Battery charging from 2000 W generator

[gbaldwin]

Does running generator for 2-4 hours per day do adequate job of charging battery? Should I do something more? Charger plugged into generator best? Rule of thumb as to when I should charge battery and is charging too often bad for battery?

[tomkatb]

A 2000 watt generator will power a converter to charge your batteries at its maximum amperage. Mine is 50 amps per hour(about 700 watts) A single 12 volt battery holds roughly 100 amps. Typically run down to ,50% one would assume a full charge in 1 hour. Not so.

To completely recharge a battery you first bulk charge at like 50 amps. However that will not recharge 100%. (Assumes wet cells)

To complete the recharge the charger shifts to a lower charge. For hours. Then A few amps trickle charging for likely a day. my battery monitor reads 13.6 on medium. 13.1 on trickle. Did not notice the max number. New monitor.

[gbaldwin]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

A 2000 watt generator will power a converter to charge your batteries at its maximum amperage. Mine is 50 amps per hour(about 700 watts) A single 12 volt battery holds roughly 100 amps. Typically run down to ,50% one would assume a full charge in 1 hour. Not so.

To completely recharge a battery you first bulk charge at like 50 amps. However that will not recharge 100%. (Assumes wet cells)

To complete the recharge the charger shifts to a lower charge. For hours. Then A few amps trickle charging for likely a day. my battery monitor reads 13.6 on medium. 13.1 on trickle. Did not notice the max number. New monitor.

thanks... a bit over my head here. So when without shore power I just run my generator occasionaly . Check the installed battery level indicator occasionally... if it gets low... (1/3) I run gererator a while. This doesnt sound so good based on what ive read here this morning?

[tomkatb]

I installed a Bluetooth battery monitor last week. Connected into the fuse panel in ten minutes. Thus, I can see what is going on now. $40 on Amazon. The green lights do not make me comfortable.

How much you need a generator a day depends on usage and battery size.

If you have a residential fridge you need much more recharge. Likel 1 hour twice a day. Dealer told you that.

We have a gas fridge and can run 3-4 days on our 4 six volt batteries if we are careful. Two or three hours then. 460 amps of batteries. Furnaces use a ton of power.

[richp]

Hi gbaldwin,


Allowing your battery to discharge below 50 percent will kill it pretty quickly.


Google up "12 volt battery state of charge" and see what the chart shows.


Hope this helps.


Rich Phillips

[gbaldwin]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

I installed a Bluetooth battery monitor last week. Connected into the fuse panel in ten minutes. Thus, I can see what is going on now. $40 on Amazon. The green lights do not make me comfortable.

How much you need a generator a day depends on usage and battery size.

If you have a residential fridge you need much more recharge. Likel 1 hour twice a day. Dealer told you that.

We have a gas fridge and can run 3-4 days on our 4 six volt batteries if we are careful. Two or three hours then. 460 amps of batteries. Furnaces use a ton of power.

I just have one 12v. and gas fridge.... I just read somewhere in here something that made me think my gererator running (normally 4 hrs a day or so) might not be fully charging my battery? I then read for the first time that I should never let charge go below 50%. Well I have let it go to about 1/3 several times over the past 2 years owning. I did have to replace the factory battery right w/in first 4-6 months. Notived that my indicator this past weekend never indicated full 100% charge.

[tomkatb]

You have to learn about batteries.

Discharging below 12.1 volts routinely shortens their lives. Diminishes capacity. Your 100 amp battery becomes a 90 amp. Until they hold little.

There are types of batteries. Most dealers install a boat battery in rv’s. This is a half car half deep cycle. Car batteries are different. They deliver mucho amps all at once to turn engines over in cold weather. Deep cycles are designed to discharge slowly. They take abuse better. Six volts take abuse best.

The green light thing I am not a fan to monitor my batteries.

When sitting in storage you need a battery disconnect. Or the parasitic loads will wipe the battery out.

