Community Forums

bigben · 03-12-2016, 10:26 AM

After 8 weeks of dry camping and using our onboard generator about 5 hours a day, I noticed that the batteries don't seem to charge as well as I thought. I have the 1800 Xantrex Pro on board with a built in charger. Can I add a separate charger and will that help. Most days my batteries would reach 12.8 volts as indicated on my readout panel.

Thanks.

PJStough · 03-12-2016, 10:35 AM

I dont believe that your inverter has a built in charger.

bigben · 03-12-2016, 10:47 AM

I was basing my question on this extract from the manual "The converter/inverter also operates as a battery charger when it is connected to
a 120V power source. If the battery is below its full charge, the converter/inverter
charger will begin operation at a rate that reflects the level of discharge. When the
battery is again fully charged, the converter charger drops its charging level back to a
maintenance level to keep the battery fully charged.".

PJStough · 03-12-2016, 11:09 AM

I just did a search on the "Xantrex 1800 Pro" and the inverter that the search provided does not appear to have a charging section. Perhaps you have a different inverter.

Xantrex® 806-1810 - Xm1800 Pro Series Inverter 1800 Watt

twinboat · 03-12-2016, 11:41 AM

In any case, yes, you can add a charger.

It would be no different than adding solar, that controller is a battery charger.

IOTA make good inexpensive automatic chargers.

I sometimes run my IOTA 55 amp charger, a 20 amp charger, along with 675 watts of solar, thru a MPPT 60 controller, at the same time to get my large bank up.

As the voltage rises, all of the charging sources automatically cut back, so there is no danger of overcharging.

bigben · 03-12-2016, 06:58 PM

twinboat - thank you. I believe the charger currently is only a 20 AMP, so that is why it is so slow. In your experience, can I simply wire the charger into the shore power (rather being provided by the generator or 55 amp service) then feed that to the battery bank?

Again, thanks for the input.

twinboat · 03-12-2016, 08:03 PM

Sure you could simply plug it in to the power post, if that's what you mean.

I would find or install a receptacle near the batteries to plug it in to. That way it works from generator or 50 amp power cord.

You just CAN NOT plug it into the inverter or any receptcals powered by it. It will kill the batteries.