"Doug Dotson" wrote in message
...


I'm confused about why there is some question about
running a battery charger off of a genset. I have run
mine for several years with no problem. The battery charger
runs off the genset the same as off of shore power.

Several reasons:

1) As others have said, the battery charger can represent a significant
load to the generator. The point that several people are making is that
many battery chargers have a very poor power factor, which could create
significant issues to the generator, especially a generator that uses
inverter technology to get more horsepower out of a smaller engine.

2) The voltage output of a generator can often vary considerably. A cheap
battery charger can have its charging rate drastically reduced if the
voltage is low.

3) The frequency of a generator can vary quite a bit. Many marine battery
chargers are the "Ferro resonant" type which rely on the AC input being
exactly 60 Hz. Any deviation from this and the output can be drastically
reduced.

Rod