Best generator

[Ron20324]

....Has anyone used the DC output of this generator to achieve a faster charge? Pete

I got the model with the 12-volt charger. That voltage is actually higher than that, as I measured with a VOM. In 5 years I have not used the 12 to charge ANYTHING, so I strongly suggest you get the model with the twist-lock (30-amp rated) connector to use your shore power cord to connect to your boat. And use the ship's charger powered from the Honda. I also suggest Wisesales.com 800-916-9473 as the best price, delivered to your door in several days.

 

[prroots]

What I did 'cause I thought we needed 110 AC on the boat was replace my 30 amp charger with a 2000 watt inverter charger capable of 100 amps DC. Turns out that unless your golf carts are dead flat, they won't accept more than 50 amps or so. Very glad I didn't spend the money on a 100amp alternator and 2 belt pulleys.

All the experts suggest not running your battery bank below 50 % of capacity. Same experts say it takes for ever to reach 100% charged. ? Can you live with the 30% between 50 and 80? To support my new electric windlass, I added 2 golf carts under the v berth for a total of 6 and 600+ AH. 30% of that is 180+ AH, about 3 days for me. If anchored for longer, I run my Honda 2k for one tank of gas, about 3 hours, and put 100+ AH back.

Like Maine Sail, I enjoy quiet evenings, so I run my generator afternoons, maybe 1 to 4

It is our experience that a day's motoring with a 50 amp alternator charges the bank to 100%.

Thanks. I would much rather have a 75 or 80 Amp charger, but I don't want to give up my nice Xantrex TrueCharge 2 40 Amp charger which works great when on shore power. Any ideas on how to arrange a second, larger charger for use with Honda. It should be quite inexpensive since the cost would be in addition to the Honda. I'm wondering if some type of direct connect, portable system wouldn't be the way to go. Maybe the charger could be inexpensive if I'm not using it to float. Like you, my idea would be to charge from SOC of 50 up to 80% on a daily basis. Any ideas on how to get the job done economically?
Pete

 

[prroots]

I just had another idea. Why not purchase a 2nd 40 Amp charger and run the two in parallel when the Honda is in use? That saves money (as compared to a 75-80 Amp charger) and adds a level of redundancy. I'm not sure if the outputs from the two chargers would conflict though. Maybe if they were the identical make and model (ie, Xantrex TrueCharge 2) it would be ok?
Pete

 

[Cayennita]

In my old Hunter Legend 35 I used a Coleman 1.75 KW generator and made up a power cord to connect to my 30 amp shore power receptacle. I started it up to charge batteries while Mr. Coffee was doing it's thing and also could use it with my microwave.
It was noisy bur cheap. We did the Annapolis- Newport race and the crew appreciated the espresso. Today I would buy a nice quiet Honda unit and make up a short power cord.

 

[prroots]

I just discovered on the manufacturer's website that my Xantrex True Charge 2 40Amp can be paralleled with another one. That would offer the following advantages:
- redundancy
- less expense buying another 40 rather than replacing mine with a larger one
- allow use of other AC such as appliances since it's a permanent install
Pete

 

[Maine Sail]

I just discovered on the manufacturer's website that my Xantrex True Charge 2 40Amp can be paralleled with another one. That would offer the following advantages:
- redundancy
- less expense buying another 40 rather than replacing mine with a larger one
- allow use of other AC such as appliances since it's a permanent install
Pete

On the surface that sounds like a good plan but you need to look at the specs of both the generator and the two 40A chargers. Each of those chargers has the ability to pull 7.7A of AC current so two can potentially pull 15.4A. Will they do that? Probably not, but it can still be close to at least 7A each if both were in bulk mode. The Honda 2k is rated at 1600W / 13.6A continuous, mine WON'T do that however and shuts down at around 13A continuous, so you are really pushing the limits of the EU2000 with two 40A chargers.

I would get your current 40A charger in bulk mode, producing max DC output of 40A, and measure the actual AC consumption. If it does not exceed 6.5A then you're likely fine with two TC2-40A units..

