I have some questions as I set up...

[crookedforkers]

My partner and I are moving into a 6x12 cargo trailer this week, and we are finishing up the build of the electrical system.  I am looking for advice on a couple pieces of the system, mostly around getting going with charging our battery.

Let me describe what we have so far, first, with the understanding that I work full-time online as a programmer and devops engineer, so the electrical is a top priority.

1. The cargo trailer itself has a 30 A circuit breaker and plug for using shore power at an RV park, for whenever we fail at this battery management thing.
   - No charge controller is yet installed, so that shore power cannot charge the battery.  I am trying to decide if buying something like the Kisae Absocharger 20A or 40A is a good investment considering this.
2. We have a 125 ah Vmaxtanks AGM battery.  This will need to power a light or two, a laptop (or two), and a few phones.  It will need to power at least one item on an inverter, but not much.  The most critical laptop is a very recent Mac, so it is not 12V friendly and needs an inverter, for instance.
3. We also have a Honda eu2000i generator.  We love this thing.  Hooked up to the shore power outlet with an adapter, it powers the whole setup without breaking a sweat.  Can this also charge the battery through the same mechanism, possibly at higher amps if we get a charge controller like the Kisae??

So that's the setup with some questions embedded.  My final questions are: for those with experience with solar, considering we are moving in VERY soon, should we put off the charge controller and such in favor or solar panels with a solar charge controller?  Is there a combination charger-inverter that costs something reasonable and doesn't explode?  Should I bother wiring this to our truck at all?  We have a 2007 F150 towing it, and the trailer charge relay is not yet installed, though I understand that without cables the size of hoses, it won't matter much anyway.  I have heard such mixed messages online about the usefulness of alternator charging that I'm iffy about spending my money (and time) there.  

So there you go.  That's my status and my load of questions.  I have been reading too much online (clearly), and could use someone to give me a straight opinion on the whole mess based on their experience.  Thanks so much in advance!  :heart:
--Brooke

 

[Almost There]

I don't have any of the answers to your questions so someone else will have to pitch in on that.

I've just finished going back over your blog and all I've got to say is You Two Rock!!!!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[SternWake]

That Vtankmaxx battery has a maximum charge rate of 30% or so. 


A Honda EU2000 can power a very high amp  battery charger/converter, but the limiting factor is the maximum acceptance rate for your battery.

125x0.3 = 37.5 amps maximum

I found the Progressive dynamics PD9245 I ran on a 125 AH lifeline AGM maxed out briefly at 46 amps and then tapered to the high 30's.

If one is also plugging in and charging phones and Laptops when generator is running, off of the DC system, the maximum amps into the battery will be below this 37.5 amp number.

You will be able to get to 90% state of charge in about 2 hours, that last 10% will take another 2.5 hours or so If the voltage is held tat the 14.4v range while amp taper to ~0.625.  Lower voltages applied earlier will greatly increase time to full.

That last 10% is important to achieve regularly.
That higher charging rate for an AGM applied every so often, is important too

This is where solar is great, as from 90% SOC the battery does not need high amperage to be held at absorption voltages, and relatively little solar wattage can finish the job.

Get a small PSW inverter for that Mac.  If you need a larger inverter for less discerning electronics, then get a larger MSW inverter for those.

Get an adjustable voltage solar controller and shoot for 200 watts  of panel for that particular AGM.  The more you run the generator the less solar wattage you can get away with, but 200 watts Might be enough to not NEED the genny, most days, and 300 watts could instill some super warm and fuzzies at almost never needing the generator at all.

Many variables as to how much charger is needed in any given usage.

AGMs tend to require  higher initial/overall  charge rates and tend to lose capacity faster if not regularly brought upto 100% charge, So Mo Sola, Mo betta.

 

[akrvbob]

Welcome, we are really glad you are here!

To charge off of 110 volt you don't use a charge controller, you have the choice of a converter or a standard 12 volt battery charger. For your purposes a 12 volt battery charger will be much cheaper and simpler. Sternwake is our resident expert on battery chargers so follow his advice.

