Battery Charger Output vs. Generator Power Input

[madjack]

Watts is Watts...voltage and amps change but watts is watts...the B&D puts out 72watts...12vx6a=72w...to get that, the 110v needs less than 1 amp, so your baby Honda should not be short powered at all........
madjack

[madjack]

to explain watts is watts more fully...
400 watts divided 120v is 3.3a
400 watts divided 12v is 33.3a
the voltage and amperage changed but not the wattage
12v x 6a is 72w
120v x .6a is 72w
once again voltage and amperage have changed but not wattage...in your scenario some loss occurs due to inefficiencies in the generator and charger but you SHOULD still have plenty of power to run the charger from the generator...check the 120v input data on the charger to confirm...

W = VxA
madjack

[Dale M.]

The watt argument is confusing and you have to be real careful where decimal point occurs....

1000w / 120v = 8.3 amps...
1000w / 12v =83 amps

So 1000 WATT generator can handle any device that requires 8.3 amps or less that operates at 120V AC... Or ten 100 watt light bulbs (that only draw .83 amps each)

IF your battery charger requires only something like 3 amps at 120 volts it will work with generator... Remember that when charging battery from 120 volt AC source you are dividing voltage by a fact of 10 ( 120v/10 =12 volts) but there is an inverse ratio as volts are dropped through conversion, amps increase by same factor (10X)... So if your charger draws 3 amps on 120 volt side it can have a "possible" out put of 30 amps on 12 volt side ( not calculated exactly for losses in conversion and slight voltage differential)...

Since generator chooses to state output rating in watts it only makes calculating thing more difficult when most devices like battery charges and power tools are rated in amps of current draw at 120v AC.

The HONDA 1000w generator appears to have a current limiter on 12v DC out put to about 8 amps... This output should not be confused with maximum power out put of 1000w (8.3 amps) at 120v AC... IF you were to put a 12V DC to 120V AC inverter on DC output of generator the inverter could only supply about 100 watts (at 120v AC) before it starved for power and shut down....

EDIT!... Missed fact generator was 500 watts somehow got on track that generator was 1000 watt.. Formulas still apply... Numbers just change...

Dale

[bdosborn]

Generator output=400w
Charger load=6X12=72w (or about that ignoring a bunch of technical stuff that I can go on and on about )

The generator should handle the battery charger with no problem.
Bruce