Battery Chargers and Batteries

[Bustin Loose]

I have need of a battery charger and I also need a battery for my generator.

The generator:

http://www.harborfreight.com/engines...art-98838.html

The owners manual for my generator only states that the battery needs to be "DC 12 volt with 18-35 amp hours" and yet every battery I see lists CCA and CA. I'm not sure how that translates but would this battery be adequate to start that big of a generator?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=960005_0_0_

I need a battery charger as well and preferably one I can move around. I'll need to charge the 2 batteries that are in my Uhaul as well as the future 6 volt golf cart batteries(at least 4 of them) I'll be installing for house batteries.

I was looking at this charger but have no idea if it will be adequate for my needs:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=412277_0_0_

I'm pretty much stuck with doing the best I can with what I have available and that's Harbor Freight(bad reviews on all of their chargers, no surprise), Auto Zone, Ace Hardware and Home Depot.

Schooling appreciated.

[indytrucks]

XsPower most likely sells very thing you need.

[Bustin Loose]

Originally Posted by indytrucks

XsPower most likely sells very thing you need.

How?

[indytrucks]

Originally Posted by Bustin Loose

How?

How what? They make products, you give them money, you get products.

[Bustin Loose]

Thanks for the lack of reading comprehension. It was very enlightening. I'd appreciate real answers not vague assholery that doesn't answer any of my questions.

[pepe]

If it were me I would find the specs for the generator, divide that by 2,since it's a hf pos. then look at the specs for a battery charger and see what the biggest one the generator will handle.

[Bustin Loose]

I really don't know how else to claim ignorance on this subject or how

Originally Posted by Bustin Loose

Schooling appreciated.

could be looked at any other way. I stated it several times, asked some specific questions, posted links on what I had and what I was looking at. No offense but if I hadn't flunked mind reading and knew what specs you were talking about, why they are important and what they mean to me I could probably figure this out on my own.

[pepe]

What specs?

Ok the generator says it outputs 5500 watts, 5500/2 = 2750 watts. (cause it's a HF POS). So the charger you buy can't draw more than 2750 watts. Follow.

So the charger you linked shows a max charging current of 40 amps. At 12 volts thats 40x12= 480 watts output. Assume that there is some loss in the charger.

I would say that charger would work with the generator.

You want to charge 4 6 volt batts at the same time. I assume you have them hooked up in series putting out 12 volts. That would mean you would be charging each batt at about 10 amps. Probably less.

My cheep pos batt charger at home puts out a max of 10 amps, 5 amps for trickle charge.

I would think that combo would work fine.


As far as the starting batt for the generator, I don't know. My head hurts from all of this typing.
Good luck.

[me2]

I need a battery charger as well and preferably one I can move around. I'll need to charge the 2 batteries that are in my Uhaul as well as the future 6 volt golf cart batteries(at least 4 of them) I'll be installing for house batteries.

SEARCH RV forums.

[offroad_joe]

For the generator. it took me about 2 minutes on a Google search typed in HF generator battery.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/D5745-12V-18...ht_1414wt_1306

For the u haul engine batteries just use any automotive type charger. The shouldn't need to be constantly charged. If they do they are no good or you have a draw that you need to find. Maybe a solar trickle charger would keep them topped off?

If your looking for a charger for the house batteries on the u haul use a smart charger.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/2007574...Types&var=sbar

With the charge wizard.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OR41UM/...hvptwo=&hvqmt=





















































































Your welcome.

[4x4prepper]

I guess there is no Northern Tools or Sears where you are. So ...

That battery will be fine for the generator. If it was me, I would see if I could find a local Batteries PLUS, get screwed on the price, but, get the proper sized battery that would last. 3 month warranty tells you the quality.

Unless that generator puts out a pure sine wave do NOT plug the charger or a UPS into it.

Unless you have something wrong with the U-Haul and batteries you do not need a trickle charge. Starting and running once a month is all it needs. Otherwise you have bad batteries or a severe draw. A battery cut off would not hurt if the vehicle is not OBD II computer controlled.

[Bustin Loose]

Originally Posted by pepe

Ok the generator says it outputs 5500 watts, 5500/2 = 2750 watts. (cause it's a HF POS). So the charger you buy can't draw more than 2750 watts. Follow.

Indeed and yes it is a HF POS, I'm babying it just to keep it alive long enough to work on my project. Thankfully it came with a 2 year warranty.