Your Honda is one of the best devices ever made!!! However, when used directly to charge batteries, it is very poor. Instead, you will want to plug a quality battery charger into it and use it to charge the battery.

My guess is you will want more power than you think. My suggestion is to get a Renogy 100 watt solar kit which might be enough to meet your very basic needs now and you will rarely have to use the Honda, which is a good thing.
http://amzn.to/1hNbAvI

If you find you want more power, and most people do, you can just add another panel later, you'll have paid a little more but it's no big deal.

About charging off the alternator. I guess my question is why not? It's fairly simple to install and all you need is a continuous duty solenoid, fuses and the wiring so it costs very little. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose!

Keeping your battery full and happy will greatly extend its life so paying more to get adequate charging will pay off later in longer battery life. If it's something you can do, I suggest you charge off the starting battery.

I just sold my Honda 2000 because I have so much solar I never used it. In fact I loaned it out and that was all the use it ever got.

If you can do that, you will have more room in the van, not have to carry gas or do maintenance and it's better for the planet.
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

first off welcome. if you follow Sternwake and Bobs advice you won't go wrong. really nothing I could add. highdesertranger

 

[crookedforkers]

Thank you so much, everyone! I am getting more out of the replies each time I reread them, lol. There is so much information out there that it is dizzying, and I really appreciate getting clear advice.

One question for Bob: The 12V chargers I see in auto parts stores and online tend to be on the low end as far as amp ratings. Will they take forever? Should I be aiming at the higher amp ones (trying to come closer to maximum Sternwake mentions)? I saw this one recommended on Amazon for my battery: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J1UE1X2, though for the money, the amps seems low.

Based on the advice so far, I've made a few adjustments to our plans. This first week or so, I am likely to be simply using very-little-to-no power that doesn't come straight from the truck's cab. After that, I'll be able to make some upgrades. I very much want to see that I do the best I can with the limits I have.

 

[SoulRaven]

Any power supply from an old desktop computer is a battery charger.

The red wires are 12vdc, they yellow wires are 5vdc to charge a cell phone, and the black wires are ground.

 

[akrvbob]

This is the battery charger I used when I had the Honda:
http://amzn.to/1Pp0OWU

Sternwake will tell you it is far from ideal and I'm certain he's right. However, there is a fairly steep learning curve for ideal and it requires a fair amount of work to make the ideal happen.

I just want to plug it in and turn it out and not think about it again so this fit that bill. There is no doubt his batteries will last longer than mine, but I can live with that. Buying a battery a year or two earlier is just money I spend for convenience. To me it's money well spent.
Bob
Bob

 

[SternWake]

If you are running a generator  just to to recharge the batteries depleted to below 70%, then the more amps the charger can provide, the higher the state of charge the battery will be when the generator is shut down.


As the battery approaches 80% state of charge range, the amount it can accept at the absorption voltage(14.4 to 14.8v) also decreases.

The only way to force faster charging it to apply more voltage, which is just electrical pressure, but exceeding 14.8v is not healthy for the battery.

I do not know about Bob's particular Schumacher, but they have a tendency to turn masochist, and push a battery upto voltages in the mid 15 to high 16  range.

15 to 16V can occasionally be beneficial on a flooded battery, it is called an Equalization cycle and this is a forced overcharge to return all the cells to their maximum specific gravity, and the battery back up to it total remaining capacity.  An EQ charge should not be applied more than every 14 deep cycles.  An EQ cycle should only be initiated after a normal regular 'full' charge, and buy that I mean 2 to 4 hours held at 14.4 to 14.8 volts.

The Schumachers can just blow past the 14.8 range and continue to charge at high amps and high voltages.  Generally i am a fan of high amp recharges, but the schumacher gets too excited and will abuse a battery.  Even mine (schumacher sc2500a) on the AGM setting will goto unsafe voltages at high amperages and if left unattended will force the vents open on an AGM battery.  I do not trust it, do not leave it unattended, and in fact do not use it anymore on any battery I care about.

