Charging batteries via gen or shore power?

[Morefun]

We're looking at buying a

Renogy 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter​

Read through manual but see no way to charge the batteries thru this when on shore or Gen power.
How can I charge?

 

[WanderingRose]

You may get an answer here, but I have found customer service at Renogy to be exceptional, so you might call them for this info.

 

[maki2]

We're looking at buying a

Renogy 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter​

Read through manual but see no way to charge the batteries thru this when on shore or Gen power.
How can I charge?

Inverters do not charge batteries. They take power out of batteries by “inverting” the 12v power from the battery into 110v so you can power the types of devices that are typically used in households on the standard electrical grids.

I understand your confusion because in more recent years a lot of changes in how power is handled for RVs is going on and in particular two items that are used have very similar names. Those two items are “inverters” and “converters”.

At this point in time you should begin to do some research and reading about what the function is of the different components used to provide power for nomadic Van life including shore power and solar power sources. It can get a bit confusing as now there are even some items for sale that have a combination of components installed in them. For instance a solar controller unit that includes both an inverter as well as a battery charger. Or portable “Power Generators” which are not actually generators in the tradition sense of the gas and propane fuel actual engines.

You might also see mention of the word “Converter” which has for many years been a typical power management component in Motorhomes and commercially built out Camper vans prior to solar power systems becoming as popular as they are now. What those converters did was the opposite thing of an inverter. They changed 110v power from the RV power post into 12v power. They often had built into them a charger that used that 110 power to charge the 12v house battery. But remember there is now available some solar charging units, their primary function is to charge your 12v house battery and some are sold with an inverter that is wired to the 12v battery to provide 110v power from it.

Yep at this point it is all about as clear as mud to someone new to Vanlife power systems because it is just a bunch of words that do not have much meaning.

I am sorry in a way that all newcomers from Van life have to go through this learning curve of learning what all the components do. But it is important knowledge to have if you are going to install or even just understand what it is you need and what it does. It’s “geek speak” to be sure but it will become a new set of definitions you need to learn to use to communicate. YouTube can help you get some actual visuals to lock it all into your memory. First just focus on is what I am working with AC power or DC power. Your house battery is DC power. Your traditional home that is hooked up to the grid or the power from RV park plugins is AC power. So it takes electronic devices to turn one type of power into the other.

 

[jonyjoe303]

you need an AC charger that plugs in to the generator or shorepower and outputs what your battery needs 14.4 volts for lead acid or 14.6 volts for lifepo4. If you have a giant lead acid batterybank you can use a charger like they have in auto mechanic shops but those are large.

Here is a picture a smaller 20 amp for lifepo4.