Generator Questions

A little question (pushing the edges of on topic). I plan to use the little 1KW for charging the house batteries. It has a 12V outlet that's only 8 amps.I probly get more than that from the alternator while driving, however that's not quite enough for our purposes.
I plan to use the 110vac output of the genny to power a battery charger. Most of these chargers are limited to 10 to 15 amps max. I plan to build my own charger which will do a decent job.
The question is what would the safe maximum rate of charging (amps) without boiling the batteries?  If I hold the charging voltage at a constant 14V would that achieve what I want?

Cheers
Willis

The question is what would the safe maximum rate of charging (amps) without boiling the batteries?  If I hold the charging voltage at a constant 14V would that achieve what I want?

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Battery charging is a very complex subject and I would not want to go into it too far here. The proper voltage depends on the state of charge and the type of battery as well as the temperature.  In broad terms, when the battery is low it can accept high voltage and quite a bit of charge current. As the charge builds up, both the voltage and current needs to be reduced. 14.0-14.5v is OK at first, but it should finish off at somewhere around 13.1-13.6v.  You should Google battery charging and learn about bulk, acceptance and float charging for the various types of batteries before you build your own charger.

Thanks Gary, I guess you could say the charger is for fast charging, I could also put it through the converter, that's a solid 13.6v. Most of the automotive chargers are just not up to the job of charging Deep Cell batteries when they are down to 12V. Every one I've tried usually charge for a long period of time, then before they are charged the yellow light comes on indicating there's something wrong with the batteries. I took the batteries to the shop where I bought them and the man said all that was wrong with them was they needed charging. I told him about my chargers, he laughed and said when these cells get low you have to use a real battery charger. He re charged the batteries and no problem. They are US2200 6v batteries. The internal circuitry of the chargers senses a problem when charging a true deep cell, that would have been ok with a marine battery. (at least that's how I understand it)
When the batteries are down to 12v or close, and we are doing a lot of traveling they charge enough for our next use. However we plan to do some dry camping and they will require some external means of charging. 
I have a B&S 3 1/2hp and a GM alternator which would do the job, however I just don't have the time to get it built before the next trip. 
I do have a unit in use for when the rig is not in use that monitors the battery condition. It starts off at 14.5v (I think) monitors the charge and condition then floats at 13.2v

You should Google battery charging and learn about bulk, acceptance and float charging for the various types of batteries before you build your own charger.

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yep good advice, I'll do that and pick out what I need, most likely a regulator for GM alternator will do the job for me (and I've got quite a few of those).

Cheers
Willis

You should Google battery charging and learn about bulk, acceptance and float charging for the various types of batteries

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Yee! Gads I see what you mean. Lots to think about. For the near future I guess I'll just use the converter for doing the charging, it'll have to do.

Thanks Gary
Willis

Why not replace the converter with a good one, e.g. a Progressive Dynamics with the Charge Wizard feature or a Xantrex Tru-charge? A 50-60A three stage converter will charge them quickly without boiling. See them at Best Converter.

The maximum rate of charge varies a bit from battery type to battery type. XANTREX suggests 30% of capacity for most RV type batteries (Less for Gel Cells)  What this means is if your battery is rated 100 amp hours at the 20 hour rate, charge at 30% or 30 amps.

The 12 volt outlet on that kilowatt generator is good for running a 12 volt trouble light, not much of anything else, I'd not bother with it for battery charging or any serious use..

When I used a kilowatt Genrac to charge my house batteries... I just plugged in to the 120 volt outlet with an adapter cord (The outlet was a 15 amp type) and plugged in my Progressive Dynamics 9180 with charge wizard to the adapter (Which had a 20 amp type outlet) in either case the 10 amp breaker was small enouth to protect the outlets.  Small enough to protect the generator (I know, tripped it more than once) and big enough to carry the converter

I would recommend nothing bigger than 60 amps for a kilowatt generator though

Hi Gary, I picked this one, but now I'll have to see if it will fit. Space is at a premium in our little rig.
Is my choice OK?
These things will cost about double $$ here north of the boarder and would be a special order in this neck of the woods.  At present the batteries are on a new Batt. maintainer so are quite safe for now. The last one was a charger all the bells and whistles microprocessor controlled, maintainer different rates of charging %, voltage and current readouts etc. lots of buttons for selecting.  About a month ago we could hear a beeping coming from the RV, it was the LP detector it didn't like the 15.5 volts it was getting so now I'm a bit shy about those units that can do everything.
For the time being while on the road I'll use the converter (max 13.6v output but I don't know the current rating) with the li'll noise maker for charging and during our trip West, I'll pick up a Progressive Dynamics with the Charge Wizard. I'm sure one will be available in one of the larger cities where I'll be touring.

Thanks John, the US2200 batteries are 225ah (20hr)  so that would be 67.5 amps,  no wonder the dinky chargers were timing out, they're just not up to the job "like the man said"
Yes the 12v output is just a little more than a trickle charger, a waste of gas to use it for charging and the 110 vac output isn't enough to run our microwave. So the little gen has limited use. I can get about a week on the road then the house batteries need recharging, so with the little genny running each day need never get down to that discharge level while on the road.

Cheers
Willis

Well. I'm not Gary but I've done a lot, and I mean a LOT of research on converters for RV use.

And you have chosen well grasshopper.

There is no single unit that I'd call "Best" however there are a few that share that rating.. That's one of them.

Good one - you have chosen one of the best on the market.

Check around and see if one of the online retailers will ship to Canada. Should save you some bucks. Might find one (or an equivalent) on Ebay too.

online retailers will ship to Canada.

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LOL  ;D you have to be joking I ordered a 2 1/2" cast iron pulley (not a very big package and it cost me $50,  $18 for the pulley the rest was shipping.  Thats when our $loonie was worth a lot more than it is today. ( $ was at par, I believe) If you think the oil companies are gougers, I assure they take second place to Canada Post 
I'll look into it though as there's usually a way to beat the system and the Loonie will appreciate in value in the near future (as is forecast)

Cheers Willis 

The shipping weight of the pulley was 2 lb  

I've done some research and these units can be obtained from at least 4 dealers in our Prov.
$365 plus 14% VATax. When I'm in Alberta I can save at least 9% of the tax. not a lot but any shipping costs will also be eliminated. If I purchased from the USA there'd  be no warranty and the extra cost of shipping (like UPS broker charges) would end up costing more than if I purchased it here.
Life's like that sometimes  ;D

Cheers
Willis

What can I tell you? Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay...

Well it's really not as bad as it seems. Our Loonie $ is in a nose dive,following the oil, maybe worth 70 against the US$ so in US $ that's only $255.50  :  not that it makes it any cheaper north of the border but then again it's much cheaper than ordering one from the US, so I guess that's supposed to make us feel better about it.  ;D
Well my mind is made up, I'll be buying the PD9260C and come hell or high water I'll find the space to install it.
So Gary and John you have my thanks for the help in selecting the correct answer to my problem, that unit has the capacity to load the little genny close to it's limit, so that's about  92% of it's capability. I do believe this will work out fine. Now what'll I do with that $50 pulley?  ;D

Thanks
Willis