I recommended the Progressive Dynamics PD9245 as i had one for a project, and got to play with it and measure its output and take note of its behavior.

This would be a good choice for generator charging.  it is right at the upper limits of amperage which your battery can handle.  It will be powered easily by a honda 2000 watt generator..  it will restore the most charge into the battery in the least amount of time.

No matter how quiet a honda is, it is always so much better to not hear that background noise.

The higher the state of charge achieved each cycle, not only does the battery have more to give the next discharge, but it also retains more of its capacity.  AGMs also like high amp recharges.  Low and slow or a trickle charger will tickle these batteries to a premature death.

The PD9245 is  an automatic charging source, and also has a remote pendant that the user can employ to force 14.4v(or 13.6, or 13.2v), and the charger will put out as much amperage as it can, until battery voltage approaches 14.4v , or only apply as much amperage as the battery needs to be held at 13.6v or 13.2v.( much less than 14.4v)

Mine in use maxed out at 45 amps but when warmed up this tapered to 39 amps or so.  Still over the 37.5 max rate of your specific battery, but if you choose to recharge your laptops or otherwise consume ~2 amps from the DC side, the maximum recommended current into the battery will not be exceeded.

Likely the battery can handle more, that 37.5a has a built in safety margin.  I'd personally not worry about the few extra amps unless in very hot weather, but technically it is a smidge too much.

A converter does not come with alligator clips.  One must provide their own cabling to the battery.  The PD9245 can easily accept 4awg cable if one wants to put it at  a greater distance from the battery.  Coonverters are meant to be hardwired to the battery. They are not "portable", but one can certainly add carrying straps and cut one end off a pair of jumper cables and have a VERY capable charging source, one much more capable than the sleek units offered by Schumacher or Ctek or Noco or Clore or a myriad of other well marketed battery chargers.

If you power this PD9245 with your honda, that Vtanks max battery if still at full capacity, and discharged to 50%, in about 2 hours the battery will be at 90% state of charge.  A 25 amp charger would take nearly 3 hours before achieving the same state of charge.

Time is money, the hona might use a smidge less fuel powerng a 25 amp charger than it would a 45, but a 45 charger would not need to run as long.

Also, if you are still loading the DC circuits/ lights/laptop/ other things when charging, an Automatic smart charger will see the loads changing, and it might think something is wrong with the battery and stop charging.  You might not realize this and might be running the generator which is powering nothing/ not charging the battery.

There are other converters which cost less, but they do not have the 14.4 push button feature.  The PD9245 allows one to force the converter to output its maximum charging current at the push of a button.  Other converters might only try for 13.6v or 13.8v and that pressure differential is much less, so less amps can flow, and recharging is much slower.

Turn on generator,  plug in the converter, push the converter button, and 40 amps are flowing into your battery as it seeks 14.4v.

My charger is an adjustable voltage power supply capable of 40 amps and voltages from 13.12 to 19.23 at the twist of a dial.  But it is a manual charger and can easily overcharge if left unattended at a high voltage.  

Those with a hands on Desire could benefit from such a charging source, but the PD9245 is a good charging source for that specific battery when generator recharging.

I'd honestly recommend against any of the convenient portable battery chargers marketed as such, especially if they are not at least 25 amps.  The PD9245 is not cheap, but it will save you money in gas for powering the generator and will extend the life of your battery too.

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynamics-PD9245CV-Converter-Charge/dp/B000GANZZ6

Iota and Powermax or the other two main Converter makers, but generally do not have any controls as to what voltage they seek and when.  They might only seek 13.8 when your battery is screaming for 14.4v, and you get to listen to the generator for that much longer or return that much less charge into the battery.