What is your bank and how big?

 

[prroots]

On the surface that sounds like a good plan but you need to look at the specs of both the generator and the two 40A chargers. Each of those chargers has the ability to pull 7.7A of AC current so two can potentially pull 15.4A. Will they do that? Probably not, but it can still be close to at least 7A each if both were in bulk mode. The Honda 2k is rated at 1600W / 13.6A continuous, mine WON'T do that however and shuts down at around 13A continuous, so you are really pushing the limits of the EU2000 with two 40A chargers.

I would get your current 40A charger in bulk mode, producing max DC output of 40A, and measure the actual AC consumption. If it does not exceed 6.5A then you're likely fine with two TC2-40A units..

What is your bank and how big?

Thanks a lot. I was going to do that research, but you beat me to the punch You're right it's too close to assume things will be OK. I have a battery monitor for the DC side, but I'm not sure how best to measure AC consumption. I do have a digital Volt-ohm-ammeter. I wonder if I need a precision resistor in series? How about a 0.1 Ohm resistor rated at say 5 Watts? My calculations suggest that at 6 Amps I will see a Voltage drop of 0.6 Volts with a power dissipation across resistor of 3.6 Watts 9eg, http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/IRC/LOB5R100F/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtlleCFQhR/zfSGFfH%2b5XrSvEKiA/00IB0=).

My house bank consists of 4 golf cart batteries equaling about 440 Ahr
Pete

 

[gettinthere]

I just discovered on the manufacturer's website that my Xantrex True Charge 2 40Amp can be paralleled with another one. That would offer the following advantages:
- redundancy
- less expense buying another 40 rather than replacing mine with a larger one
- allow use of other AC such as appliances since it's a permanent install
Pete

I have the EXACT setup you describe. My honda 2k will shut down after about 5 minutes of runtime. That is why I posted earlier that I wish they made a 2500.

 

[prroots]

I have the EXACT setup you describe. My honda 2k will shut down after about 5 minutes of runtime. That is why I posted earlier that I wish they made a 2500.

Wow, once again someone else has done the research for me Thanks a lot; you may have saved me some grief. I do have a few questions though. It seems to me that the current draw by the Honda in that instance will depend on the SOC of the batteries. As the batteries become more fully charged the current draw of the chargers will drop and eventually be within the maximum limit of the Honda. Have you found that to be true? Or perhaps this only happens after the SOC is well above what exists under everyday charging conditions? My final question is what have you done, if anything, to deal with the situation? Since Xantrex makes a 20 Amp unit, I wonder if that can be paralleled with my 40 Amp or must the units be identical? The manual states that the following conditions must be met for parallel operation:

Two Truecharge2 Battery Chargers must have the same output voltage rating. Never parallel a 24-volt charger with a 12-volt charger.
Both Truecharge2 Battery Chargers must connect to a Truecharge2 Remote Panel.
Both Truecharge2 Battery Chargers must be correctly installed.

It says nothing about them being the same capacity output which suggests it might be OK. I'll call Xantrex today and hopefully, confirm same.
Pete

 

[prroots]

What I did 'cause I thought we needed 110 AC on the boat was replace my 30 amp charger with a 2000 watt inverter charger capable of 100 amps DC. Turns out that unless your golf carts are dead flat, they won't accept more than 50 amps or so. Very glad I didn't spend the money on a 100amp alternator and 2 belt pulleys.

After rereading your post and the more recent one by gettinthere, I have a question. What kind of current does your inverter/charger draw if it's capable of putting out 100 Amps DC? Does it not exceed the maximum continuous draw of the Honda EU2000i (ie, 13.6 Amps)?
Pete

 

[BillyK]

After rereading your post and the more recent one by gettinthere, I have a question. What kind of current does your inverter/charger draw if it's capable of putting out 100 Amps DC? Does it not exceed the maximum continuous draw of the Honda EU2000i (ie, 13.6 Amps)?
Pete

Mathematically it should handle it.. 100amps times 12 volts = 1200 watts.. so at 120 volts there should be a draw of 10 amps (1200/120=10). The conversion isnt perfect due to efficiency factors, but 10 amps is 3.6 less than the max. it should handle it.. at least in my perfect world..

