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From: Arild Jensen (no email)
Date: Sat Feb 02 2008 - 21:29:24 EST
Rob's suggestion to add more chargers when using AGM is okay as far as it
goes . . . BUT!
Consider this! It was mentioned that AGM can be charged at 50% or even 100%
of their A-H capacity.
Most people have a 600- 800 A-H bank and I have seen them as big as 2000 Amp
hours.
Taking this line of reasoning to its ultimate conclusion means you are
looking at a charging source of 300 - 1000 Amps.
Isn't that getting a little out of hand? Its downright scary thinking
about so much power running through your wiring.
Even a high capacity welder running at 100% duty cycle only delivers around
200-300 amps at approximately 24V
4/0 cable is only rated for 400 Amps. Contemplate running cables an inch and
a half in diameter. Consider the Cost!
You cannot get a 100A shore power fed charger for much less than $1000. But
you need two or three or . . . <grin>.
Have you priced out a 400 Amp Electrodyne or Balmar alternator lately? It
around $5000 plus install.
There is a trade off!
At what point does it stop making sense financially?
Especially if you continue to power things from a conventional AC genset.
Suggestions.
Cut back on your power consumption so you only use 150 A-H per 24 hour
period.
You do this by eliminating power wasting old design appliances.
You eliminate energy wasting habits. Get better lighting or go LED.
If you must cook electrically, explore other options than the old
conventional 4-6kw kitchen stove and oven.
Find an alternative to the wasteful electric hot water tank. Why heat water
if you are not using it now?
Insta-Hot and solar water heaters are two such possibilities. Engine waste
heat we all know about already.
If you are contemplating installing a heating system, use as hydronic system
that can double as a hot water system.
If you only use 150 amp hours per day you can replace that in an hour of
charging.
And if you replace the old AC genset with a Dc genset you can reduce your
fuel burn by almost 40% compared to the old standard. Why, you ask? Look at
the fuel consumption curves.
A genset running at 1800 RPM is nowhere near the optimum point on the curve.
2800-3000 RPM is more like it.
A 4 kw DC genset will outperform a 6-8kW AC genset using an ordinary
inverter to charge the house bank.
The smaller engine of a DC genset is way more fuel efficient than the much
bigger sized engine driving the AC genset.
Cheers
Arild
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