Will Generator charge battery on 1989 travel trailer?

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bcraig

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I have a 1989 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx to be used camping when hunting and fishing on our farm.
I just Ordered a Champion 46539  3500/4000 Watt Genset with Remote start as I am a mile from electricity.
I am going to be running the Generator Nightly (8 Hours) to power an Oxygen Concentrator for sleeping only.
And for using the A/C when needed.

I dont know much about the camper or how it is used.
Will the generator charge The Deep Cycle battery on the camper as I sleep ?
 
If your house-battery(s) charge now when you plug the shore-power cord into an outlet or campground power pedestal, they will also charge from the generator when the shore-power cord is plugged into it. I'm curious as to how much power your oxygen concentrater draws (I know nothing about them.) Do you need to run a 3500 watt genset for eight hours to power it overnight, or could it be powered by an appropriately sized inverter and battery-bank?

Kev
 
Does the battery charge on shore power?  IF so than the generator will charge as well.

HOWEVER. in an 1989.... Odds are rather good you have an older Magnetek type converter.. This charges your batteries But it really is not all that good at it.. Replacing the back part (Electronics) with a progressive Dynamics 4600 module and a jumper wire... Will really help.  It will give you a faster charge, and keep your batteries happier, and make them last longer.
 
Manual says it will run 12 hours at 50% load on 3.8 gal. of gasoline.  Using $2.50 per gallon, 8 hours run time per day at 50% load the fuel cost would be ~$42 per week.  IF you could run your oxygen enriching machine off of the house batteries over night and use the generator to recharge the house batteries for 3 hours (?) a day you might save $20-$25 per week in fuel cost.  Something you might want to explore.
 
Kevin Means said:
If your house-battery(s) charge now when you plug the shore-power cord into an outlet or campground power pedestal, they will also charge from the generator when the shore-power cord is plugged into it. I'm curious as to how much power your oxygen concentrater draws (I know nothing about them.) Do you need to run a 3500 watt genset for eight hours to power it overnight, or could it be powered by an appropriately sized inverter and battery-bank?

Kev
I dont know yet if the house batt will charge or not when plugged in as i haven,t got a chance to plug it in yet.
When I get the gen in next week and plug into it how will I be able to tell if it is charging the Battery?
The Oxygen concentrator uses about 290 watts continous.
I got the genset to not only run the oxygen concentrator but to run the A/C when needed and hopefully keep the deep cycle battery charged while it is running at night.

Craig
 
John From Detroit said:
Does the battery charge on shore power?  IF so than the generator will charge as well.

HOWEVER. in an 1989.... Odds are rather good you have an older Magnetek type converter.. This charges your batteries But it really is not all that good at it.. Replacing the back part (Electronics) with a progressive Dynamics 4600 module and a jumper wire... Will really help.  It will give you a faster charge, and keep your batteries happier, and make them last longer.
I only have one battery and will be using it only for the lights basically as I will be running the fridge and stove off propane.
I am hoping it will work that way as I am spending too much already !! LOL
 
Len and Jo said:
Manual says it will run 12 hours at 50% load on 3.8 gal. of gasoline.  Using $2.50 per gallon, 8 hours run time per day at 50% load the fuel cost would be ~$42 per week.  IF you could run your oxygen enriching machine off of the house batteries over night and use the generator to recharge the house batteries for 3 hours (?) a day you might save $20-$25 per week in fuel cost.  Something you might want to explore.

The Oxygen concentrator uses about 290 continuous watts plus whatever the lights would use for say 2 hours a night plus taking a quick shower and running some type of small tv for an hour or so.

How many batteries would that take ?

Craig
 
Four 6volt GC2 batteries would probably do it without discharging them too deeply. If you ran your generator while cooking during the day, it would be able to charge your batteries to the point that the generator wouldn't be required at night. You would probably get by with 3 to 4 generator hours per day. A new multi stage converter would do a better job of charging.
 
Thanks
Do you think the Generator running for 8 hours the previous night will charge the Deep cycle marine battery I have enough to run a couple of lights and a tv for a couple of hours along with the water pump to take a shower the next night?
 
