Using a 1000 watt generator/inverter

[bgallinger]

I have 4 x 100Ah deep cycle batteries and I'm thinking of buying a 1000 watt generator (eg. Honda EU1000i) to charge up the batteries. I would run a shore power cable from the generator to my shore power receptacle and turn on the Battery Charge breaker. The Honda unit pushes out about 8 amps and I prefer the small unit for weight and noise level.
I'm wondering if the 1000 watt generator is sufficient in size to charge the batteries
Thanks in advance!

[Wotname]

Not sure why you are thanking us in advance as I don't see any question in the OP.

You will need to consider how much fuel you will need for the Honda and where to stow it.

[bgallinger]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Not sure why you are thanking us in advance as I don't see any question in the OP.

You will need to consider how much fuel you will need for the Honda and where to stow it.

I'm wondering if the 1000 watt generator is sufficient to charge the batteries as I don't really want to go to a 2000 watt generator

[wholybee]

Not accounting for efficiency losses, a 1000W generator can run an 80A 12V charger. (1000W/12V~80A)

How large is the charger you want to run?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

I'm wondering if the 1000 watt generator is sufficient to charge the batteries as I don't really want to go to a 2000 watt generator

What size is your battery charger?

[Mike OReilly]

I have a 1000 watt Yamaha gas gen which I use in exactly the way you describe. My charger is a 30 amp. House bank is 360 Ah. No problem.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Not accounting for efficiency losses, a 1000W generator can run an 80A 12V charger. (1000W/12V~80A)

How large is the charger you want to run?

In theory yes but you need to take account of max charge voltage 14.4 and the power factor.


A standard Honda e1000 inverter generator is rated at 900watts continuos and will cope with a 40amp charger. It may or may not cope with up to 60amp depending on the charger losses.



Some of the more sophisticated chargers allow you to "half load" ie an 80amp charger can be switched down 40amp.


Old style non inverter generators will power larger chargers because they are happy for the output voltage to be pulled down to <110v or <240v


Running off the 8amp 12v output as implied by the OP would be very slow and uneconomic regards fuel usage.

[Reefmagnet]

If it's a Honda 1000 the continuous rating is 900 w and the biggest charger you can get that will work on it is 50A. Not all 50 amp chargers will work - you need to check the specs. In any event, you can't use the eco mode setting for this size charger.



Even at a fair rate of discharge, this size battery bank won't max out the charger for too long as the rate of charge will decrease as the battery approaches full charge.



I could charge my half depleted 360 ah bank on a tank of fuel which is about 3 to 4 hours running time. This included using the excess generator capacity to charge laptops and stuff once the battery charge rate reduced.

[smac999]

The 1000 would Likly be appropriate.

As said probably run a 40-50a charger. With a 400ah bank it Likly won’t take 40a for long anyways. So there isn’t much need for a bigger gen. Unless you also want to power ac loads or big dc loads

A 2000w gen will power a 80-100a charger but there is no need on a 400ah bank.

Just make sure you Actully have or buy a ~40a charger.

If you are running a 10-20a charger you are just wasting fuel and running ~3x longer

[Adelie]

If the charger is large then the 1000 will be close to it’s limit initially and probably loud, even for a Honda. As the charge tapers the load and the noise will decrease.

I assume the genset is only for use first thing in the morning for 1hr when the batteries are at their lowest and can accept the most charge and there are solar panels to deal with the long slow charge from 70% to 100%.

[BruceS]

Maybe he's confused about running it off the DC connectors on the Honda? I think that is 8A?

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

[...]

Running off the 8amp 12v output as implied by the OP would be very slow and uneconomic regards fuel usage.

He didn't imply much, he clearly stated to use the "shore power receptacle".

So as mentioned above the OP should be good to go with the right size shore charger.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by hzcruiser

He didn't imply much, he clearly stated to use the "shore power receptacle".

So as mentioned above the OP should be good to go with the right size shore charger.

"The Honda unit pushes out about 8 amps" obviously reference to the DC output so an element of confusion. Personally I don't know why Honda fit DC connections never known anyone to use them.

[Wotname]

Dunno why anyone thinks the statement "The Honda unit pushes out about 8 amps" is a reference to a DC output.

I thought it was clearly a reference to the AC output being as the OP refers to a Honda EU1000i. 120V x 8A = 960 VA which is close to the rated output of this Honda unit.

[hzcruiser]

exactly.... Wotname... 8A @ 12V would be pitiful, yet some posts upstream seem to work with that...