12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
12v charging on the generators
Usually doesn’t put out much charging at all
This is just a temporary setup
have a small 12 volt setup to just run a small refrigerator and it has been working very well so far. I currently use the generator to charge the 12 volt 200 amp hour battery once every 3 or 4 days. I am using an inverter going from the 12 volt battery to the 120 side to the cabin. I also have a 12-volt charger that I run off of my generator to charge the battery when I need to.
Just back to the beginning here…
Since this is temporary a thing I have done may be of interest to you.
I have not over-wintered with my current RV setup nor have I had a running heater. Didn’t need it for the 7+ warm months I’ve used it for the past 3 years.
This winter, however, I am overwintering (to not spend the $5000+ cost of renting for the winter) but the issue I’ve had is with multiple cloudy days as both the fridge and furnace cycling as expected.
I was at 12.1 volts a few weeks back just after dark but two days of little solar. I thought I’d try charging with a vehicle. My 2021 Nissan Rogue wouldn’t charge (barely 12.4/12.4V at idle!!) but I discovered my 1987 jeep was 13.1 at idle. I hooked up the jumper cables and within about 45minutes at idle the readout on the inverter was displaying14+ volts. Other than a couple milliwatt lights I turned everything off for a half hour and it settled to typical (in summer) summer 12.8V. It was still 12.4 the next morning after running furnace and fridge all night long.
I’ve boosted a few times with the jeep now. Quieter than a generator, fairly effective, and I don’t think I burned that much gasoline. I’m still surprised. I’m rethinking my backup power situation (do nothing option) as 40 days from now cloudiness resides, days get longer, and in 90 days March arrives which is usually the last gasp of 0*F or -10F anyway.
A lot of words to basically set the stage:
If you have a vehicle that actually makes volts at idle, you might get all the amps you need with less trouble and fuss with just jumper cables. Bigger systems don’t have that option.