Bandicoot
Adventurer
Q 1: cleaning the top of the EC. I can easily stand on the top of the bullbar or the scrub bar or sit or stand on the roof rack and use a hose to clean off the roof. I also carry a short-length soft-bristle "broom" as this is by far the quickest and best way to clean all the outside of the EC including the "high" areas on the side walls and rear. However, it is surprising how FEW places will allow you to clean your vehicle, so while I can get drinking water for the tanks "fairly" easily (not as easily as fuel), I can probably only actually clean the vehicle twice a year, given we are rarely in big cities anyhow. Hence the potential for dusty solar panels.
Q 2: the DC outlet from these generators is (IMO) a gimmick. The DC outlet is 8 amps and a strict 12 volts, whereas you need at least 13.5 volts to charge 12 volt batteries (to "push" the volts uphill against the battery charge). If you were absolutely desperate (e.g. your AC battery charger had died and all your batteries too flat to start the engine), then I guess you would use that outlet to get the batteries up to somewhere close to 12 volts and perhaps get the engine running. Bear in mind the 40 amp battery charger does in fact charge at 40 amps continuous (I've measured it several times).
I should also clarify an earlier comment I made. The Yamaha EF1000iS genny is rated at 1000 volt-amp, but that is the peak output. The continuous rating is 900 volt-amp or 800 watts at a unity power factor or 640 watts at a more typical power factor of 0.8 (see below). (NOTE: all generators seem do this "fiddle" to confuse the buyer; they cannot operate at their 'rated' load other than very briefly and in any event, their rated load is given in volt-amps, not watts, which is a useless rating for almost everything). The Xantrex multi-voltage, multi-frequency 40 amp charger I use is power-factor corrected to unity, but operates at 80% efficiency. For charging, it puts out around 14.5 volts (so 580 watts AC consumption). So I need a generator that can provide at least 600 watts (say) to be able to power a 40 amp charger. So this model Yammy (lightweight and small) is a perfect match to the Xantrex charger which in turns is a more-or-less perfect match to the twin 115 A-hr Fullriver AGM batteries I use.
rick
Extract from Yammy manual:
Extract from Xantrex battery charger manual
Q 2: the DC outlet from these generators is (IMO) a gimmick. The DC outlet is 8 amps and a strict 12 volts, whereas you need at least 13.5 volts to charge 12 volt batteries (to "push" the volts uphill against the battery charge). If you were absolutely desperate (e.g. your AC battery charger had died and all your batteries too flat to start the engine), then I guess you would use that outlet to get the batteries up to somewhere close to 12 volts and perhaps get the engine running. Bear in mind the 40 amp battery charger does in fact charge at 40 amps continuous (I've measured it several times).
I should also clarify an earlier comment I made. The Yamaha EF1000iS genny is rated at 1000 volt-amp, but that is the peak output. The continuous rating is 900 volt-amp or 800 watts at a unity power factor or 640 watts at a more typical power factor of 0.8 (see below). (NOTE: all generators seem do this "fiddle" to confuse the buyer; they cannot operate at their 'rated' load other than very briefly and in any event, their rated load is given in volt-amps, not watts, which is a useless rating for almost everything). The Xantrex multi-voltage, multi-frequency 40 amp charger I use is power-factor corrected to unity, but operates at 80% efficiency. For charging, it puts out around 14.5 volts (so 580 watts AC consumption). So I need a generator that can provide at least 600 watts (say) to be able to power a 40 amp charger. So this model Yammy (lightweight and small) is a perfect match to the Xantrex charger which in turns is a more-or-less perfect match to the twin 115 A-hr Fullriver AGM batteries I use.
rick
Extract from Yammy manual:
Extract from Xantrex battery charger manual
