hooking up generator

tcongdon

tcongdon

Advanced Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
89
Location
Colorado
I bought a solar generator and would like to know if it would be better to plug it in bypassing the charger and battery or to just plug the shore power plug into it. If the 12volt battery does not need to be charged, can I just bypass the converter and charger?

Thanks, Travis
 
Travis, I am not at all familiar with "solar generators" but I THINK they contain a 12V battery that is charged by a solar panel, then, they can deliver that stored 12V DC power to devices or, they may have an inverter that converts the stored 12V DC to 120V AC which can power some household devices, is this right?

If I'm correct about this, I think I'd attach the 12V outlet of the generator directly to the trailer battery, which almost always needs a charge if you are boondocking. If the trailer battery is fully charged, then you could power your devices directly from the generator. I don't know that plugging the shore power cord directly into the generator is a particularly good idea, since the generator's inverter has power losses and you will be splitting the generator's output between the trailer's converter battery charger and the rest of the demands.

I don't know what the Wattage rating of your solar generator is - you may find it gets drained rather quickly in use if you're powering devices like a microwave. If you're using it to recharge cell phones, though, it will last a long time.

- Jack
 
It is a 1000-watt and 110-volt generator (battery) with a converter. But how would I hook it up to my trailer to use everything but not go through the converter, charger, and battery? All my lights or LEDs, and basically only use the pump when needed. I do know that the solar generator (battery) only puts out 10 amps on DC which is not enough to raise or lower the trailer or even work on my electric jack which needs 12 amps.

Travis
 
Travis, you'd just need a cable with battery post connections that plugs into your 12V DC output on the generator. 10A is sufficient to charge the battery.

But, you could also just plug the shore power cord into the generator. That would give you both 120V AC and 12V DC as well as some battery charging power. I think, though, that even with 1000 Watts, you 'd deplete the generator fairly quickly if it were not being recharged in sunlight.

Yes, 10A is no where near enough to operate the lift - that takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 55A, which is why the output of the converter will not do it with shore power.

- Jack
 
from a quick search and hope this answers the questions. If not maybe ask google.
Connecting a Solar Generator to an RV Battery:
Unlike a gasoline-powered generator, a solar generator produces zero emissions, so you can simply run the generator inside your RV. You just have to plug your generator into the 12V charging port and let it trickle charge your RV battery.

another link https://thesolaraddict.com/plug-sol...lug_Your_RV_or_Trailer_Into_A_Solar_Generator

scroll down to Will the solar generator charge the camper batteries?

another link https://vehq.com/can-you-power-rv-with-solar-generator/
 
I don't want to use it to charge the main trailer battery as I want to use it instead of it. So my trailer battery could be left to raise and lower the trailer. I want to know if I can bypass the charger/converter and use it inside for 110 and may the 12volt lighting.
 
Without doing a semi-significant job of rewiring, I don't see how you'd easilaty bypass the the charger/converter and use the solar generator as an "auxiliary battery". If you plug the shore power cord into it, you are using the converter/charger, but you are supplying 120V AC to the trailer and would be using very little, if any or the trailer's battery charge.

The other approach would be to disconnect the trailer's battery cables and connect them directly to the 12V DC output of the generator, but then you'd have to reconnect the battery cables to the battery when you wanted to operate the motor to lift the top.

There IS a switch you could install in the battery compartment that would allow you to select either battery or generator 12V DC. I think one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MMFJH0/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_7?smid=&psc=1 would work, but you'd have to wire it in.

- Jack
 
Actually, I just unplugged the converter/charger from the 110 outlet and plugged the trailer shore power cord into the solar generator. Everything thing works except the AC and 12 volts stuff. The fan works though. If I plug the converter/charger back in I use about 80watts of power versus 0 in which nothing is running.
 
Travis, I'm not understanding your last post.

It SOUNDS like you plugged your trailer's shore power cord into the generator. If you did, it should power your AC outlets, but not the Air Conditioner which is a very high Amp device. It should also power your interior lights, the water pump, fans, and, it should deliver charging current to the battery - these are ALL 12V DC devices that would be powered through your converter/charger, which would be receiving power from the generator through that shore power cord.

Now if you did not have the Master Switch set to the "Camping" position, then the 12V DC devices would not get power.