Craig, the "deep cycle marine battery" you mentioned may not be a true deep cycle battery. The term "deep cycle" gets thrown around a lot and confuses people - especially when its stenciled on the side of a battery that's sold in an auto parts store. Those batteries usually have an 80 to 85 AH capacity, whereas true deep cycle 12 volt batteries will be 105 AH or more. Six volt deep cycle batteries are usually rated at 220 AH or more. A lot of folks buy those marine batteries thinking they're getting something they're not. When we first started RVing several years ago, I went through four of them. None of them lasted more than two years.

Even so, if the battery you have is healthy, yes, your generator should be able to charge it enough in eight hours to power the things you mentioned - especially if you have one of the newer flat screen TVs. If you're still running an older CRT TV, pay close attention to your battery level indicator. Those older TVs can consume a lot of power.

Kev
 
Hi Kev

This is the battery I have.
I bought it 3 years ago and have never used it
It has been sitting on a piece of Plywood since I bought it.
I hope it is still good !
https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-27DC-6-Marine-Battery/16795212

Thanks
Craig
 
That's a loooong time for a battery to sit without being charged (I'm assuming it wasn't being charged) I'd definitely try charging it for a day or so before depending on it. After it's been charged, disconnect it from the charger and let it sit for an hour or more with nothing connected to it, then measure its voltage. It should be 12.6 or 12.7 volts. If it's less, it may not be able to hold a charge.

Kev
 
To give you an idea what Kevin means,, a normal lead acid battery will LOOSE 1 to 2 percent of its charge PER DAY while sitting without a charger.  After three years its been a goner for a long time, and leaving it in that condition for an extended period makes it trashworthy.>>>Dan
 
Kevin Means said:
That's a loooong time for a battery to sit without being charged (I'm assuming it wasn't being charged) I'd definitely try charging it for a day or so before depending on it. After it's been charged, disconnect it from the charger and let it sit for an hour or more with nothing connected to it, then measure its voltage. It should be 12.6 or 12.7 volts. If it's less, it may not be able to hold a charge.

Kev


I put an old Schumacher 2/15/125 Manual charger on the battery about 3 hours ago.
When I first put the charger on the battery the meter on the charger showed what I would Judge to be about 8 amps.
I set the charger to charge at 15 amps and just checked it and it is at just about 5 amps.

Think I may get lucky and still have a good battery?

I got another question,At the rate it is charging it will be 3 or 4 am before it gets charged.
The charger is an old Manual only charger so it wont shut off automatically when /if the battery is fully charged.
Thing is I intend to be asleep by 11:30 tonight

Will it hurt anything to leave the charger set on 15 amp on till say 7:30 Thursday morning ??

Thanks to all
Craig



 
i have had 7 different new and used generators in last 2 yrs of dry camping,, all of those chinese  made ones will do the trick.but will drive you crazy with there noise. for strickly battery charging, a 1000 is all you need, i found a used 1000 honda that u can not hear 30 ft away.that 3500 ,4500 Champion you are buying will have to be at least 100 ft away if you plan on sleeping.  best to get a good  20 amp battery charger and hook it up direct to your battery. will charge it 100 % in hour.  but if you can find a  Honda, or Yamaha or Polaris.  you can leave it run all night and still sleep.

 
kenvb said:
i have had 7 different new and used generators in last 2 yrs of dry camping,, all of those chinese  made ones will do the trick.but will drive you crazy with there noise. for strickly battery charging, a 1000 is all you need, i found a used 1000 honda that u can not hear 30 ft away.that 3500 ,4500 Champion you are buying will have to be at least 100 ft away if you plan on sleeping.  best to get a good  20 amp battery charger and hook it up direct to your battery. will charge it 100 % in hour.  but if you can find a  Honda, or Yamaha or Polaris.  you can leave it run all night and still sleep.

I am going to be using the generator not only to charge the Battery but to run the AC when it is hot and to run the Oxygen concentrator I spoke of and the Lights .
Probably The fridge also .
I would have to spend way too much to buy enough batteries Just to be able to run Just the concentrator for 8 hours.
I am used to hearing the oxygen concentrator run at night plus a fan.
I started the Generator a couple of days ago and with the generator 25 foot or so away I don't think noise will be a factor at all.
Then I went in the house about 15 ft away and it got quieter.
 

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