Powermax does sell an adjustable voltage model similar to my Powersupply, but it is a manual charger, requiring a human with a brain be there to make sure absorption voltage is not held for too long.  But on a generator this could be unlikely to ever actually occur Or one can employ a spring wound timer  

The PD9245 is also enough charger for upto ~ 260 AH of AGM battery.  If when your current battery dies and you want more capacity in the future, then this charging source can handle 2 of them in parallel.

 

[ccbreder]

Pro Mariner makes the best chargers. I have the ProNautic 1240P. It can be set for your battery, it is automatic, and it has the important for AGM temperature sensor. I agree with SW, you need more battery.

 

[crookedforkers]

Ok, again, thank you SO much, guys! I think, with all said and done, on the next paycheck, I'll get us a PD9245 to wire in. I think I can sort out wires from the 30A breaker box to that, to the battery and plug the Honda into the external connector we had the folks at the cargo trailer place put in (hopefully without any fires). Should I add a fuse and/or cutoff switch to that chain? I remember something about not running a converter with something else, but the information is getting jumbled from other websites. I plan on putting an ANL fuse between my battery and the inverter I got, just in case. I was once a locksmith who installed CCTV systems and ran electronic lock systems. I should be able to get good at this once I get my feet wet, but it has been 15 years since I touched anything electrical.

I am relaxing into the notion that my first week on the road will involve a lot of working from the truck cab, lol. After that, I'll put a lot of this into practice.

I am might even try alternator charging and solar, then, but things will be tight until I get paid again. Maybe we'll get lucky and find time for a gig.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

1:  I think, with all said and done, on the next paycheck, I'll get us a PD9245 to wire in.  I think I can sort out wires from the 30A breaker box to that, to the battery and plug the Honda into the external connector we had the folks at the cargo trailer place put in (hopefully without any fires).  Should I add a fuse and/or cutoff switch to that chain?  

2:  I remember something about not running a converter with something else, but the information is getting jumbled from other websites.  

3:  I plan on putting an ANL fuse between my battery and the inverter I got, just in case.

1:  What, exactly did the cargo trailer people put in?  A single 30 amp breaker?  Leading to  - what? - one or more standard AC outlets?

Ideally, you would want a breaker box that would allow you to add 15 or 20 amp breakers that would protect individual circuits.  Something like the Progressive Dynamics PD4045. http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-D...ie=UTF8&qid=1440163960&sr=8-1&keywords=pd4045  It has the 45 amp converter built in, and includes 12 volt fuses and space for up to 7 AC circuit breakers.

Take a look at this video: 

Lacking that, and if money were really tight, I'd get some good quality power strips that have a circuit breaker built in, like this example:  http://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Circu...2&keywords=power+strips+with+circuit+breakers  and then wire the PD9245 with a plug and just plug it in to the strip.

2:  If you let the converter run off the inverter, you are taking 12 volt dc power from the battery, changing it to 120 volt ac (with losses), then the converter is changing it back to 12 volt dc (with more losses) to try to recharge the battery.  It just doesn't work.

3:  Absolutely fuse the inverter.  An unfused, malfunctioning converter would probably be a catastrophic failure.  Remember the Electrical Engineer's basic rule of thumb:  "Any unfused circuit is just a fire waiting to happen!"

Regards
John

 

[ZoNiE]

There are some nice combined charger/inverters, but basically, if one fails, you lose two systems. I prefer individual items:

Midnight Kid or Classic MPPT charge controller - They can handle high voltage panels and multiple DC output levels. They HyperVoc feature helps in cold weather if your panel array is high voltage.

Progressive Dynamics PD 9245 or 9260 charger/converter. They have three true charge levels, but you need to mind the cable size.

Magnum or Go power True Sine Wave inverters. The Go Power are also sold as Samlex and some Canadian brand I don't recall. They have gotten good reviews by a guy who takes them all apart and tests them.
Use larger wire than they tell you to, and put the inverter and chargers as close to the batteries as possible.
use 6VGC2's, check the water weekly, mind your SoC, and they will last years.

