Generator, Charger, Battery Combo

[mike37909]

I have my eye on a small quiet 1000 watt generator. I plan on using the AC to charge my battery or batteries. I am looking for a charger that can run off this generator. Also what would be a good battery to use for this setup? I may use a solar panel also but I am not sure. Any ideas? I will probably be running fans, lights, maybe a tillerpilot, laptop, instruments maybe a portable dvd player for the kids. I will be in the abacos. Would I be better off just charging at the marina? I may be there for a month. My outboard charges but not much.

Mike

[Trim50]

Mike,

What size boat do you have, how many battery banks and what type of batteries? My experience is that 1000 watts just isn't enough in most cases.

I'll need a little more information to help you...

Ken

[mike37909]

I have a heavily modified Mega 30. I have 2 batteries one is a few years old it has been used to run the lift keel and stereo and lights. The other one is like new its at my house. These are just marine deep cycles from Walmart or somewhere. I may buy one or two better ones. It seems like the batteries are good for a year or two whether you use them or not. Maybe reconditioning would help, I dont know much about it. I can get the 2000 watt model but it weighs 46 lbs instead of 29. I guess I can stay on the boat for a while before the trip and figure out how much power I use and charge times etc.

[Trim50]

Mike,

You may be able to get away with 1kW using a Xantrex TrueCharge 20A. It will draw 520-580Watts charging two banks at 20Amps peak. While charging batteries, you won't have much AC power to spare. You'll probably have just enough to run/charge your laptop and maybe a small TV.

Cheers,

Ken

[imagine2frolic]

Have you considered a wind generator instead? You should be getting a consistant wind 24 hrs a day this time of year, and with a solar panel you should be good. Look into a KISS generator. I get lots of compliments on how quiet mine is, and it pumps the juice. Also they are sold here in Florida on the west coast.

[mike37909]

Originally Posted by Trim50

Mike,

You may be able to get away with 1kW using a Xantrex TrueCharge 20A. It will draw 520-580Watts charging two banks at 20Amps peak. While charging batteries, you won't have much AC power to spare. You'll probably have just enough to run/charge your laptop and maybe a small TV.

Cheers,

Ken

Ken,

That sounds good! I will look into the charger. I wonder how long it would take to charge one or two batteries to a decent (practical) capacity. I know they charge fast at first so maybe I wouldn't have to charge them all the way every time.

[mike37909]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Have you considered a wind generator instead? You should be getting a consistant wind 24 hrs a day this time of year, and with a solar panel you should be good. Look into a KISS generator. I get lots of compliments on how quiet mine is, and it pumps the juice. Also they are sold here in Florida on the west coast.

I will check it out. This is likely to be more of a one time trip than an extended cruise. I would be able to use the generator on shore when I get back. I am trying to plan a trip to the Abacos for maybe a month and then let my friend (co-owner), and then my brother use the boat. This will take place in May or June as soon as school lets out for the summer. I will trailer to Florida and cross over with my friend and brother and then fly the family in. I am sure I will have lots of questions for another post.

Thanks

Mike

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by mike37909

I will check it out. This is likely to be more of a one time trip than an extended cruise. I would be able to use the generator on shore when I get back. I am trying to plan a trip to the Abacos for maybe a month and then let my friend (co-owner), and then my brother use the boat. This will take place in May or June as soon as school lets out for the summer. I will trailer to Florida and cross over with my friend and brother and then fly the family in. I am sure I will have lots of questions for another post.

Thanks

Mike

We have a 30' boat on a mooring w/ small solar panel that provides enough charge to keep the batteries topped up. We also have a Xantrex that manages the charge from shorepower (when we're at a dock) to both batteries. One battery is flooded the other is AGM and the Xandrex was the only thing that could manage both banks with no problem. We have a little (but heavy) Honda 2kW generator that works great when we go off for a few days or a week on this boat. The generator is fairly quiet, we place it on the foredeck when its in use and have a carbon monoxide detector in the cabin. The generator plugs into the boat with our shore power cord so that's easy enough. What we have would probably work great for your planned one time trip. It uses very little gas and I've had many appliances running with zero float on the battery: the air compressor for hubby's diving hookah, the counter top icemaker, my computer, and a little frig. It throttles depending upon power needed. Further, the particular model we had allows you to daisy chain two generators together (if you need more power in the future) to get double the kW.

Good luck.

[MMNETSEA]

Hi Mike,

Here is an interactive site which will help in calculating power for a system :-

http://www.mcalc.com/

regards

Richard

[mike37909]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

We have a 30' boat on a mooring w/ small solar panel that provides enough charge to keep the batteries topped up. Good luck.

I know the generator you have. I was trying to decide between it and the 1KV model which is a lot lighter. I am interested in the countertop icemaker. I have no fridge, or shower on the boat. My water tanks are small. I am kind of torn between camping on my boat or chartering a nice comfy one. If I use mine I can stay longer and allow the co-owner to use it. I could leave it there and then go back also.

I need to figure out bahamas prices for a slip so we can shower etc. Still doing my homework. I also like the wind generator. I really like the self sufficient idea. Maybe catch rain also, and use a sun shower with an enclosure on deck. Mike