Dry Camping with EU2000i & Trojans

[dmullen]

I'm not completely understanding how these things all go together when dry camping. I am replacing my single 12v battery with two Trojan T-105 6v golf cart batteries. We plan to dry camp with no hook ups for 8 days at a time. I'm switching to the Trojans for the increased amp hours.

During the course of the 8 days when should I charge the Trojan batteries (I realize they act as one big 12v battery) and how do I charge them with a single Honda EU2000i? I do not plan to run the AC for now so I will only have the single EU2000i.

I'm just trying to get in my head how to make all this work together correctly.

[AH64ID]

SoundGuy wrote:

AH64ID wrote:
It's not nitpicking, it is providing the OP with actual fact based information about his question. One simply cannot charge a 50% SOC 12V G27 battery to full in 3 hours with a 10A charger, and leading the OP to believe that doesn't help his situation any.

Of course it's "nitpicking" ... who, other than the purists, said anything about a "full" recahrge? The OP apparently now has a set of 6 volt Trojans and an EU2000i to recharge them with, all he has to do is plug his trailer into the the genset, run it ~ 3 hrs each morning, and he'll have plenty of battery reserve to get him through another 24, 48 hrs of dry camping, even more depending on use ... he can leave "full" recharge to when he gets home. What's so complicated about that? :h

Didn't really read our discussion did you... It was not with the OP it was with another member over bogus charge rates/times. You can see in different posts my reccommendations to the OP.

It is very simple, and he will be just fine but 3 hours on a WFCO and 225AH bank won't be much depeding on SOC (I have had that combo). There are so many other factors to think about. One cannot simply say they will be good without knwing the use or ambient conditions.

[SoundGuy]

AH64ID wrote:
It's not nitpicking, it is providing the OP with actual fact based information about his question. One simply cannot charge a 50% SOC 12V G27 battery to full in 3 hours with a 10A charger, and leading the OP to believe that doesn't help his situation any.

Of course it's "nitpicking" ... who, other than the purists, said anything about a "full" recahrge? The OP apparently now has a set of 6 volt Trojans and an EU2000i to recharge them with, all he has to do is plug his trailer into the the genset, run it ~ 3 hrs each morning, and he'll have plenty of battery reserve to get him through another 24, 48 hrs of dry camping, even more depending on use ... he can leave "full" recharge to when he gets home. What's so complicated about that? :h

[AH64ID]

dmullen wrote:

BubbaChris wrote:
I'd suggest you keep it on the simple side for a single 8-day trip. You don't need to change out your existing converter, 3 stage is good for this first trip. Do as suggested multiple times, use your shore cord through an adapter into the EU2000i.

You can give the converter a small advantage by not turning on Eco mode on the Honda for at least the 1st hour of charging each day.

Once you get through this trip, you can geek out over the options while planning more boondocking. One of the options I didn't see mentioned is buying the 12V Honda charging cables and running them straight to your batteries rather than going through any converter. But again, you don't need to weigh the pros/cons of this option for your first relatively short trip.

Thanks for the tip on the ECO mode.

That is not what ECO mode does. The generator output voltage is not linked to rpms.

Using ECO saves fuel with a constant load, or when cycling small loads. When large loads are cycling it is advised to turn ECO off so that the generator response time to the load decreases. A converter charging, even at full rate, is a constant draw and there won't be a difference ECO on or off unless there is an issue with the generator.

The charging 12V cables on the Hondas are 8A. They work in a pinch, but are slow.

[mich800]

dmullen wrote:

BubbaChris wrote:
I'd suggest you keep it on the simple side for a single 8-day trip. You don't need to change out your existing converter, 3 stage is good for this first trip. Do as suggested multiple times, use your shore cord through an adapter into the EU2000i.

You can give the converter a small advantage by not turning on Eco mode on the Honda for at least the 1st hour of charging each day.

Once you get through this trip, you can geek out over the options while planning more boondocking. One of the options I didn't see mentioned is buying the 12V Honda charging cables and running them straight to your batteries rather than going through any converter. But again, you don't need to weigh the pros/cons of this option for your first relatively short trip.

Thanks for the tip on the ECO mode.

I don't think the 12V option on the generator will yield anything. I am on my 8th year on my cheap Sam's Club golf cart (6volt) batteries with a similar set up as you. Never a problem charging or with my batteries. I just plug into the generator when I need 120v or charge my batteries and enjoy my private hideaway in the woods.

I also don't know what the advantage of turning eco off. The generator will supply the appropriate voltage eco or not. If you find you are not getting enough charge in the time you want or can run your generator address the issue at that point. But it is not necessary upgrading your converter/charger or supplementing with a standalone charger right away. See how it goes.

[dmullen]

BubbaChris wrote:
I'd suggest you keep it on the simple side for a single 8-day trip. You don't need to change out your existing converter, 3 stage is good for this first trip. Do as suggested multiple times, use your shore cord through an adapter into the EU2000i.

