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Old 05-18-2019, 08:51 PM   #1
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Question What is the power source (Battery) for the Generator?

I am in the process of getting an Isata-5 MH with the 8K generator installed. When the generator needs to run/start which battery does it use? The house batteries or the chassis battery?

I ask in reference to the use of the Auto Start fetcher (AGS). If the house batteries are the source and they are down to say 11.9 or so will that be enough to start the generator especially on a cold night of boon docking (below 30).
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Old 05-19-2019, 07:47 AM   #2
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of course there could be an exception, but in general the generator is connected to the house batteries.
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Old 05-19-2019, 09:03 AM   #3
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House batteries is correct
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Old 05-20-2019, 09:23 AM   #4
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House...but if those are dead, you can use the emergency start switch to pair the house and chassis for a temporary boost.
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Old 05-20-2019, 09:40 AM   #5
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What is the Power Source (Battery)

Thanks for your answers to my question. Does anyone know how low the battery voltage (Minimum Voltage)can be before the generator will not be able to start, lots of variables to this too I know, rough guesses? 10 volts or so?
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Old 05-20-2019, 11:17 AM   #6
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at 10V, I'd say the battery was dead. I would think anything lower than high 11's would be an issue.
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Old 05-20-2019, 11:55 AM   #7
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one of our earliest learning 'situations' with our battery levels and the AGS was a very COLD, WET, and ICY overnight in the corporate parking lot of Walmart in Bentonville...

I didn't realize yet that the battery level was critical to starting the Generator, until it couldn't. : /

but, I also found out about the AUX(battery tie-together) switch, and voila!... it cranked.
My battery levels had fallen to below 11.0 volts.

I read up the next day and found that I should set my LBCO(low battery cut out) to above this number, which I now set at 11.5 volts, in order for the Inverter to never 'drain' the batteries so low that the AGS can not start the Generator.
If my electricity goes off, especially the TV and Sat receiver, I know I've lost 120v power, and I immediately go to my MAGNUM Inverter Panel - to find the LBCO has triggered to cut OFF the Inverter, with a red light alert as well.

I generally keep the AGS set to 12.0 volts...with 30min Run Time, which works fine for us. Some others would suggest much long run times, but we don't like our generator to run as long, but more often is o.k.


As long as the House battery bank is above 11 volts, we've never had any issue starting the Generator, especially when the generator has been used 'recently', is still 'warm', and the fuel to the generator has not had much time to slowly drain down it's fuel tube, which is drawn from the main fuel tank. When it does, or the generator has not been started for a long time, it can take some time for the 'priming' to get the fuel back up to the generator, which is why sometimes you have to hold the GENERATOR switch for up to 30 seconds to start it. Most of the time after the generator has been used recently, though, it will crank almost immediately.

Realize that most everything in your coach runs off the HOUSE battery bank, including the Radio/Video monitor, propane/smoke detectors, fans, lights, water pump, Thermostat, Furnace ignitor and blower, awning, slides, and sometimes even your bedroom TV(Jensen 12v brand)...

and only a few other items actually are powered by the CHASSIS/Vehicle batteries - such as the STEPS(tied to the ignition), Engine Starting, etc...

have fun! : )
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Old 05-20-2019, 12:22 PM   #8
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Being an old "Belt and Suspenders guy" I'd have a separate battery for the generator if I had room for one.

My Mother used to have a Motorhome that she and her second husband traveled the country in. More than once they couldn't start generator OR coach engine as ALL batteries were dead.

Perhaps a SLA battery just large enough to start generator and a battery minder.

But that perhaps is just me, not wanting to get caught with my pants down

My current generator, albeit a portable, has both battery AND pull start. Just right.
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Old 05-20-2019, 12:44 PM   #9
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...actually, you do. The AUX, or sometimes labeled 'emergency start' switch, basically gives you the ability to use the CHASSIS batteries to help start the generator...tying together the HOUSE and CHASSIS battery banks. No handpull needed. : )
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:39 PM   #10
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Quote:
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...actually, you do. The AUX, or sometimes labeled 'emergency start' switch, basically gives you the ability to use the CHASSIS batteries to help start the generator...tying together the HOUSE and CHASSIS battery banks. No handpull needed. : )
Very true IF--------- ALL the batteries aren't dead. In that case all the emergency start switch does is tie all the dead batteries together if you can get enough power to even operate the solenoid/relay that performs this task.
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:41 PM   #11
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right, but the same is true in your situation, too... a dead battery is a dead battery, whether 'tied in' from the other battery bank, or a dedicated 'gen only' battery....
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:49 PM   #12
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another option, which i have had to do, is to use auto jumper cables from an auto battery. connect them right up to the generator 12 terminals. you may have to leave them attached for a minute or two as the auto transfer switch has to switch to generator power and the converter has to start furnishing 12 power needed to run the generator until the batteries get some charge in them.
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Old 05-20-2019, 02:00 PM   #13
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right, but the same is true in your situation, too... a dead battery is a dead battery, whether 'tied in' from the other battery bank, or a dedicated 'gen only' battery....
Agreed but a dedicated generator battery is less likely to be drawn down by someone leaving a light on, etc. Many MH's have all kinds of accessory wiring and added switches that can be left on, killing the starting battery.

House batteries are notoriously abused by running them well below the ideal 50% DOD. Add to this poor maintenance like letting electrolyte levels drop, corrosion to build on terminals. and the fact that sometimes batteries just fail.

Can't prevent ALL failures but the more backups one has the less chance of "being left in the dark".

For years I had a twin engine cruiser and it was just too darn big (13 tons) to row or paddle so I made sure I would always have starting power. Getting jumper cables long enough to go from boat to boat is difficult
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Old 05-20-2019, 03:05 PM   #14
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I know about dead batteries, been there done that a couple times in a previous life. That switch that ties the batteries to get operates a relay and if both batteries are dead or low. Guess what happens next.
This I why I asked my first question about setting the low voltage point for the AGS function. 11.50 seems about as low as anybody should go.
That’s for the help guys.
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Old 05-20-2019, 11:11 PM   #15
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It's usual, in a class A motor home, for the alternator to charge the house batteries. I had a situation on my last trip where shore power failed and my inverter kicked in which prevented me knowing that I'd lost shore power. When the inverter drew down the house batteries to the point where the house battery voltage dropped low enough that my LED lignts started blinking, I realized that I had a problem.



I was unable to exit the rv (medical issue) to change the power cord from shore power to generator. As an alternative, I started the chassis engine and ran the inverter off of the power generated by the engine alternator which also recharged the house batteries.


It's also interesting that the chassis engine, much larger than the generator, also produces less noise than the generator. That's actually to be expected because the engine exhaust system is designed to better muffle exhaust noise than that from the generator.



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