 

[SternWake]

You can cut the standard 3 prong household cord on the PD9245 and wire it to a extra  circuit breaker on your AC panel.


Some RV's will have the inverter power the AC panel when not plugged into the grid.  One does not want the inverter powering the converter to charge the same battery the inverter is pulling current from, so if this is the case, unplug the converter when running the inverter, or flip the breaker if wired in that manner.

The PD9260 is not much more money than the pd9245, but your current single battery's maximum recommended charge rate would be exceeded.  If/when you later add more battery capacity though, the pd9260 would be better then accomplishing more in shorter generator run times, assuming you find you need more battery capacity.

Your RV sounds pretty factory, it might have more parasitic loads than you realize, like propane, and CO detectors.  if it has an absorption/propane fridge these still consume some battery power for the electrics.  If you have a furnace, the furnace fan is a big consumer of battery power.

Inverters can really allow a person to quickly deplete a battery to abusive levels.  Especially a big inverter on a single battery.  Remember they are only ~85% efficient in use.

A prominent voltage display can give some warning.
An Ammeter is a wonderful tool for helping to determine battery state of charge, when the ammeter is wired to monitor charging amperage.  It can also be used to determine when to shut off the generator.  Fully charging Via generator takes too long and is a waste of fuel.  Most people utilizing the generator shut it off at ~80%, some will run it another hour or so and try for 90%, but 100% just takes forever and wastes gas as the charging source only needs to make 3 amps or less to hold the single battery at absorption voltage.  That could be accomplished with 50 watts of solar from that stage.

The Following product can monitor both and is pretty simple to wire up:

http://www.amazon.com/DROK-4-5-30V-...sim_469_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PAVVGA9NT43X107TV5S

It will however only display current flowing in one direction, and gets more and more inaccurate at lower amperages.  Mine read 0.00 amps when 0.75 amps were still flowing.  BUT, when it read 0 it was a signal that the battery was in the 99% charged range.  When it read 40 amps the battery was obviously discharged somewhere below 75% 

I highly recommend being able to recharge from the alternator.  It is by no means a perfect solution, but any and all charging sources should be utilized to keep the battery at as high a state of charge as possible.

Going down the road, yet still depleting the battery just does not compute in my book.  My 120 amp alternator will feed 60 amps + into my depleted single AGM over thick cabling, but my AGM has no achievable upper current limit, where as yours does.  Alternator amps can be limited with the cabling between amp limited AGM and alternator.  8 or 10 awg might not allow more than 30 amps to flow, depending on the total distance of the circuit.

If it is a trailer, then the large distances and required connector can lead to very poor alternator recharging.  In these cases one needs to dedicate a thicker circuit bypassing the 7 pin connector just to get respectable current from alternator to distant trailer battery.  The other route is to run an inverter off the engine battery, and use an AC extension cord to reach a battery charger in the trailer.  This is hardly ideal either, but could be a simpler solution than dedicating and running a new circuit with connector.

Here is a good connector with 25 foot 6awg  leads already attached:

http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-KTA141...sim_263_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=147ND97WNXYBJX94R5M6

If your Vmaxtanks battery is New, and you suspect its capacity will not be enough, you only have so much time/ accumulated cycles before paralleling another  of the same battery to it becomes unwise.  The newer battery hooked to the older battery will be quickly degraded to the condition of the other battery.  Ideally batteries in parallel should be the same make model and age, but one can of course stray from ideal.

If you do later add another battery to the existing battery, make sure the older battery is fully charged separately before paralleling the two batteries.  One is really hoping that the two batteries have the same fully charged resting voltage.  If one is higher than the other, than the higher battery will always be feeding the lower voltage battery a few milliamps or more.

