| Author |
Message |
Buddy Tennison (Buddyten)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 5:04 pm: | |
Getting ready to add some batteries to run some 12V lighting, and some other things. I went to my battery shop and talked with them, but not real sure I understand or agree with them. Thought I would get some advice from the "field experts".
He suggested that rather than 12V deep cycle batteries, we use (2) 6V golf cart batteries, hooked up to give 12V. Said that it would give us many more hours of "run" time between charges.
Our questions are:
1. Is he correct? Approx how many hours should these run 12V lights and small items (TV, stereo)?
2. We currently have a 12V deep cycle battery that powers our genset. Can we eliminate this battery, and hook the genset up to these batteries?
3. We use an automotive 10A battery charger to maintain charge on the Onan Genset. Will this charger maintain the golf cart batteries or will we have to get some other type charger? Can we get by with a smaller charger, and still maintain the charge? We are giving up, obviously, 10A of the available 58 amps from our genset production just to keep a battery charged.
4. Should we install an isolator of some type and power the genset off the bus batteries (have 3 12V @ 850A each)? If so, how is the best way to hook all this up to avoid my genset from running my bus batteries down?
5. We were donated a 1000W inverter by the County that came from a wrecked ambulance. Realize that this is not a true sine wave inverter, and do not intend to run electronics off it, just some lighting, coffee pot, etc. Is this OK to use. Inverter does not have much time on it.
We sometimes sit 12-15 hrs with nothing but genset running at our singing dates, and overnite stays at truck stops. Just need advice to make sure we do things right. Also, need to keep in mind we are a gospel group, and obviously funds and expenditures are at a premium.
Thanks, |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 5:27 pm: | |
I@N, please delete. I made a mistake. OOPS.
(Message edited by drivingmisslazy on May 02, 2006) |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 5:43 pm: | |
2. We currently have a 12V deep cycle battery that powers our genset. Can we eliminate this battery, and hook the genset up to these batteries?
This is your lifeline in case everything else is dead. With this you can always start the genset and use the genset to recharge your other dead batteries. I would not in any circumstances eliminate this battery.
3. We use an automotive 10A battery charger to maintain charge on the Onan Genset. Will this charger maintain the golf cart batteries or will we have to get some other type charger? Can we get by with a smaller charger, and still maintain the charge? We are giving up, obviously, 10A of the available 58 amps from our genset production just to keep a battery charged.
The Onan has (should have) a built in battery charger. You should not need an auxiliary charger to keep the genset battery charged.
A 10 amp charger is not big enough to re-charge the golf cart batteries.
I do not understand giving up 10 amps of the 58 amps from the genset. If you are talking about the 10 amps DC charging current, it only requires about 1 amp from the genset AC output to provide this minuscule amount of DC power.
4. Should we install an isolator of some type and power the genset off the bus batteries (have 3 12V @ 850A each)? If so, how is the best way to hook all this up to avoid my genset from running my bus batteries down?
There should be no need to run the genset from the bus batteries. You might consider a switch to connect the bus batteries to the genset battery momentarily to start the genset. This in case you run the genset battery down.
This is a partial answer. I am sure you will get a lot more advise.
Richard |
Buddy Tennison (Buddyten)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 7:01 pm: | |
Richard:
Our genset (Onan Marquis 7000 -- Gas) does not have a built in battery charger. It will run the battery down without an outside charger. Now, we don't know whether it is just not operable, or it never had a built in one. We were donated this genset by a deacon in our church who had it in a motor home, which was wrecked. It only had about 500 hrs on it. It operates beautifully, but we have found that it will not operate without the external battery charger. Any suggestions on what to check to see if our charger is just not operable?
You mentioned that we were giving up only about 1A to run the 10A battery charger. I have read on some previous posts that a battery charger eats up current like crazy. Is this incorrect?
Thanks,
Buddy |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 7:14 pm: | |
Unfortunately you will probably have to take the genset to a Cummins dealer to have it worked on. I am certain that it has a built in charger that is not working.
Battery chargers require very little AC power. As a rule of thumb you could use 1 amp of 120 volt AC power for 10 amps of 12 volt DC power. A 100 amp 12 volt DC battery charter would require 10-15 amps of 120 volt AC power. |
Tim James
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 7:53 pm: | |
Definitely go with the golf cart batteries. They are far superior in every way to the 12v deep cycle batteries you'll find. More amp hours and much larger plates. |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 8:28 pm: | |
Every Onan I can remember seeing (or owned), charged the
genset battery!
But, Onan sells the kit, so it could be yours didn't come with it installed?
A less expensive genset package? Or maybe just a charger failure?
In any case, Onan has it as a: 10 amp charging kit #541-0466
Most RVs used the house batteries to start the genset. The battery
isolator keeps the house and engine batteries separate. The engine
alternator charges both the house and engine batteries, while the
isolator keeps the house appliances from depleting the engine battery,
and the engine/chassis from depleting the house set.
There was usually an isolator override, to automatically jumper
the house to the engine, to enable starting the engine when the
engine battery's dead... Or... To start the genset from the engine
battery, when the house set's gonzo..
The electro-mechanical (solenoid) type is the older and most
commonly used. It's also the easiest to override.... It's also
subject to failure... but.. what's new? The electronic isolators
do the job nicely, but at a higher cost. Some are difficult to
override... Take yer pick..
Pretty basic stuff, no rocket surgery here.. |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 9:06 pm: | |
For the minimum amount of use a solenoid would get in use as a bypass would probably assure a life span of at least 100 years or more. LOL
Richard |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 9:59 pm: | |
I replaced two during a two year period, in our Winnebago.
They don't make 'em like they used to, Richard. I think
the Chinese have lost their touch lately... |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:05 pm: | |
Oh hey... Not as a "bypass"... The solenoid is used with each
twist of the ignition switch. The "bypass" is an added feature.
The electronic ones fail also... one good surge, and they're
gonzo. The solenoids seem to take more of an electrical variance,
but the contacts wear, pit and lose their temper over time. |
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