On 28 Dec 2006 08:34:38 -0800, "purple_stars"
wrote:

If I would have had a charger
big enough to use all the amps the generator was capable of and a
battery bank big enough to absorb them all it would have been a good
system, but as it was it was a lot of trouble and I always spent a day
or two doing nothing but charging up devices and batteries before I
made any passage anywhere.

Which pretty well summarizes most of the advice that others have
offered:

- a single 100 Amp-Hour battery is not big enough because: 1) It will
not supply enough power to be useful; and 2) It will not accept
recharge current at a high enough rate to recharge quickly.

I have found 440 Amp-Hours to be sufficient for moderate loads over 24
hours: Small refrigerator; some computer and entertainment devices;
navigation equipment; lighting - average total draw between 5 and 10
amps.

440 Amp-Hour capacity can be easily and inexpensively obtained with
(4) 6 volt golf cart batteries in series-parallel. Price is in the
range of $50 to $60 each if you shop around, and they weigh about 60
pounds apiece. If you are careful to avoid discharging below the 50%
level (about 11.6 volts under load), they should be good for 300 to
500 discharge/recharge cycles. A 440 A-H battery bank can be
recharged at a rate of 100 amps up to about the 80% capacity level.