Charging advice required please.

[U.Toadifact]

We use our PVC regularly where no hook up is available. The places I camp have no issue with generators so I use a small suitcase type to top up my batteries as the solar panel cannot keep up with the electric only fridge. The EC600 unit charges both the hab and starter batteries and automatically switches the solar charge to wherever it is needed.

My question is whether there would be any danger/advantage inherent in using the generator to power a CTEK charger connected directly to the hab battery terminals rather than charging through the 230v hook up system. Over to you electrical buffs. TIA

 

[autorouter]

Should work fine. All the chargers (solar, EHU etc) have diodes (electrical one-way valves) that prevent any unwanted back-feeding. Presumably the starter battery won't need much of a top-up, so you could move the CTEK to that for a short while every few days if necessary.

It's a good idea to make a charger fed from a generator as large as possible, within the limits that the battery can handle. This will minimise the run time. For example a 10A charger will draw about 14 x 10 = 140W, but a 40A charger will still only draw 560W but will be 4 times faster.

 

[U.Toadifact]

Thanks for the reply. Is there an advantage to charging an AGM hab battery this method rather than on EHU?

 

[autorouter]

The trouble with AGMs is they ideally need a long 'absorption ' stage of several hours for optimum charging. On EHU it's not a problem, you just leave it overnight to do its thing, but you don't really want a generator running for hours at a very small load.

It doesn't need that every time it charges, but a good idea to plug into EHU every so often to top them up. Or maybe get a bigger solar panel. An MPPT solar controller with an AGM profile will do the same thing. Then run the generator in the morning to fill the bulk of the requirements, then leave the solar and sunshine to finish the job.

 

[U.Toadifact]

Many thanks for that advice. I am most grateful.

More solar is on my wish list but installers have long lead times at present so it may be for next year.

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