Battery charging options

[jdux999]

Hello All. This question shows my lack of knowledge about batteries and charging them. Thanks for the help. We just picked up our Reflection 260RD 5th wheel. When I'm not plugged into shore power, what is the better way to charge my house battery? I have a 2000watt champion generator and I have a NOCO Genuis 5 battery charger. Should I charge my battery straight from the generator or connect the battery to the NOC and then connect the NOCO to the generator? A second question, if I plug directly into the generator do I use a step down from 50 amp to 30 amp then to 20 amp, or is there a better way to connect the generator. Also, do I need to run the generator through a Power Surge unit before going into the RV? Thanks again for the help, John

 

[jkwilson]

Somewhat depends on the specific generator. An inverter generator produces very pure power and if that’s what you have, just plug directly into the shore power to run the converter and charge the battery. I have an adapter that plugs directly into the 50A port on my trailer that takes a 15A extension cord that I use for that purpose.

Your NOCO is likely a better charger than the converter in the RV, but much lower output current. The NOCO will take much longer to charge the battery and can’t provide much power for loads like lights while charging as the converter can.

 

[Ir.Mrbill]

It’s all about how many amps your charger supplies. As JK mentioned your RV’s converter/charger is weak and will be slow. The NOCO 5 puts out 5 Amps and likely your generator’s 12V out is about the same,slow. mine was. A good rule of thumb (a guess) you use 20 to 30 amp/hrs per day so you would need to run your generator 4 to 6 hours to keep your batteries full. when you drive your tow rig is charging usually a bit more than 5 amps and a few hours on the road will get you back to full charge.
I bought an inexpensive battery charger that charges at 15 amps so I only have to run a couple hours. It’s all about matching what goes in to what went out.