I have a 2008 Fun Finder X-160 that I am planning to take to Alaska this summer.
I bought a brand new Honda eu1000i, thinking it will keep my battery charged while dry camping. I recently started a thread here asking about charging the van battery...
From what I'm reading, I'm somewhat concerned this little generator might not be up to the job of powering the trailer's converter in order to charge the trailer battery...? ? ?
I have a Parallelax 7155 (55A) converter. Will the Honda take care of me? (I sure hope so, because this could be a deal breaker on the trip).
Regards,
Michelle
PS: Sorry if it seems like I'm beating a dead horse, but dang, if this Honda doesn't do the job for which I bought it, Grrrrrrrrr...I'll have a brand new generator for sale!!
2008 Fun Finder X-160
2006 Toyota Sienna Limited
Equal-i-zer Hitch
Prodigy Brake Controller
Test it before the big trip. Run the battery down slowly to 12.0 volts and give it a go. There is a fair chance it will work fine.
Honda 1000 is a far better generator than 7155 is converter. I would trade the 7155 to a 30amp IOTA long before I sold the Honda. Possibly just use a portable battery charger if somehow the 7155 overloads the Honda.
That 7155 converter only does 13.8v so its charging amps along the likely length and gauge of wire in your rig will be low, and so that gen should run it ok. OTOH it will take a long time to recharge the battery with the low and tapering amps.
This charger is the best for what you want to do IMO.
It should run on the 1000w Honda, since the charger is rated at 785w. If it didn't, you can always set it to the 20amp charging rate. Because it does constant amps for a while instead of tapering amps right away like your 7155 will, even at 20 amps that charger will be faster than your 7155. (I have a 7355 so I know that )
It all depends on your time requirements, camping style, etc.
You also have the option of getting a second 1000w Honda and paralleling them if you want to run more appliances than one will
BTW converters have a power factor so they actually take more watts from the generator than the watts rating of the converter, so that 660w you see could overload the gen--be close anyway.
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Product Description
This automatic onboard battery charger is a high output portable charger, is completely automatic, and great for professional mechanics as they can be used for deep cycle batteries. Its 75-amps helps engines for emergency starting and the 12-amp fast charge helps to charge a battery in 2-5 hours. The 2-amp trickle charge charges a small 12-volt battery in 2-12 hours. It includes 2 LEDs which light up when the battery is fully charged and a 6 function rotary switch prevents overcharging of batteries.
That is only a 12a conventional charger so it is not in the same league as a 40a smart charger. It is a useful item to have along though.
However, you might find that you can run your 12a charger at the same time as the 7155 is on, and they will add their amps which will speed things up. It depends on whether the Honda will run both, etc etc.
Before buying anything more, try it all out pretend camping and see where you are at.
The simple answer is that you will be ok almost all of the time. The converter does have the capability to overload the eu1000i, but it should rarely if ever happen to you. The size of your battery bank, depth of discharge, and wiring between the converter and battery control how much current the converter is called on to produce. If you have a big battery bank, good wiring, and a highly discharged battery, you could overload the generator. If you do have a problem, turn off all of your 12 volt lights, and try again. If you want a fail-safe backup, take along a portable charger or a set of DC charging cables for the Honda (the charger is a better choice). You'll likely never have to use the backup, but it's there if you need it.
The detailed answer... The generator is rated at 1,000 VA maximum, 900 VA continuous (VA = volt amps, not the same as watts). If your converter is running at its full output, it's producing 13.8 (volts) times 55 (amps), or 759 watts. The converter is about 80% efficient, bumping the power requirement to 949 watts. It also has a power factor (an AC phenomena) of about 0.7, making it's maximum power demand from the generator 1,356 VA, above the generator's capability.
2009 Fleetwood Icon 24A
Honda Fit dinghy with US Gear brake system
LinkPro battery monitor - EU2000i generator
Product Description
This automatic onboard battery charger is a high output portable charger, is completely automatic, and great for professional mechanics as they can be used for deep cycle batteries. Its 75-amps helps engines for emergency starting and the 12-amp fast charge helps to charge a battery in 2-5 hours. The 2-amp trickle charge charges a small 12-volt battery in 2-12 hours. It includes 2 LEDs which light up when the battery is fully charged and a 6 function rotary switch prevents overcharging of batteries.
So, maybe the better path for me would be to hook the Honda up to this charger and then the charger directly to the trailer battery???
This charger also has a switch to choose from SLI (?) batteries to Deep Cycle batteries.
Could be faster but that will work fine if the 7155 somehow overloads the H1000. 12a into a single battery is a decent charge rate although you could go 15 to 20 amps per battery. Not to exceed 40 amps total due to generator limits.
It's impossible to charge one battery with 13.8V at 55A.
There should be no problem what so ever with one battery.
As mentioned, this converter is not efficient as it charges at 13.8V. If you want to reduce generator charge time, a 3-stage converter is a much better solution. I would go with a 30A Iota /IQ4. Install it close to the battery with big cables.
2oldman wrote: "Output Specifications: 13.8VDC No Load, 13.6VDC @ 55ADC with less than 0.250VAC AC noise."
The Parallax 7155 should be fine with that gen.
mitch5252 wrote: generator might not be up to the job of powering the trailer's converter in order to charge the trailer battery...? ? ?
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