocking so I really want this "test run" to go as smoothly as possible.

Running ac (or a/c if you mean air) doesn't happen on batteries, and even with a generator it's rare to see anyone doing that. Everyone asks about it, but few do it.

Boondocking is better if you can emulate the comforts of home, if that's what wifey is after. Solar panels, lots of batteries, nice big inverter, big holding tanks, carry lots of water, and a quiet inverter generator or two. Oh, and TV service and internet. That's how I roll.

That's the converter I installed. Charges up two GC2 fairly quickly. I'm pleased with the purchase.