Questions about charging with GenSet and Shore power

[Stan Simpson]

I went out yesterday to run the generator for a couple of hours. While sitting, the coach is plugged in to regular house current. Each time I go out and look at the inverter/charger panel, it shows 'float', and the status bar is solid. It did so yesterday as well, but as soon as the transfer switch changed over to the generator, the panel said 'absorbtion', and the status bar was about 3/4 of the way across. I came back and checked it after the generator had run for an hour, and it said 'float', and the status bar was solid.

After two hours, I turned off the generator, and when the transfer switch changed the source to shore power, the status immediately changed to 'bulk' with the status bar about 1/2 way across. I went back an hour later, and again it was at 'float'.

If the batteries were fully charged, why were there these two changes to the status? Just changing the source makes the batteries less charged?

If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you.

Stan

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Bill Sprague]

Stan,

Each time you switch the supply to the inverter/charger it will start at the bottom and work up.  Switching from generator to shore or back provides the same exact electrical power to the inverter/charger. 

The time it takes to move up the ladder from bulk to float will be affected by the condition of your batteries and what the load is on those batteries.   

All the precise tools we use to measure battery performance is flawed because we can't conveniently remove all the loads from the batteries.  The only reliable real world test is to do some dry camping.   You should be able to live comfortably with the genset running a couple hours in the morning and again in the evening.