Battery charging

I recall reading somewhere here that the Honda puts out 8 amps unregulated. That is, it's keeps on pumping in 8 amps regardless of the battery's capacity to handle the current. It would be better to hook a battery charger up to the generator. A battery of that size will need to be hooked up to the charger for at least 24 hours to achieve full charge, as they only accept charge at a slow rate when nearly full. Same applies for the alternator on your car. It will initially charge very rapidly, and then slow down. Even though an alternator maybe rated anywhere from 55 - 100 amps, it will still take a full day's driving to fully charge a 135 a/h battery.

Keep the shiny side up.
Ferris

Check out Site Link This says it all

PeterD

Was half a sleep when posting the previous - This says it all regarding a generators 12 V output not charging batteries.

PeterD

Hi Richard

Battery systems often create lots of discussion on this site , but I think you'll find very few that would go for using the gennies direct output for charging
except in an emergency.

Robin Miller

I run an anderson plug on my cruiser to the C/T. It is just parrelled off my AUX battery (Both my AUX battery and the battery in the C/T are the exact same). When I know I'll be somewhere for a awhile I'll leave the anderson plug connected to double the trailer capacity.
Solar is also ery handy but on a camper can be difficult to store. However my father out law uses a solar panel to help charge up the trailer battery when it is not charging off the car.
We only use a battery charger when we are at an powered site.

Hi Rambler, you don’t post how long you actually have the battery charger connected to the battery.

An 8 amp battery charger will charge your battery, no matter how low the battery is but it will take time and putting a bigger charger on the battery will, depending on how low the battery is when you start to charge it, charge the battery quicker if the battery was fairly low.

If on the other hand, you use your 8 amp battery charger to keep the battery topped up rather than trying to charge the battery once it’s flat ( or low ), there will be little difference between your 8 amp charger or a bigger charge because the higher the State of Charge in your battery when your start charging it, the less current the battery will need and it’s the battery’s State of Charge that governs the amount of current going into the battery NOT the amount of current that a battery charger can produce.

Cheers

That really is the way to go Rambler , and by getting a proper high current 3 stage charger you will minimize your generator run time and fuel use.

While a 15amp is cheaper I'd go for at least a 25amp unit if you can.

Robin Miller

Hello Rambler, at this stage I would stick with the 8A charger, but maybe invest in an extra battery if you have the room....you say you sometimes use two engels, in which case will flatten one batt fairly quick...

I have 4 batts ( 35ah each ) in my camper with a 10A absorbed power charger and these run a Waeco 60ltr and lights for 4 days ( just )

As stated before you will need to run the charger for 6hrs ( or more ) to fully charge the batt..

Why not just run it for an hr or so every day ??

Are you travelling around or staying put in the one spot ?? Charge the batt off the 4x4 if you are moving around ?

A solar panel looks like the ideal answer ( unless it rains )

3 to 5 hrs should be enough !!!

Rambler Me again, We took Honda EU10i + a 3 stage 20amp charger from 12 volt shop + an Anderson plug around OZ 12 months. We set up camp turned the gen on & put on the bread maker + everything that needs charging, 3hrs + 5min latter bread cooked all batteries full (camera shaver laptop etc) then switch it all off for a quiet night. Electrical interference with the HF though. It all comes down to how long your staying in 1 place & what you like. PSA some Nat parks don't allow gen sets so just run your 4WD on idle to charge up. Rox