Recommend generator for battery charge

Nogridsister
Nogridsister Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Hello,

I need help choosing a generator for charging my battery bank - (4) 12V 200NC batteries (48V).  I have a Noco G 15000 Genius battery charger.   I would like to charge separately from my solar inverter - just generator to batteries.    I am looking at the Honda EU3000is or Honda EU7000is.    I would probably need to charge batteries once a week in the winter.   Anyone have experience or opinions here?
I would really appreciate the help!


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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    This charger https://no.co/g15000 ?
    15A, up to 400ah bank ?  12 or 24V   yet you state a 48V bank.   How do you think that is going to work ?

     Calls for 250W, so a generator speced for 400W cont duty should work, even a honda eu1000 would do it,

    BUT, this would be a wasted charger,  When charging from a generator, you only need a simple charger to bulk your battery to 80% or so, and let the solar finish topping it off.  Running a 3000 w generator (even honda eu) to charge a battery the last 15% or so, will waste fuel and add many hours to the engine,    You should be looking at a simple 48V charger like the http://www.iotaengineering.com/dls5413.htm    48V 13A output   700w output x 1.3 eff = apx 900 watts to drive it, more than the eu1000 can do.   But wait.  because these have a heavy starting surge, a small inverter generator may not be able to start the supply for the first charging cycle of the internal switching caps.






    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    The small hondas have an eco mode that throttles back under lighter load, so a bit more efficient (and quieter) to run partly loaded. I really like my eu2000. Yamaha and others make similar units.

    IIRC, the iota chargers have a low power factor, so aren't great for regular generator charging. I have a couple, but they get used so rarely it doesn't matter that much to me. If I was using a charger weekly, I'd spend the $$ for a better power factor.
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
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  • jonr
    jonr Solar Expert Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2017 #4
    178AH AGM battery bank? - I'd charge at around 25A with an EU2000i.    Generators are most efficient at high, not partial loads.  I suspect that engine wear per kwh (for a given generator) is also lower, but that's hard to find data for.

    I am available for custom hardware/firmware development

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