 

[prroots]

I have the EXACT setup you describe. My honda 2k will shut down after about 5 minutes of runtime. That is why I posted earlier that I wish they made a 2500.

I just got off the phone with Xantrex tech support. They said you could de-regulate your chargers in 20% increments (eg, 80%, 60%, 40%...). Thus if you de-regulated to 80% the max output would be 64 Amp instead of 80. This should solve your problem if I understood correctly.

In my case, my TrueCharge 2 40Amp charger is probably too old. The attached sticker must say 804-1240-02. The earlier, non-stacking versions are missing the 02 at the end. Also, the remote panel must be of the newer type with two telephone jacks labeled master and slave rather than just one. The newer ones were introduced around June 2011 so mine is undoubtedly of the older type.

I also learned that you can stack chargers with different output capacities such as a 20 and 40 Amp. However, with the de-regulate feature that should not be necessary when paralleling two 40's.
Pete

 

[Maine Sail]

Mathematically it should handle it.. 100amps times 12 volts = 1200 watts.. so at 120 volts there should be a draw of 10 amps (1200/120=10). The conversion isnt perfect due to efficiency factors, but 10 amps is 3.6 less than the max. it should handle it.. at least in my perfect world..

Actually the math should look more like; 100A X 14.6V = 1460 watts or 12.2A roughly. But, you can't charge a battery at 12 volts so 14.4 - 14.8V is where the charger is pushing reach.

The majority of chargers are less than 80% efficient with some older chargers barely even 60% efficient. If you figure 80% efficiency, which is more than many chargers are, you're bumping up against 15A.. To further confuse we have both AC and DC inefficiencies going on inside a battery charger. Even the latest and greatest power factor corrected chargers are barely pushing 89-90% total efficiency.. The True Charge 40 specs say max AC draw of 7.7A AC... Pretty inefficient charger..

If you have 450Ah of battery and can only get 50A in bulk something is wrong. You should easily see 23-25% +/- acceptance or around 100A in bulk charge.. You're probably not dropping much below 80% SOC, the voltage drop is really bad or the batteries are possibly sulfated. How fast does the voltage rise to acceptance?

I have a number of boats with 450 Ah banks where I have had to dial the alt regulator back on to keep the belts happy because they were taking 90-105A of charge current in bulk..

 

[Bill1565]

After rereading your post and the more recent one by gettinthere, I have a question. What kind of current does your inverter/charger draw if it's capable of putting out 100 Amps DC? Does it not exceed the maximum continuous draw of the Honda EU2000i (ie, 13.6 Amps)?
Pete

Don't know. Never got 100 amps. Never ran the batteries all the way down. 60+was top reading. and that was at home hooked up to 110 after I left the fridge on and the A/C unplugged for a few days.

I'm not an electrical type, don't want to "break in" my batts by draining them 3 times as suggested by Ample Power. When we anchor out, we do for days. When we travel, about 80% of the time we motor or motor sail. My solution was more batteries. Works well for our lifestyle.

 

[Rick D]

Must Be Something Wrong With Me Too

Don't know. Never got 100 amps. Never ran the batteries all the way down. 60+was top reading. and that was at home hooked up to 110 after I left the fridge on and the A/C unplugged for a few days.

I have a Heart 2500 inverter/charger and I think the charger is 135 amps as I recall. When I draw my 420 ah golf cart bank down 60-ish percent and charge it with either the 90 amp Balmar or the Honda 2000 with the power share set at 20 amps AC, I hang right around 60 during bulk. I'm never that far down at the slip, so I don't know how it would be with 30 amps shore power. Would be nice to get some more out of the Honda, but the next step up is 30 amps power share and she'll OD on that.

 

[prroots]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've decided to go with two 200 watt solar panels plus charge controller in lieu of the generator. The cost, not counting the solar mount, was essentially the same either way.
Pete