brinasmemaw
southern Oklahoma
Senior Member
Joined: 06/14/2003
View Profile
 Offline
|
I need some advice from you seasoned boondockers. We are currently in Alaska & the places that we fish do not have areas/parks with electrical hook ups so we boondock most of the summer. My question is, how long daily should I run my generator to keep a good charge in my batteries? I certainly don't want to kill my brand new batteries. I would be grateful for any knowledgeable help. Thanks, Mac
Mac & Becky
The world is like a book and those that don't travel read only a single page!!
2002 40' Holiday Rambler Endeavor
2004 Honda Pilot toad
|
jauguston
Bellingham, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/03/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
For best battery life discharge to 50% then recharge to 80%.
Jim, Sharon and Buddy the Yorkie
1999 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 31' ISB Cummins 210 uprated to 275
Trippe-Lite 1800w inverter 4-6v GC batteries
3- Kyocera 130w solar panels
1987 Suzuki Samurai tintop Toad w/VW 1.6 turbo diesel power
|
smkettner
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
You will need to post the make and model of the converter that is doing the charging and how many batteries you have.
2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 Lariat Offroad 4x4 Tow Package 4.10 Truetrac
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
12K SuperGlide, KGE3000Ti 2.3kw rated 2.6kw max
Frank's voltage booster, Prosine 1800 powered by 4 GC2 batteries
|
old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
Senior Member
Joined: 03/15/2006
View Profile
|
You can use a standard car battery charger, by standard I mean any charger that puts out at least 10 amp, more is better, the charger will tell you when the batteries are charged, then turn off the Gen.
|
nny12972
NY
Senior Member
Joined: 10/25/2006
View Profile
|
If you don't have a quality voltmeter or quality hydrometer, you need one or the other----50% would be approx. 12.2V, or approx. 1.15 specific gravity average of all cells. After awhile, you'll get used to what your DC usage translates to in genset run-time----or you can check out "The 12 Volt Side of Life"----it'll show you how to approximate your daily usage. When boondocking, a built-in quality voltmeter and ammeter are worth their weight in gold! (Solar helps too! Even as far north as AK!)
Enjoy!
J
|
|
|
profdant139
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 11/14/2005
View Profile
 Online
|
I am sure that there is a better way to do this, but there is a quick and dirty way to figure out how long to run the generator -- trial and error. I use an ordinary multimeter. Touch the probes to the battery terminals. Get a baseline reading per this chart:
100% 12.7
90% 12.6
80% 12.5
70% 12.3
60% 12.2
50% 12.1
40% 12.0
30% 11.8
20% 11.7
They say you should not let your battery get below 50% -- it shortens the life. Anyway, now start running your generator. Take a reading every hour. Keep a record of the numbers.
Do this a few times, and you will have your own personal chart --"when it gets down to 12.3, my generator will take X hours to bring it back to full charge."
Also, I have found that if you let the battery "settle" for a few hours after charging, you get a more accurate reading.
I think the time to recharge varies with the generator, the batteries, your converter, and maybe even with altitude and temperature. And if you are using other appliances during the charge (microwave or TV), that might affect how much current gets to the battery. Maybe.
|
everymilesamemory
Everywhere Around the United States
Senior Member
Joined: 11/26/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
In Alaska, I'd get rid of the generator and get a Air-X wind generator.
It has a built in charger that knows when to stop charging. 400 Watts of power that runs off of mother nature. Something tells me you have a steady breeze blowing in Alaska.
We priced this out over the winter and it came to $640 out of a place in Yuma, AZ. Something tells me at the cost of fuel, you could pay that off in under one year and never have to worry about noise, exhaust or turning it on or off.
Pat
Every Miles A Memory
Photo's of our Travels
When we realize our insignificance in this world,
it some how relieves the pressures from society to succeed
- Cindy Bonish
|
Bubby's RV
CA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/22/2003
View Profile
|
jauguston wrote:For best battery life discharge to 50% then recharge to 80%.
We have four 6-volt AGM batteries for a total of 440 amp hours. The difference between 50% charged and 80% charged is 132 amp-hours. We have a PD9160 converter/charger that will (if in boost mode) put 60 amps into those batteries until they are about 80% charged. 60 amps times 2 hours is 120 amp-hours, so if I charge for about 2 1/4 hours I can go from 50% to 80% charged.
I also have a Link-10 battery monitor so I can really see what's happening.
John, Winnebago Minnie 24V
|
brinasmemaw
southern Oklahoma
Senior Member
Joined: 06/14/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Thanks for all of the replies & suggestions. I am right on with what I am doing so guess my batteries will be ok. Thanks again...Mac
|
Matthew_B
The boonies near Dallas, Oregon
Senior Member
Joined: 08/18/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
jauguston wrote:For best battery life discharge to 50% then recharge to 80%.
You can do that most days, but you need to charge to 100% every 7 to 10 days.
If you don't, the portion of the batteries you aren't topping off will form crystals that permanently reduce capacity.
If you're charging with a good 3 stage charger, that's about 3 hours after the battery reaches 14+ volts to get the battery all the way charged.
|
|
|
