Charging your cart using a generator

[nealer]

Hey Y'all,
OK, I have a toyhauler and I would like to use the onboard genny to charge my cart. I hooked it up and it seems to work OK, other than my genny tends to surge a bit, so the amp gauge on the charger is going back and forth between 12 and 18 amps. Is this going to hurt anything? Also, does it hurt the batteries to charge them for a couple of hours? It really isn't practical to run the genny for 10 hours while camping, so i am hoping i can keep the batteries charged enough for a long weekend.

[Paxdad]

Are you using the air conditioner at the same time? If so I would turn it off because when it starts up it draws close to 30 amps.

[dougmcp]

It's always best to charge your batteries completely and charge after using the cart. All you risk by not completing the charge is more sulfation on the plates and shorter battery life.

[Double O]

I charge mine at the race track with a generator. A cart dealer told me not to plug the charger into the generator directly. Use a surge protector because a generator does not produce a consistent flow of power. I don't know if that is true because everything else works fine off a generator, but it doesn't hurt to be safe.

[nealer]

Thanks for the replys everyone, i gather that if i only do this on occasion, i should be fine.

[ncfenceguy]

It's common at the race track because generator power is all that's available sometimes.
I think the older chargers deal with the generators better than the newer electronic versions.

[gornoman]

Originally Posted by Double O

I charge mine at the race track with a generator. A cart dealer told me not to plug the charger into the generator directly. Use a surge protector because a generator does not produce a consistent flow of power. I don't know if that is true because everything else works fine off a generator, but it doesn't hurt to be safe.

Well, they have a reputation for what we call "dirty" power, but that depends on the quality of the unit. If your onboard unit is by Onan, I wouldn't worry.

BTW, a surge protector is intended to protect equipment from voltage spikes above a preset threshhold, say 150v on a 110 circuit. They will not condition the power or make up for low voltage under heavy loads.

[K9Kev]

Glad someone asked this, I wondered myself.

Good info

[huntinghawk]

If your generator surges you either have a problem with the generator or have it plugged into something that kicks on & off like a refrigerator, air conditioner, well pump, etc.
If you really want to hear a generator surge hook up a welder to it.
Ross