Thread: Charging batteries with a generator

Walker

If you are only going to use the generator for charging batteries then why not consider solar. More expensive upfront but in the long run cheaper.

My friend Wayne has 2 large solar panels on the roof of his Rangie, this supplies sufficient power to run his large Waeco fridge, keep the car topped up and run his Barrett HF and other transceiver radios. It also makes no noise and uses no fuel. If you use LED lamps you can also save on the size of your battery.

On your camper trailer they could be mounted over the top when travelling and repositioned when stopped and erected. They will also keep the battery/ies charged between trips.

Regards
Diana

Yeah, I have thought of this and I agree, it probably is the best option.......but $$$$$$.

Maybe later on I will do it. It would mean removing the panels everytime we stopped and making up some sort of rack to hold them above the rooftop tent.

if your battery is big enough why not set up an aux charging feed from the vehicle?

my elcheapo 600w genny takes about 12 hours to charge my deep cycle battery from dead (10.8ish v) on the 8a built in charger and about 4 on my 30a 240v charger. end charge is 14.2v nominal

I only use the 8amp charger if I need the 240v for something else as the genny will just charge when im not making full draw on the 240v side or when i have the load off, drilling holes or between grinds.

the genny is one of those scorpian jobbies you can now get from super cheap, bunnings, and aldi.

individually it runs my 6 inch grinder (just),drill, 500 halogen worklight and the 30a battery charger.

Yes, I was reading that you should not charge up batteries from the 12v side of a generator.

I would use a 3 step 240v charger with the Generator. If it only took 1-2 hours to charge up a partially drained battery then it would be ok. The AGM batteries will charge up a lot quicker than other types as they can take a much higher charge current. Also would not expect the battery to get that low if charged up every day.

When the trailer deep cycle was in good order it would run the fridge radio and 2 fluros for just on 3 days before the low volt cut out shut it down. as my charger is VERY primitive dad made me up a regulator do hicky that plugs inbetween the battery and 12-14.8vdc Dont ask me how, it did its dohickery and the battery was looked after.

My charging times were from low voltage cutout untill the dohicky charge light said it was full.

Hi Adam, this is just a suggestion.

You already have an auxiliary battery in the rear of your disco and as you are getting a battery charger, why not get an inverter instead of the generator, and use the auxiliary battery in the disco to power the inverter and just run an ordinary everyday 240v extension cord over to the charger in the trailer, to charge the trailer’s battery.

Lots of advantages to this type of set-up.

Cheers.

The only thing I don't like about this is that the rear battery seems to have enough trouble on it's own just looking after the fridge.

Also, don't the battery charger need a fair bit of power? I already have a 600w inverter but at 240v that is only 2.5A, it seems a very inneficient use of power. But it is an interesting idea. So you didn't like the generator idea?

I guess I like the generator idea because it allows you to have power even if you don't go driving for a few day. Solar would do a similar thing.

I was trying to find some info on the Christie Generator which is a dedicated petrol powered 12v battery charger. It is meant to fully charge up a battery in 1 hour. Sounds expensive though.


On a similar note, what battery would people recommend? I have the Exide Orbital Blue top in the back of the Disco but I have never really been happy with it but it is the only AGM battery I could find at the time that fitted into the rear bins.

Hi again, no matter what type of battery you get, if it’s been discharged to anything under 80% of it’s full charged state, ( 20% used ) then it will take more than an hour to recharge it and at 50% or less, at least 2 to 3 hours charging is needed, depending on the battery and that’s just to put the bulk of the capacity back, not to fully charge it.

I’m not against generators and it doesn’t matter what means you use to charge a battery, if the battery is flat or fairly low, it’s going to take hours to recharge not an hour.

Before you get a battery, or if you already have one, go to the battery’s manufacture’s web site and you should get a better idea of the time needed to charge the battery.

Cheers.