Engel 1000w Generators & battery charging
Submitted: Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 19:18
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itsdave
Has anyone had any experience with the above generators as they seem to sell for around $999 which I think is not a bad price.
Was considering solar panels but I need to charge 3 AGM batteries and I think solar may not have enough output to do the job without going overboard in the number of panels used.
Am I heading in the right direction by using a gennie and if so how does the Engel rate?
Any one have any helpful advice?
Cheers Dave
Reply By: Nomad 34 - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 22:08
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 22:08
I have had experience in both sola and gennie. I found I have had no problem with using my 1000w gennie with my 40ltr engel, but with a 1200w solar panel it only worked with no cloud cover. My gennie is a Honda which cost over $1000. With the amount of times I have used the gennie a $98.00 gennie from Bunnings would fit the bill.
Cheers Geoff
AnswerID:
295880
Reply By: GerryP - Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 22:55
Monday, Mar 31, 2008 at 22:55
Hi Dave,
I have an Engel 1000w and am happy with it. It's quiet and works
well on both the low load and high load speed settings. I did have a fuel leak somewhere inside after the first trip, but it was immediately replaced with a new one, no questions asked. In fact Engel rang me a month later for more details as they were sending it back to Japan for inspection in case it was a design issue that needed to be fixed.
I also have an 80 watt portable panel and find that keeps us going most of the time (unless it's raining or very overcast) so the gennie doesn't get much of a workout.
Cheers
Gerry
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295891
Reply By: Member - Andrew L (WA) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 14:58
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 14:58
I have found the Engle generators are good units. If you are using it to specifically charge batteries get a proper 3-stage battery charger and power it from the generator 240VAC rather than using the Engle 12V output to charge the batteries. This will provide a much faster recharge rate and ensure the batteries are charge to full capacity
leachy
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295959
Follow Up By: itsdave - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:27
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:27
This is what I was considering doing, using a 3 stage charger. Do you think it would be capable of charging 3 105 amp AGM"s all at once as I do at
home or am I pushing my luck with a gennie this size?
Cheers Dave
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew L (WA) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:47
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:47
It really depends what recharge rate you are after and hence what size battery charger you use.
I have used a 30Amp batery charger with the Engel 1000W generator and it worked fine. You should be able to go up to a 50Amp charger before needing more than a 1KA generator.
leachy
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew L (WA) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:48
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:48
If in doubt you could always hire one for a day and try it out.
Leachy
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562105
Reply By: Rod - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:19
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:19
Be aware that some Engle generators are not pure sine wave like Yamaha and Honda inverter models, hence cheaper. May be alright for batt charging though.
AnswerID:
295966
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:27
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 16:27
Have you considered a Christie's generator? (alternator running off a Honda motor at either 14 or 14.8volts). Output is much higher than any other system, so you don't need to run it as long. Downside is they are noisier.
http://www.christieengineering.com.au/
AnswerID:
295967