Honda Generator owners
Submitted: Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 10:52
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Member - Brian
Morning all ,
just wondered how Honda generators owners find/found the length of the 12v chord from the genny to the battery that needs charging . Tried connecting
mine up to where the battery was situated in the van , just about had to put the genny in the doorway of the van and all because of the short power chord they supply .
No i didnt have access to 240 power which i would normally plug into the outside of the van and run my charger chord from inside power point to the battery .
Thoughts please ?
Reply By: pop2jocem - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 14:11
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 14:11
Brian,
Maybe it's because I just woke up from my Poppy nap so please forgive me If I am not interpreting your meaning correctly.
Now I was of the opinion that the 12v outlet on the Honda gennys was mostly to provide a power source, and a small one at that, rather than charging batteries, so I went and had another read of the handbook. Honda say that the 12v outlet can be used for battery charging.
Apart from that you say you would normally use a 240v supply to charge your batteries so I am assuming your van has an on board battery charger like
mine and most others with house batteries.
So why not start your genny and plug the 240v into the van and charge that way?
They do supply 12v and 240v.
Cheers
Pop
AnswerID:
534788
Follow Up By: olcoolone - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 16:39
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 16:39
Yes correct......
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Follow Up By: Member - Brian - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 18:24
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 18:24
And thank you Pop , the separate charger that i do have is not very big although it has stages , i will have to invest in a bigger charger , so thanks mate . There are no smart comments from you
FollowupID:
818563
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew & Jen - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 19:24
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 19:24
Brian
If my memory serves me correctly, I recall the spec stating 8amps @ 12v. Now I have never used my 12v outlet, let alone checked the actual voltage. If it is indeed 12.0v, that is not much good for charging 12v batteries. And 8 amps is also not much chop either for a large-ish battery.
If you have a multi-stage 240v charger, it would have to be fairly small not to deliver, at least initially,
well in excess of 8amps on the bulk cycle.
Do you use the 240v charger at the moment when you have access to 240v main power? If so and it chargers successfully, you will get the same result from the Honda 240v
Cheers
Andrew
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818567
Follow Up By: Member - Brian - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 20:49
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 20:49
Thanks Andrew , i appreciate your thoughtfull comments , i'm not sure but think the little charger i have is only 4 amp but will
check , pretty sure a bigger one is needed
FollowupID:
818579
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew & Jen - Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 21:20
Sunday, Jun 22, 2014 at 21:20
Brian, if it is only 4 amp and the battery something like 75 a/h or more, you should find that a 15 amp multi stage Ctek would do the job OK. IMHO a 4 amp is a trickle charger that would struggle in a van, particularly if there is a current draw on the battery such as a small compressor fridge (Waeco, Engel, etc) plus lights.
Cheers
Andrew
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818580
Follow Up By: Member - Brian - Monday, Jun 23, 2014 at 13:26
Monday, Jun 23, 2014 at 13:26
Thanks for your input Andrew & Jen , Travis , just checked on my little charger ( Projecta/Procharge ), it is only a 4 amp charger and suitable only for lead/acid batteries which would mean i couldnt use it to charge an AGM battery ??
In hindsight ( wonderful thing ) i should have bought the 20 amp one in the first place but didnt realise at the time , although this little 4 amp charger can still be handy , the money which wasnt all that cheap could have been spent better !!
FollowupID:
818612
Reply By: Travis22 - Monday, Jun 23, 2014 at 12:04
Monday, Jun 23, 2014 at 12:04
I have tested our honda generators 12V output and the results were terrible.
Basically the only way it comes close to the specified output is at full RPM. At full RPM I measured around 6-7A.
On Eco mode, the generator put out 1-2A.
And as already mentioned, the output is unregulated. I use a 15A Ctek charger with the generator normally, I learnt the hard way how bad the onboard 12V supply is when I deliberately left the Ctek at
home and planned to just just the geni on it's own to top up our aux battery one weekend.
4hrs of running at full RPM right in the middle of
camp... Never again!!
Travis.
AnswerID:
534858