Inverter charging

[Chris C]

Okay. Let's say I've got a battery in my teardrop, (okay, Gage, I know that isn't a true statement) and I'm not near an outlet to charge it. Let's say I'm out in the wilderness somewhere. (where I usually am) I have a 115V inverter I can hook to my Honda's battery and a regular battery charger. Will I be able to charge my battery in the trailer with that setup? Seems like I will, but not sure.

[Gage]

Just wiggle nose and click your heels and it shall happen.

Have a good day.

Just hook the two batteries together and run the Honda for a few minutes and then disconnect the batteries and turn car off.

[Chris C]

[madjack]

Just wiggle nose and click your heels and it shall happen.

Have a good day.

Just hook the two batteries together and run the Honda for a few minutes and then disconnect the batteries and turn car off.

now Chris, in your best Homer Simpson voice say D'OH....nobody 'round here is guilty of overthinking somethings are they...
madjack

[Chris C]

Not "overthinking" it as I see it so I don't see the neccesity of saying "Duh"! As I understand, it, an automobile charging system will not sufficiently charge a Group 27 battery and, in the long run, will damage it as a result! I know from experience, because when I turned my van into a camper, I switched out the battery for a deep cycle group 27 and couldn't figure out why I had to replace it every other year! I was just asking if my idea would work.

[PaulC]

Hi Chris, The conversion of 12v to 110v and back to 12v will work at the expense of the Honda Battery. George T is probably the man you should PM( Did I suggest that )
Cheers
Paul

[SteveH]

Chris,

Yes, it will work, but like Paul says, the Honda battery will probably run down before the teardrop battery is charged. The better solution would be to hook jumper cables between the Honda and the trailer battery and run the engine for an hour or so. No, it won't fully charge the battery, but it will get you out of a bind.

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Chris

Your Idea is a sound one, just running the jumper leads for one hours charging will not put much in (SteveH is right it will get you by), if you did the same hour with invertor and 3-4 Stage charger you would get more charge in though.


The invertor to charger set up is something that I have reccomended before to people who dont want to pay out the extra for a smart regulator conversion for their alternator, btw it works well when driving to! so you get a decent "free" charge on the way there and on the way home.

[Micro469]

George, What do you mean by a "smart regulator conversion alternator thingamabobby"?????? (I must have missed that post..... AND don't tell me to look in the FAQ'S).

[Gage]

Chris,
Yes, it will work, but like Paul says, the Honda battery will probably run down before the teardrop battery is charged. The better solution would be to hook jumper cables between the Honda and the trailer battery and run the engine for an hour or so. No, it won't fully charge the battery, but it will get you out of a bind.

Steve, you and I said the same thing, just used different words.

Have a good day.

[PaulC]

George, What do you mean by a "smart regulator conversion alternator thingamabobby"?????? (I must have missed that post..... AND don't tell me to look in the FAQ'S).

Hi John, have a look here http://www.dg2k.co.uk/xalt.htm
This is a UK company but there are similar in the USA.
Cheers
Paul

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi John

Here is one alternator regulator and explaination

http://www.sterling-power.com/htm/ar12vd.htm

For those that do not fancy dismantling the alternator to add a wire, there is an alternative

http://www.sterling-power.com/htm/ab1290.htm

and thirdly

http://www.sterling-power.com/htm/btb.htm

Now if you have a mains 3-4 stage charger anyway, using it via invertor is going to improve the charging no end.

Note what happens with a normal alternator charge and how quickly the charging ampage drops, Henceone hour with the engine running is going to put more charge in via Chris's idea than just running with jump leads.

Of course one of the above units is better, but if you dont want to spend the extra.

Also note the Alternator used in the tests on those links had an unfair advantage over the Alternator under your hood, it didnt have to react to general driving loads.

I have been to Charles Sterlings place and seen all the test rigs its one of the mains inspirations for me to get to know what really happens with Camping and auto charging andbattery systems.

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Paul,

good link, I had never heard of that company before, interesting products.

[PaulC]

Hi Paul,

good link, I had never heard of that company before, interesting products.

Thanks George, Appreciate that.
Cheers
Paul

[Chip]

Chris why not look into a good solar powered charger that tops off ya battery during the day,,