And, I didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer", but your solar generator has a 1000 Watt capacity when its internal battery is fully charged. That battery has to be recharged by a solar panel. I have 3-100 Watt solar panels on my trailer, but under optimum conditions they can only deliver about 150 Watts, or around 11 Amps of charging current. This is typical performance for solar panels. It will take a serious solar array to keep your generator operating at 1000 Watts capacity.

I'm not sure your solar generator is going to do what you want it to do.

- Jack
 
It will do what I want. I just unplugged the convertor/charger from the 110 outlet. So the LED lights and the pump will still run on the trailer battery which I can do for about 4 to 5 days if necessary. All of the 110 outlets will be hooked up to the solar generator. We will only run an 800-watt microwave for just a few minutes, maybe a fan but mainly a TV and our laptops. I had the TV on and a powered antenna plugged into the solar battery and only used 7% in 3 hours. I actually have 2 of the 1000 solar generators so if necessary, I can use the second one.
 
OK, great, Travis - I was just trying to let you know what I think you should expect. I've been wrong before, and maybe this is another place where I'll be wrong. If it works for you, we'll both be happy and I'll have learned something.

- Jack
 
I did hook it up to the converter/charger and it was using about 70 watts and the battery was full and no lights were on and the pump was off. So bypassing the converter/charger I can at least use the 110 outlets when needed. I know I won't be able to run AC. Even the AC fan only draws a lot of amps but could use it for a little bit on low. But mainly for personal 110 stuff. I wonder if there is a low amp/watt fan out there that I can find.
 
I'm still confused - must be my advanced age! How the heck are you bypassing the converter/charger if you plug the trailer's shore power cord into your generator?

The Fan-Tastic vent fan draws less current than the cheap Mattel toy fan that was OEM in the trailers and, it moves more air. Mine turns off and the vent closes automatically if it rains too, which means I can leave it on all the time, even when we're away from the trailer.

- Jack
 
My converter/charger plugs into a 110 outlet underneath the front bed/couch. I just open the cabinet and unplug it. Otherwise I a using about 70 watts from the generator even when nothing else is on and my battery is full. So by-passing it made sense. I will still have 12v lighting and I can about 5 days on battery and still have enough to lower the trailer.
 
Thank you. That makes sense. My converter, and I think most, are hard-wired to the shore power cord, so they cannot be disconnected that way.

- Jack
 
I looked at my convert/charger and it was plugged in. I was hoping I could put a plug for the 12 volts but the 12 volts are hard-wired and do not understand where the wires are going, so that would be a mess trying to figure it out.
 
I wonder if by unplugging your converter/charger, you may have also disconnected the trailer battery from the 12V DC circuits in the trailer? If that's the case, it would explain why your interior lights don't work with the generator connected.

Without knowing how your 12V circuitry is designed, I'm at a loss for any other reason.

- Jack
 
JackandJanet said:
I wonder if by unplugging your converter/charger, you may have also disconnected the trailer battery from the 12V DC circuits in the trailer? If that's the case, it would explain why your interior lights don't work with the generator connected.

Without knowing how your 12V circuitry is designed, I'm at a loss for any other reason.

- Jack
Click to expand...

I am not sure on your system but we have solar at our house and also in the camper.
Now I can go online at any time to see what the panels are doing on the house and it shows what each is making at the time.
There is something you may not know. Solar panels fluctuate the amount it is producing. Now with this in mind , if you are trying to go direct from panels to the say lights or TV here is a problem. Because anything using electric needs the ample volts or amps to ruin it. Lets say the TV whatever it uses and the panels produce not enough to run it therefore it will do this maybe burn something up as not enough to run it or whatever. You have to have a storage source from the panel like a battery and then run off it . It looks like the one post said the solar generator does have a battery. So if that is the case to me all you need to do is unhook the battery of the TV and hook up to them cables and then the RV batteries will be ready to use when you want to leave. keep it simple.
 
That was one of my suggestions in Post #7.

And yes, you're right about needing solar panels connected to a battery. The battery then acts like a buffer, it controls the output voltage and keeps it at battery level.

- Jack
 
Even when I unplug my converter/charger the 12volt lights still work and the pump. They will just work on the trailer battery. With just using the 12-volt system with LEDs, I usually can go 4 to five days and still have enough power to lower the top. But using the solar battery hooked up to 110. This way I have 110volts on the outlets and can run my microwave and TV and laptops when needed. The 800-watt microwave only used 2% of the power to heat up a cup of coffee for 1½ minutes. The TV used only 7% of the power for three hours and that included the powered antenna I was using.
 
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