 

[crookedforkers]

Optimistic Paranoid, thanks! That was my thought on the fuse. So you know for reference, the main breaker is 30A. There are also 3 15A breakers in the box (much like a residential box...which it appears to be). One goes to some lights that we may replace, and one goes to each of the two power outlets. There is room for much more breakers than we need, overall. There isn't room for a heck of a lot in this thing. That wiring and the harness to the four-way plug on the truck are the only wiring it has right now. There is no 12V system besides the tail lights and friends and what I will be putting in it. Since the breaker must have a ground, I will likely ground my small inverter to it when I figure out how.

In general anything related to the battery will be toward the front (v-nose) of the trailer, next to the breaker box, in the small amount of space not taken up by the bed that will hold the three of us and the storage underneath. Space between battery and other things isn't a problem at all! There will be no more than a foot between components (except the alternator, of course). Because we *have* to move in this weekend (moving in now actually), we cannot improve much beyond what we have now until we are already moved in. We have no electrical appliances except the computer, cellular signal booster and cell devices that will see even weekly use, so our needs are very, very small and will mostly be handled by the truck and generator until we can do better.

Sternwake, this is a 6x12 cargo trailer that we purchased with the ability to plug into shore power, but that's as far as it went. The fire/CO detector that we put in is batteries only, and there is no existing battery system at all, so it's all up to me (with all this rope to hang myself with). This is a blessing and a curse. We must, for financial reasons, avoid dependence on shore power as much as possible, but my need to ensure my job is secure made us spend the extra to have that option installed (and so that the generator can power the whole thing easily whenever needed). We have a 5day cooler as our fridge, so no worries there!

We are used to long road trips mostly taking place in primitive campgrounds or backcountry tents with railroad lanterns and a couple solar lanterns and LED headlamps for light, foraging for wild foods, cooking everything on a fire for weeks at a time and things like that. One of us grew up on a remote WV homestead that didn't always have any power and flush toilets were a recent luxury, and both adults have been homeless before, so we don't have high expectations of comfort. Our concern with power is purely my job, which is there to keep us ahead of my debt (and hopefully overtake it). If not for that, we'd be even more primitive because we'd rely on our performance art for a living instead. So it doesn't need to be a lot, but it needs to be there whenever it is needed. This is just so you have my overall perspective in mind for this. We really likely will use very little power. Oh, and because I almost forgot, the battery is new, FWIW.

All that said, this information has all been extremely helpful. Every time you reply, SternWake, I am picking up more that is putting the other stuff I have been reading in context so that I can actually apply it. I'm going to reread all these replies as I get going. A fellow down at NAPA helped me with some small issues today like what connectors I'll want to crimp on to cables for what bits, but I'll still have more questions when I buy more of the gear I'm going to want. This first couple weeks will be the most uncomfortable and wasteful as far as our electrical goes, but I'm hoping I can apply a lot of this stuff and fix it.

Again thank you all for volunteering so much information. When I first posted, I was really nervous about this part of our build, which is why the battery will be only slightly better than a boat anchor for the next week and a half, but now I think I can fix that soon. Cool thing is, we are almost moved in, and my family and I will be on the road soon!

 

[SternWake]

Your saving grace will be the Generator, and a high amp charger for it.


125Amp hours of capacity is not a lot as you really only want to use 50% of that or less regularly.

My laptop is my biggest electrical consumer averaging 3 to 5 AH consumed per hour, but it can approach 8.  It really depends on the task it is performing.  more open windows and streaming video consumes more juice.  Also it depends on the state of charge of the laptop battery.

So how well this single battery handles your uses is dependent on how many hours per day you run the laptop(s), and how often you run the generator.

If the battery is cycled from 50% to 80% over and over for a week it will get punch drunk and at the end of a week, will not have that 80% left to give, but some % well below that before voltage just takes a nose dive.  One actually begins discharging it well below 50%, and this is where a punch drunk battery gets all rubber kneed.

