What kind of charge current will a pair of inline GC2's pull at 50% SoC with alternator maintaining 14.8V?
Those 6v 220ah golf cart batteries they sell at Costco for $80+- , commonly known as GC2 batteries, flooded lead acid deep cycles.
Touring and living in an SUV. I don't have a vehicle yet, maybe get a late 90's Expedition/Explorer/Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Denali, or maybe a Forester/Outback, or a small Honda/Nissan/Izuzu SUV. I want to put a 300W panel on the roof, an MPPT, or PWM if I can't get a decent MPPT for under $200. If the starting battery is bad then I might just run 2g or bigger wire from the alternator/starter area to the 2 inline GC2's somewhere in the vehicle, and use the starter battery as a core at Costco. Or if the starting battery is fine then I might just isolate the 2 systems with some way of intermittently connecting the deep cycles to the alternator with or without a charge controller.
Once I choose a vehicle I can get into analyzing the alternator field control circuit behavior, that's something I am curious about. Link literature if you have any on alternator field control circuits and their typical behavior tables.
What amount of current will 2xGC2's typically take at various voltages and states of charge? I know 20hour rate is ideal (11 amps), but when charging from the engine I would want to go faster, say 5hr charging rate (44 amps). Ideally I'll charge from the panel and not use the alternator, but sometimes I may need to use alternator, let's say gaming on my laptop all night after a cloudy day.
Let's say it's night time, no panel current coming, I turn on the engine and connect the deep cycles to charge for a few minutes, 2x GC2 6v 220ah batteries, I'm wondering what kind of draw there will be on the alternator with the batteries charging, the engine control unit or some charge controller integrated into the vehicle's wiring controls the alternator field with a PWM circuit I think, and it's programmed for a single cranking battery, not a 220ah deep cycle arrangement. I don't want to burn out the alternator, and I don't want to be running the engine just to get 2 amps from the alternator and wasting gas either.
Throw me some numbers on a pair of inline GC2's, about how many volts to charge at a 5hr rate at 50% or 80% SoC will the alternator need to maintain? You want to charge fast you need to pump up the voltage, but I'm not sure if 14.8v is enough to charge at 44 amps, or does it need to be 20v? 20 is way too much voltage and will damage the batteries and electronics. 44A will strain a small alternator with lights and dash fan and radiator fan and other unnecessary power suckers, so depending on which way the system is set up I will need to not overload the alternator. Some alternators might have thermal probe safeties inside, or designed to be short circuited and ran hard, I'm not sure.
What kind of charge current will a pair of inline GC2's pull at 50% SoC with alternator maintaining 14.8V? If it's 20A were good, but if they suck up 60A then the alternator might burn out, I'll have to get a field controller or something to pulse the alternator on and off to avoid overloading it.
Those 6v 220ah golf cart batteries they sell at Costco for $80+- , commonly known as GC2 batteries, flooded lead acid deep cycles.
Touring and living in an SUV. I don't have a vehicle yet, maybe get a late 90's Expedition/Explorer/Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Denali, or maybe a Forester/Outback, or a small Honda/Nissan/Izuzu SUV. I want to put a 300W panel on the roof, an MPPT, or PWM if I can't get a decent MPPT for under $200. If the starting battery is bad then I might just run 2g or bigger wire from the alternator/starter area to the 2 inline GC2's somewhere in the vehicle, and use the starter battery as a core at Costco. Or if the starting battery is fine then I might just isolate the 2 systems with some way of intermittently connecting the deep cycles to the alternator with or without a charge controller.
Once I choose a vehicle I can get into analyzing the alternator field control circuit behavior, that's something I am curious about. Link literature if you have any on alternator field control circuits and their typical behavior tables.
What amount of current will 2xGC2's typically take at various voltages and states of charge? I know 20hour rate is ideal (11 amps), but when charging from the engine I would want to go faster, say 5hr charging rate (44 amps). Ideally I'll charge from the panel and not use the alternator, but sometimes I may need to use alternator, let's say gaming on my laptop all night after a cloudy day.
Let's say it's night time, no panel current coming, I turn on the engine and connect the deep cycles to charge for a few minutes, 2x GC2 6v 220ah batteries, I'm wondering what kind of draw there will be on the alternator with the batteries charging, the engine control unit or some charge controller integrated into the vehicle's wiring controls the alternator field with a PWM circuit I think, and it's programmed for a single cranking battery, not a 220ah deep cycle arrangement. I don't want to burn out the alternator, and I don't want to be running the engine just to get 2 amps from the alternator and wasting gas either.
Throw me some numbers on a pair of inline GC2's, about how many volts to charge at a 5hr rate at 50% or 80% SoC will the alternator need to maintain? You want to charge fast you need to pump up the voltage, but I'm not sure if 14.8v is enough to charge at 44 amps, or does it need to be 20v? 20 is way too much voltage and will damage the batteries and electronics. 44A will strain a small alternator with lights and dash fan and radiator fan and other unnecessary power suckers, so depending on which way the system is set up I will need to not overload the alternator. Some alternators might have thermal probe safeties inside, or designed to be short circuited and ran hard, I'm not sure.
What kind of charge current will a pair of inline GC2's pull at 50% SoC with alternator maintaining 14.8V? If it's 20A were good, but if they suck up 60A then the alternator might burn out, I'll have to get a field controller or something to pulse the alternator on and off to avoid overloading it.
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