Originally Posted by pepe

You want to charge 4 6 volt batts at the same time. I assume you have them hooked up in series putting out 12 volts. That would mean you would be charging each batt at about 10 amps. Probably less.

Not yet but that is the plan.

Originally Posted by pepe

As far as the starting batt for the generator, I don't know. My head hurts from all of this typing.
Good luck.

Thanks for the education. I've always found electrical anything baffling. I blame it on math.

Originally Posted by offroad_joe

For the generator. it took me about 2 minutes on a Google search typed in HF generator battery.

Thanks but as I implied in my original post, I'm limited as to where I can get one. If shipping was an option I'd have one.

Originally Posted by offroad_joe

If they do they are no good or you have a draw that you need to find. Maybe a solar trickle charger would keep them topped off?

They are weak due to me leaving a 12 volt heating pad on and draining them to nothing twice. I can start the truck if I do it every few days but I wasn't able to get out to it when it was raining and while everything electrical lights up, it's not enough to start. I'm trying to keep them useful til I can get out to another members place and hit up their local battery guy for truck and house batteries.

I was definitely exploring the idea of the solar trickle chargers but the only ones I can get to are at HF which are overpriced and cheap for what they do. I'll look into the actual house battery charging when I can get the wiring done in the future and then moved where I'll be plugged in.

Originally Posted by offroad_joe

Your welcome.

Thank you sweetlumps.

Originally Posted by 4x4prepper

I guess there is no Northern Tools or Sears where you are. So ... Batteries PLUS

I have none of those locally. I can't even find a battery reconditioner around this automotive wasteland. That's why I mentioned I'm pretty much limited to HF(yuck) and AutoZone.

Originally Posted by 4x4prepper

Unless that generator puts out a pure sine wave do NOT plug the charger or a UPS into it.

No it doesn't and I was assuming that if I used a mechanical battery charger like I linked I would be okay since I'm not charging anything but lead acid batteries from it and there's nothing electrical except for the meter. Can I get away with a 1/2 hour charge and jump or is this really that bad of an idea?

Originally Posted by 4x4prepper

Otherwise you have bad batteries or a severe draw. A battery cut off would not hurt if the vehicle is not OBD II computer controlled.

Weak batteries and a momentary lack of judgement. Now I have to make up for that until I can get my truck registered and actually drive it. My truck is old so everything on it is mechanical.

[4x4prepper]

> I was assuming that if I used a mechanical battery charger like I linked I would be okay

Well, without getting into the technical in which I am not well versed. The charger could be outputting a square wave for battery charging, it has an inverter itself, you feed it a MSW instead of a pure sine wave, and things heat up. Plus, throw in a rectifier and circuit board on the generator to deal with.

The HF generator manual (I quickly checked) basically says if things get hot, turn them off. But, by that time, you nuked the battery charger and maybe the battery.

> there's nothing electrical except for the meter.

Actually, inside that charger is probably a circuit board full of things with black smoke in them if you take off the cover.

> Can I get away with a 1/2 hour charge and jump or is this really that bad of an idea?

Save your sales slip (warranty) and give it a try a few times within a 14 day window. Watch out for exploding batteries, though if anything nukes I would think it is the charger that would go DOA first.

If you read the reviews on the cheap HF chargers and inverters, people add fans. It increases their life and is needed. Some people spray the circuit boards with marine sealant.

The HF manual carries a warning about not using a DMM to determine true output voltage unless it uses true RMS or something like that. Basically, if you do not have an expensive Fluke meter you can't determine the output of the generator at the plug.

> My truck is old so everything on it is mechanical.

Excellent, get a battery cut off switch.

Most likely the battery cables are bad or have bad ends from corrosion/time, if you want to gamble a small bit of money, replace the negative cables first. Delco use to have a chart to follow where you test OHMs,voltage drop, and such to pinpoint bad cables. Instead of replacing the whole cable you can cut off the end where the green ends and clamp on a new lug using de-electrical grease and heat shrink.

HF does sell a hydraulic crimper ($50) and you can order the right sized wire lugs from almost anywhere mail order. Then get the generic cable length from Autozone.

Good cables will drastically improve the performance of marginal batteries. I know from experience with 100s of trucks.

Clean the battery trays and put a rubber mat between the battery and metal tray. This can help the battery from draining during long periods. Basically, the air moisture and battery acids can create a path from the terminals to ground to drain the battery over a long period of time. Clean batteries and an insulator can help prevent that.

Forgot to add, charge one battery at a time and leave the cables off between the batteries after charging. One bad battery can draw down the other three in short order.