You can give the converter a small advantage by not turning on Eco mode on the Honda for at least the 1st hour of charging each day.

Once you get through this trip, you can geek out over the options while planning more boondocking. One of the options I didn't see mentioned is buying the 12V Honda charging cables and running them straight to your batteries rather than going through any converter. But again, you don't need to weigh the pros/cons of this option for your first relatively short trip.

Thanks for the tip on the ECO mode.

[kirkl]

Man you people can really confuse someone on this forum when theres really a simple solution which multiple people have reccomended including me.

[time2roll]

If the OP must go the portable route.... I recommend 40 amps rated.

If the Trojan pair are down to 50% charge it will still take 3+ hours to charge to 90+ %. A 10 amp charger will seem to take all day because it will.

[AH64ID]

jaycocreek wrote:
Instead of trying to nit~pik my post, why don't you address the opp and his question instead of taking this in another direction.

Contribute with your actual experiences on this topic would be nice and appreciated by the author.

If you read the thread you would know that has already been done.

It's not nitpicking, it is providing the OP with actual fact based information about his question. One simply cannot charge a 50% SOC 12V G27 battery to full in 3 hours with a 10A charger, and leading the OP to believe that doesn't help his situation any.

[jaycocreek]

Instead of trying to nit~pik my post, why don't you address the opp and his question instead of taking this in another direction.

Contribute with your actual experiences on this topic would be nice and appreciated by the author.

[AH64ID]

jaycocreek wrote:

It works for you and there is no disputing that but it's hard to recommenced something to others when you have no actual data of your own and the specifications are not even close to working as you described.

Okay, being exact, although I said "approximately" . What I found is exact and good to know for those that want to be exact in everything that they do! If "exactly" drained to 50% it will take 5 hours at 10 amps to be "exactly" 100% full.

I think 3~4 is close to 5 but hey.

5 hours is a 66% increase over 3 hours.. but hey. 5 vs 3 is big in terms of generator on time, and the resultant charge.

Yes, it would take 5 hours in a perfect world. As I mentioned most chargers do not charge at a fixed amperage they apply max amperage until the set voltage is obtained and then they taper amperage to maintain voltage (this can be seen in the graph I posted above). So 5 hours on a 10AH charger will not net 50AH on a 110AH battery, it will be lower.

Batteries can only be partially charged so many times before they need a full charge (12-18 hours of charge) so they do not develop a memory and lose capacity (AH).

[jaycocreek]

It works for you and there is no disputing that but it's hard to recommenced something to others when you have no actual data of your own and the specifications are not even close to working as you described.

Okay, being exact, although I said "approximately" . What I found is exact and good to know for those that want to be exact in everything that they do! If "exactly" drained to 50% it will take 5 hours at 10 amps to be "exactly" 100% full.

I think 3~4 is close to 5 but hey.

[AH64ID]

IMHO not knowing what's actually going on is complicated and leads to additional costs down the road. Proper battery care is essential for long batter life and really is simpler than not knowing what is going on. That is from years of experience paying attention to batteries vs being around those who don't. I don't even recall the list time we where not camping miles and miles from a current bush, sometimes for 8-10 days. I too have never been without power but was amazed at how bad the OE trailer gauges lie. They don't lie to the point of losing power but they do lie to the point of killing batteries faster than is needed. Car chargers are also known to charge a little hot which means the top charge lasts longer (false indications), but also at the cost of battery life.

To each their own, but it's really hard to tell someone how something works when your not really aware of what is going on.

Like I said, you are trying to tell me you get 15 mpg, but your odometer and gas gauge are broken and you use a pump that doesn't measure fuel dispensed.

It works for you and there is no disputing that but it's hard to recommenced something to others when you have no actual data of your own and the specifications are not even close to working as you described.

You have mentioned using an auto charger in conjunction with and stand alone to the converter. If you are using it in conjunction with it will shutoff prior to 100% charge every time because the voltage sensed is a false indication of battery SOC due to the converter providing voltage.

Contrary to what you may think using multiple chargers is not simpler than a single good charger. Even a crappy converter with a decent simple auto charger is more complicated than a single good converter.

[jaycocreek]

. You also haven't answered the question as to how you know the battery is at 100% SOC.

The battery charger shuts off when fully charged. This isn't rocket science and you don't need all the instruments and gadgets to survive off grid. People have been doing it for years without making it into more work than pleasure.

Yes, I rely on the modern battery charger and the battery Guage in the trailer and have never been left without power, ever! Neither have any of the loggers I lived and worked with off grid for months at a time without hookups, just I in the boonies.

The new breed of RVers/campers are over thinking and making things that are so simple, so complicated.

[jaycocreek]

dmullen wrote:
I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

And I was the first dish washer at the first Holiday Inn constructed in Boise. :B:B

Dang I'm old.

Back to topic.. The opp has everything he needs right now for eight day stays without hookups. I do it for longer periods with the same but 12 volt batteries instead.