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Old 07-04-2018, 09:04 PM   #1
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Charging battery question

For you experienced boondockers running g a generator which of the following ways is the best way to charge your batteries:

Charge off the house trickle charger when hoojed up to the genny,
Use the genny's 12 volt connection ,
Or
Plug in a portable battery charger to the genny?

When I say house charger most RVs have an onboard charger to keep the batteries charged while connected to shore power.
I Would think the direct 12 volt connection to the genny would be the most effecient. What say you guys?
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Old 07-04-2018, 09:43 PM   #2
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NEVER use the 12v connection, it's the worst way to recharge a battery. You'd be better off using jumper cables off the tow vehicle.
We just plug the shore cord into the generator. Worked for us for 15 years.
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Old 07-05-2018, 06:35 AM   #3
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Thanks! I appreciate it.
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Old 07-11-2018, 10:39 PM   #4
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Plug your shore power cord into the generator. The converter is going to charge it. Better and faster than any battery charger.
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Old 07-12-2018, 08:47 AM   #5
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Solar is the best way set it and forget it!
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Old 07-12-2018, 10:16 AM   #6
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Solar is the best way set it and forget it!
Thread is about charging with a generator. One day all of us will have solar..... When the price is right
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Old 07-12-2018, 10:41 AM   #7
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Just be aware that WFCO brand converter/charger units have poor performance. They usually do not charge at "Bulk" rate unless they sense less than 12.0 volts at the battery, which is the 50% state of charge that you should go below for decent battery life. This means that charging times are very long, compared to a decent converter or dedicated automotive charger.

I use a single battery rated at 75 Amp Hours and an automotive charger that outputs 14.4 volts. This gives me a charge rate of approx. C/8, which is considered optimal. After 2-3 hours I disconnect the charger and let the WFCO converter finish the charging at 13.6 volts.
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Old 07-12-2018, 11:04 AM   #8
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Just be aware that WFCO brand converter/charger units have poor performance.
Actually, WFCO converters have good performance, they just get a bad rep on forums for some unknown reason. Thousands of us use them with no problems.

We boondock for weeks at a time with 2 series 27 marine batteries. Recharge them daily by running generator an avg of 5 hours a day. Which we would do anyway.

Do aftermarket converters work better/faster? Some do, but you pay for that.

WFCO converters work just fine for the great majority of us
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Old 07-12-2018, 11:05 AM   #9
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Thread is about charging with a generator. One day all of us will have solar..... When the price is right
I know I know...I guess these threads are all work and no play...
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Old 07-12-2018, 11:14 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Smokyroo View Post
For you experienced boondockers running g a generator which of the following ways is the best way to charge your batteries:

Charge off the house trickle charger when hoojed up to the genny,
Use the genny's 12 volt connection ,
Or
Plug in a portable battery charger to the genny?

When I say house charger most RVs have an onboard charger to keep the batteries charged while connected to shore power.
I Would think the direct 12 volt connection to the genny would be the most effecient. What say you guys?
I have done both. Used the normal RV power cord and a direct to the battery charger. I honestly couldn't see much of a difference between them, meaning my batteries seemed to charge to roughly the same percentage. However, charging via the power cord will give you added functionality in the RV depending on the size of your genny. Meaning you can run something inside while running the generator.

There will be a lot of good information here...good luck.
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Old 07-12-2018, 02:58 PM   #11
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Does the charger in the rv have 3 or 4 modes, bulk, absorb, float, equlize, or does it just put out a fixed voltsge? I had a trailer with the charger that putout 1 voltage and that did not work well. I had a choice to change the trailer charger or bringma dedicatef charger. Since i was running Odyssey AGMs. Imbouht an Odyssey. Harger and plugged that inti the generator.
A lot of the charging decisions will be driven by the type of battery and the battery mfr reccome dations and how long you want the batteries to last before replacement,
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Old 07-12-2018, 03:03 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Jeffjeeptj View Post
Does the charger in the rv have 3 or 4 modes, bulk, absorb, float, equlize, or does it just put out a fixed voltsge? I had a trailer with the charger that putout 1 voltage and that did not work well. I had a choice to change the trailer charger or bringma dedicatef charger. Since i was running Odyssey AGMs. Imbouht an Odyssey. Harger and plugged that inti the generator.
A lot of the charging decisions will be driven by the type of battery and the battery mfr reccome dations and how long you want the batteries to last before replacement,
The OPs rig is a 2011, so should have a modern converter.
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Old 07-12-2018, 03:14 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by NMWildcat View Post
Actually, WFCO converters have good performance, they just get a bad rep on forums for some unknown reason. Thousands of us use them with no problems.

We boondock for weeks at a time with 2 series 27 marine batteries. Recharge them daily by running generator an avg of 5 hours a day. Which we would do anyway.

Do aftermarket converters work better/faster? Some do, but you pay for that.

WFCO converters work just fine for the great majority of us
Well wfco has warrantied my converter twice for not going into bulk mode and neither one has fixed the issue. It will not charge more than 25 amps and is rated for 55 amps. It will spike at 50 amps when first turned on but will quickly drop and never go into bulk charge voltage.

It will have to go this fall. It can’t sustain the amperage required for my heat pads to stop freezing.
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Old 07-12-2018, 03:17 PM   #14
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Well wfco has warrantied my converter twice for not going into bulk mode and neither one has fixed the issue. It will not charge more than 25 amps and is rated for 55 amps. It will spike at 50 amps when first turned on but will quickly drop and never go into bulk charge voltage.

It will have to go this fall. It can’t sustain the amperage required for my heat pads to stop freezing.
Guess you are just unlucky
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Old 07-18-2018, 06:15 AM   #15
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I found a battery charger plugged into the generator will top off batteries quicker. At least in my situation. Still have to run the generator, and I'm not fortunate to have a quiet one for this reason I went solar.
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