Xantrex Technology 3000 manual Alternators and Charging Systems, Charging System Requirements

C Alternators and Charging Systems

A good charging system is important for the health of your batteries. Poor recharging methods can quickly damage batteries.

Appendix C provides guidelines for recharging batteries from an alternator, from AC power, and from alternate energy sources.

Charging System Requirements

Your charging system should be capable of delivering a charging current equal to 25% of the amp-hour capacity of your battery. For example, if you have a 200 Ah battery, the charging system should be able to deliver 50 A. The charging system must also be able to charge each 12 V battery up to approximately 14.4 V and then drop back to a “float” voltage of 13.5–14 V (or shut off).

CAUTION

Never operate the inverter directly from an alternator. To work properly, the inverter must be connected to a battery or a well-regulated, high-current DC power supply.

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