Lithium Batteries
Just downsized from a Class A DP to a Class B+. I got the residential fridge in the new motorhome so power when off the grid is going to be more of an issue that it was before. I’ve been looking at ...
Forum Discussion
msmith1199 wrote:BFL13 wrote:
She wants to keep the charging to 50 amps each so 100a for the two. Meanwhile there have been posts that the alternator will fry from trying to charge the thirsty Li house batts.
Sounds like the way to go is disconnect/disable alternator charging and just leave in the Aux start from the house feature if ever needed.
So is it likely that in most motorhomes there is no DC to DC charger and the alternator is just wired directly to the house batteries and charges them with whatever output it has?
Hi msith1199,
The alternator is controlled by the ECM of the chassis. Most alternators have a duty cycle rating. In my case, that is 120 amps. But continuous duty is 1/3 of that, or about 40 amps.
The only time one is likely to see greater amperage is if both the starter battery and the house batteries are "hungry" or if a large load is present in the house. For example the water heater on the electric setting.
I deliberately added a 2nd charging path from the Chassis battery to the house bank. I do have manual control of the connection. I have seen 70 amps for brief periods of time. I monitor the voltage on the chassis battery. If it gets to 12.3, I turn off the connection.
I've seen no complaints of burned out alternators. Maybe BFL13 could give us a link?