When a battery is punch drunk it needs to be fully charged, and getting it to full charge from this point is harder than if it were cycled from 50 to 90% instead of 50 to 80%.  The charge time from 80% to 100 % would usually be about 4 hours or so, but when punch drunk it might take 12 hours before amps at absorption voltage taper to the point that the battery can be considered fully charged.  this is where the pd9245 is great because one can push the button for 4 more hours at 14.4.  A punch drunk battery will not even acknowledge charging current from 13.8v, much less respond to it, it would be like another beer to stave off the hangover.  A temporary respite from the inevitable.

So batteries are only rented.  My efforts are to inform people so that they know when their battery capacity is diminishing and can either take steps to slow the decline, or plan for a battery replacement.  Often there is panic when the battery capacity is a small fraction of what it was and 'no longer takes a charge'.  Seemingly then and only then does the battery abuser learn that they are indeed the cause of premature failure from chronic undercharging, but often they just blame the battery. 

Batteries are basically murdered, the variable is the time required for uselessness to become apparent.

AGMS tend to be given magical status due to their price, but AGMS are more discerning concerning their recharge requirements.  They are the greedy snobs of the lead acid battery world, and getting them to work requires their petulant recharge demands be met.  Their demands are more charging current when depleted, and being returned to absolute fully charged more often.

Flooded lead acid batteries are more tolerant but they can offgass or spill and need watering every so often, but if treated right can can last longer for lesser initial price.

Flooded batteries in the 12v factor are not really deep cycle batteries despite their claims or stickers saying they are.  Marine batteries and quasi deep cycles are only rated at half the cycle life as a pair of 6v flooded golf cart batteries treated the same way.

If your intended areas of outing include lot of sunlight in the 3 hours on either side of noon, the solar will pay for itself in less gas for the generator and extended battery life.  

Alternator recharging can be very beneficial but the trailer factor adds a couple asterix's as to how effective it can be.  Especially when there is a Generator available.  If there is no load on the battery when going from A to B, then insisting on alternator contribution makes a little less sense.

If one really wants the alternator's contribution, then the 7 pin connector should be bypassed and another cable and connector used to transfer current from source to source sucker.


If the generator's gas and noise is of no or little concern to you, then you can get away with lesser charging sources applied for longer, or use it to keep from unnecessarily cycling the battery.

 

[Jana]

I'm taking notes!

 

[crookedforkers]

Yep, that's what I'm getting from all this. I generally understand that I must baby my battery using little beyond 25% of it's amp-hour capacity if I want it to last a long time. Until I have a way of charging it effectively, I am basically using my truck for power and the generator. I can bring my laptop to full after a couple hours in the truck and work most of the day (it's battery is shockingly good), so I have a very small PSW inverter that lives in the truck just for that purpose alone. I aim to use this to get by until I can get a converter like the one you've recommended. Then the generator might keep me going until I can get to a sunnier area.

 

[crookedforkers]

Oh yeah, also, since I have an F150, the 7 pin connector doesn't charge a trailer battery unless I install the relay, fuse and pigtail for that anyway. They ship with those components in the glovebox unless you request otherwise, lol. I see no point since the charging would be no better than a trickle, if I am lucky on that wiring. The cargo trailer, not being designed for batteries, only has a four-way connector anyhow. I'm running wires no matter what When I can, I'll look into that, too.

 

[crookedforkers]

So since posting this, I have managed to hook up an inverter after much difficulty and fussing with cables, inline fuse and so forth. That's neat, but I'm not willing to turn the inverter on besides for my initial test until the PD9245 is also working. I had cables ready to go, and then I realized there were two chassis grounds that I don't have prepared. One on the battery negative, and one on the unit.

This made me sad. I have to drive to WV today, so this will need to wait a bit anyway. I read in another thread that you don't use the ground terminal on the PD9245, SternWake, but the one on the battery wire is vexing. I don't really have a way to do that easily right now. How necessary is that? Overall, I'm just able to ground to the breaker box that I have anyway. If any of you folks have a little more time for this electrical idiot, I am all ears!

Until this is set up, I will continue working my days directly from the generator, the small PSU inverter in my truck and whatever shore power arrangements I can find. Thanks!