Bob Vaughn
Seffner, Fl.
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For those who boondock and only rely on 12volt power what size generator is required to recharge the camper batteries???
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SKnight
Georgia
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Joined: 07/11/2008
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A 1000 watt genset will run things and the converter will charge the batteries.
What I do is use a regular battery charger and don't plug the camper in. Seems to work better for me, but I also have three batteries to recharge.
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See a guy in the campground with a telescope, that may be me.
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bikendan
Napa, Cal.
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you could use a Honda 650 to re-charge the batteries.
the question is: is that all you'll use it for? do you want to run the microwave or a TV or hair dryer? a 1000 will only charge the batteries and maybe run the TV.
i bought a Honda 2000. this will run everything except the a/c. and the price difference between the 1000 and 2000 is not much.
i dry camp but don't boondock. at least, not yet.
if you plan to really boondock, meaning away from other campers, then you can get away with a louder and cheaper generator.
if you are going to be in campsites, like a state park, that's dry camping, not boondocking. you'll need a quieter generator.
Dan- Firefighter , Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur , Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever , 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
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MrWizard
Van Nuys, Ca
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size the generator to match the batteries needed for the power you use daily
everybody has different needs
back when i was young before PC's and cell phones, we spent most of our time outside and night time inside was reading etc..
we needed very little battery power, 40 yrs later its a lot different
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother
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ktmrfs
Oregon
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depends on what you have for a battery charger. I have a progressive dynamics 45A charger. At least the older ones have a terrible power factor, 0.75 and draw about 1100VA (800watts) on full charge. That is way over what a honda 1000 can deliver (100VA peak, 800VA running IIRC). The honda 2000 will run it fine along with a few other things. Nice thing about a honda 2000 is that it will also run coffee pots, hair dryer with some spare power and many microwaves if nothing else is on, or will run a small A/C like a coleman power cub with power for a few extras as well. Another option is the yamaha 2400. I've got the honda 2000 and am glad I spent the exta few $$ for the 2000 over the 1000.
remember, inverter generators may advertize "watts" but it is really "volt-amps". It's only watts for a pure resistive load, and there aren't many of those you will find. (incandesent lights and resistance element heaters are a few,) Most electronic devices draw more current than a calculated from the nameplate "watts" sometimes as much as 30+%, then you need to see what starting currents are as well to make sure they don't overload a generator.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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1000w (900va rated) will power up to about 45 amp rating into the battery. If you have a higher amp converter you will need 1700/2000 watts. For fast charging you need a multistage converter that will get up into the 14.2+ volt range.
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MudChucker
Winnipeg Manitoba
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we have a 2500 watt china geny that we use to keep our batteries charged and to run our AC for an hour before going to bed on hot nights...I wouldnt buy cheap again, next season Im going to have one of those yamaha 3000 watt units..I met someone this year that had one and standing beside it you were only just aware that it was running...
I just plug the TT into the generator and let it run for about 6 hours to fully charge the battery...
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toolman1
Cerritos, CA.
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.......and my 370 Watts of Solar charges my batteries, most often by 10:30AM daily. No need what-so-ever for fossil fuel burning alternative sources, or bothering the neighbors w/ any sort of genny racket.
See ya out there!!
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revump
Las Vegas
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In our MH, we have a 7.5 gen. When we camp in my son's TT, we use a Honda 2000. We run it all night.
Bob
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ktmrfs
Oregon
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smkettner wrote:1000w (900va rated) will power up to about 45 amp rating into the battery. If you have a higher amp converter you will need 1700/2000 watts. For fast charging you need a multistage converter that will get up into the 14.2+ volt range.
45A charger is iffy with a 1000VA generator. My PD45A charger draws 1100VA at 40A output. It's a few years old w/o any power factor correction (PF< 0.7!), hopefully newer ones are better. With decent PF correction it would probably be ok. There was a post a year or so ago about someone trying to run the PD45A charger on a honda 1000 and keep tripping the generator. To be safe I'd stay with a 30A charger with a 1000VA inverter generator.
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