Electrics/genny/battery question

[paulsutt]

..we've just bought a Clarke 1000w generator. The main reason being to charge up our battery in the day as we are on a long waiting list for ehu! Our van is a Fleetwood Colchester 1990 and we are very new to this!

..now i've done a lot of research before buying this and i realise that these gennys are very unpopular due to the noise! However our case is a little different as our site is right next to an airfield! well a glider school with small powered aircraft.

Also we are at least i would say 40ft from the nearest caravan. This isnt a typical caravan club site at all! We are also near trees and could probably put the genny around the other side of the tree (without burning it down!) However we will be testing the noise level first before it is used. If we feel it is too loud then we will only use this when going to remote sites with no ehu.

So the plan is to charge the battery during 'normal hours' if we need to. We also wanted it so when we do go away we have mains.

Now my first question is probably daft!..but how do i know when the battery is charged??

Second question - how do the electrics work when the genny is plugged into the van? Do the lights etc still work on 12v and the genny charges the battery whilst supplying 230v to sockets?...exactly how does it work? is it better to charge battery direct from genny or plug genny into the van and charge it that way?

Sorry for lengthy questions! i just want to make sure before i blow anything!

Appreciate any answers or help you may have.

Many thanks

Paul

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Paul,

You are not specific about which model of generator you have purchased, Clark do quite a wide range, but I note that Machine mart are currently featuring the Clark IG1000 unit, which if this is the one you have chosen, then your question can be very simply answered.

Assuming you do have the IG1000, then the quickest and simplest and quite reliable method will be to connect you EHU cable to the Generator and charge your battery through the caravans own charger.

This will also allow you to use a limited number of mains appliances when the genny runs, such as lighting, and tv.

Do not be tempted to use the electric space heater, fridge or water heater on genny power, It is far more economical and efficient to run these on gas.

The IG1000's inverter technology will give you a clean and stable power supply and should not be subject to power surges when any appliance is turned off.

 

[paulsutt]

Hello Paul,

You are not specific about which model of generator you have purchased, Clark do quite a wide range, but I note that Machine mart are currently featuring the Clark IG1000 unit, which if this is the one you have chosen, then your question can be very simply answered.

Assuming you do have the IG1000, then the quickest and simplest and quite reliable method will be to connect you EHU cable to the Generator and charge your battery through the caravans own charger.

This will also allow you to use a limited number of mains appliances when the genny runs, such as lighting, and tv.

Do not be tempted to use the electric space heater, fridge or water heater on genny power, It is far more economical and efficient to run these on gas.

The IG1000's inverter technology will give you a clean and stable power supply and should not be subject to power surges when any appliance is turned off.

Hi,

..yes sorry the genny is an IG1000, we purchased it brand new for

 

[paulsutt]

Hi,

..yes sorry the genny is an IG1000, we purchased it brand new for

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Paul .not sure about genny all I am sure about is if its 2 stroke dont think about it if its deisel then you should be ok your charger wil look after things for you.

2 stroke has the habbit of spiking and can over shoot power output and does nasty things to electrics within the van

Hopr this helps

Sir Roger

 

[paulsutt]

Hi,

..yes genny is definately 4 stroke with 50hz output, so shouldn't be a problem with electrics

 

[Parksy]

Hi Paul

If the EHU lead is plugged directly into the generator as John L suggested and the on-board charger is switched on the charger will automatically cut out at around 13.5 volts before the battery becomes over charged and will then continue to maintain that charge as far as possible.

 

[ChrisUK]

How silent is the IG1000 then ???

 

[ProfJohnL]

Well I can't hear it over here!

Spec says

Noise level of 64dB(a) at 1/4 load at a distance of 7 metres

By comparison Honda is

only 52dB(a) @ 7M

 

[paulsutt]

..i've no idea in db how much quieter the Honda is, but yes obviously it is...but in our case paying another

 

[paulsutt]

Hi Paul

If the EHU lead is plugged directly into the generator as John L suggested and the on-board charger is switched on the charger will automatically cut out at around 13.5 volts before the battery becomes over charged and will then continue to maintain that charge as far as possible.

..thanks

..er just wondering (sounding thick again!!)...the switch on charger says MAINS on one side....does it need to be switched to mains to charge?...or the other way?

 

[ProfJohnL]

For the purists out there I know the propagation of sound only follows the inverse square law in a free space. The following is therefore not strictly true but it gives a flavour of the principals and it wont be too far out because the grass on the ground will diffuse most of the sound that would have been directed into the lower hemisphere.

Just as a guide, the dB (deciBell) is not an absolute value but a comparison. Its is based on a logarithm structure which mimics the way we perceive sound, so to without wishing to go into the fairly complex calculations please accept that to double the perceived sound pressure level (SPL) you need to have a 10dB spl increase regardless of your starting figure.

The other pertinent factor is how far you are away from the sound source, because if you double the distance you loose 6dB of the SPL, and the converse is also true.

Fortunately both the Honda and the Clarke quote noise figures 7M from the sets the Honda is 52 and the Clark is 64dB that its a difference of 12dB so the Clark will be more than twice as loud as the Honda!

To make the Clark the same noise level as the Honda means you would need to stand 7M x 2(-6dB) x 2(-6dB) or about 28M (-12dB) away!

To put this into perspective, it is generally accepted that a TV set in a normal domestic room is usually about 60dB at 1M this equates to

54dB @ 2M, 48dB @ 4M, and 42dB @ 8M.