Generator start battery

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Dale,

Good question and a correct observation. On my original coach the alternator belt was just removed. On my current coach the belt is in place and that just might be to run the water pump. I have never checked to see if it is generating current.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Why would you want to eleminate another perfectly good way, in that gen alternater, to charge batterys?

If we throw the 12 volt equalizer switch it not only allows us to jump start the gen from the house but it also allows us to charge the gen off the inverter/charger and we can also charge the house off the gen alternater if the inverter/charger fails.

So let me see if I have this right. I need to remove a perfectly good alt and another charging source and oh ya, ADD a completly unnessessary turbo to my generator

Good Golly

[jelmore]

You guys are a riot!

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jim this is way better than you could ever imagine.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim,

Step back a little while I try to adjust Joe's attitude.

Joe.....you are thinking like a guy with a Winnebago. If the generator battery wasn't keeping its charge maintained via the inverters or the bus engine driven alternator then using the generator alternator makes sense, and in fact it may be getting its charge from the alternator now, only I have not bothered to check.

When our fancy schmancy Liberty buses are running all batteries including the generator battery are getting a charge. When our bus is connected to shore power the battery is getting a charge via the inverters, and when the generator is running the battery is getting a charge via the inverters. I suppose we could shift into overkill and run the generator alternator also (if it is not already) and add another charging source. Or do you think the national electric grid powering two inverters, or 470 HP driving an alternator will be enough or a generator powering two inverter/chargers is enough?.

There is no way a 30 or 45 amp alternator on the generator is going to be able to backfeed and contribute to a charge on the house or chassis batteries. They have the potential to suck the electric right out of that tiny alternator and make it run at full capacity 100% of the time the generator is running making its lifespan about equal to the attention span of a member of congress,.

[jelmore]

Well, the humor of it is starting to set in.

I just got my new isolator. One side is labeled +12V and the other side is labeled Load. And, it's labled "Medical Equipment". Any idea how this should be connected? Maybe this is Jon's ohm meter thing he mentioned, though I'm clueless. May have to wait until Monday to check with Vanner.

[Kenneth Brewer]

Well, the humor of it is starting to set in.

I just got my new isolator. One side is labeled +12V and the other side is labeled Load. And, it's labled "Medical Equipment". Any idea how this should be connected? Maybe this is Jon's ohm meter thing he mentioned, though I'm clueless. May have to wait until Monday to check with Vanner.

'Load' terminals are wired to generator battery, if we are talking about the isolator for the genset. The load is the gen battery, which is isolated if the source (12V) voltage is less than the generator battery. That is how ther terminology is adopted in industrial cases (UPS, standby generators). Having said that, it IS possible the terminology for vehicles/vehicle systems is used 'backwards', but I doubt it. We don't want to get into what the '+' really means on batteries - "holes" vs. electrons, and start a fight between electrical engineers and battery makers. Oh, ....just skip it.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Shoot Jon I gave up eons ago trying to be one of the big dogs.

You can give a guy a prevo but you can never erase the memories of that Coachman.

Maybe someday I too will have a turbocharged gen. (without an alternator)

[truk4u]

Country Coaches simple system sure looks good now. Stand alone battery for the gen, charged only by the gen. If the gen battery gets discharged, you push the boost switch tying in the house battery bank.

K I S S

[tdelorme]

Country Coaches simple system sure looks good now. Stand alone battery for the gen, charged only by the gen. If the gen battery gets discharged, you push the boost switch tying in the house battery bank.

K I S S

K I S S ?? Is that an acronym for I have to go outside in the rain, sleet and snow to pull a little handle so the sewer tank will dump after which I have to continue to stand out in said rain, sleet and snow in order to pull another little handle so that the gray water will dump and hopefully clean most of the poop out of the sewer hose all the while wondering how the hell Jimmy C. ended up with a Liberty and I'm left with a bus that causes me to go out in the rain, sleet and snow just so I can use the K I S S acronym?