[Flybob]

You are asking a question that there is no general answer for. How long you need to run the generator for is dependent on how much capacity you drew from the battery since the last charge. You really need a decent battery monitor to make that determination. In the mean time running 2 hrs a day is probably not sufficient unless you are using very little battery capacity. You seen to indicate you are using more than a little since you say occasionally drawn down to 30%. Also you can not run the generator too much ( overcharge) but you can run it too little. The batteries normally supplied with RVs do best when they are charged back to close to capacity rather than many partial charges.

[tomkatb]

You need to know the capacity of your batteries and amps used by items.

RV Converters and Amp Draw - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

Sort of informative.

Like said running a charger longer rather than often is better.

Lots to learn. These rv’s are a challenge to operate. Not so easy. Ain’t no plug and play. This site is very helpful. Lots of good information.

[gbaldwin]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

You need to know the capacity of your batteries and amps used by items.

RV Converters and Amp Draw - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

Sort of informative.

Like said running a charger longer rather than often is better.

Lots to learn. These rv’s are a challenge to operate. Not so easy. Ain’t no plug and play. This site is very helpful. Lots of good information.

I am learning that now and thanks to all of you for youre advice and sharing experiences.

[Blackrock]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

Does running generator for 2-4 hours per day do adequate job of charging battery? Should I do something more? Charger plugged into generator best? Rule of thumb as to when I should charge battery and is charging too often bad for battery?

Short answer; Yes it does. When I am boondocking and pretty much gone all day I will run the generator when I get back especially if the grandkids want to watch TV or a video and everyone wants to charge up their phones. When in the high country the heater will run at night so I will fire it up in the morning when I make my coffee. I have two good Interstate batteries that were new in 2016 and are still working.

[gbaldwin]

I noticed last year a TT camper neighbor had his 2000w generator positioned near his battery compartment, had a small battery charger plugged into it and hooked to his battery (s) ? also had generator plugged into his trailer plug. He said it was to get a quicker and fuller charge. Whats anyone think about this? effects on battery life, charging, ....

[Theo]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

{snip}...2000 amp generator...{/snip}

Pardon my pedantic nature but generators are generally referred to by their startup and continuous wattage (work) they can generate, not by the amps (current) they produce. I know, I've made the same mistake !

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

I noticed last year a TT camper neighbor had his 2000 amp generator positioned near his battery compartment, had a small battery charger plugged into it and hooked to his battery (s) ? also had generator plugged into his trailer plug. He said it was to get a quicker and fuller charge. Whats anyone think about this? effects on battery life, charging, ....

This does not make sense as both charger and converter have circuitry in them that determine the charge level based on the perceived battery voltage and one charger will confuse the other.

[gbaldwin]

Originally Posted by Theo

Pardon my pedantic nature but generators are generally referred to by their startup and continuous wattage (work) they can do, not by the amps (current) they produce. I know, I've made the same mistake !

Guilty as charged!!

[babock]

Just because your converter is rated for 50A does not mean that you will be getting 50A into your battery bank. If you have one 100AH battery, it's going to be a fraction of that. If you have a battery that is 50% discharged, A full charge is going to take a minimum 8 hours. You might get it up to 80% in 4 hours but likely even longer.

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/...d_acid_battery

[bikendan]

We've been dry camping for years and have a Honda 2000i.
Our best results are 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours before the end of generator hours.
We've always just plugged the shore cord into the Honda.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

Guilty as charged!!! and cant seem to edit the OP.

You only have a 2 hour window to edit. You have to request a mod to edit it.

[gbaldwin]

Originally Posted by bikendan

You only have a 2 hour window to edit. You have to request a mod to edit it.

Thats OK, give more experienced members something to laugh at!! But does look like someone got my back!?

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

I noticed last year a TT camper neighbor had his 2000w generator positioned near his battery compartment, had a small battery charger plugged into it and hooked to his battery (s) ? also had generator plugged into his trailer plug. He said it was to get a quicker and fuller charge. Whats anyone think about this? effects on battery life, charging, ....

I have fount this way to be the best way to get a good charge. They will charge faster than the on board charger,