Kirchoff's Law?

[dkooser]

Home Base is going out of business here in Colorado and has a 1500 watt generator for 260.00. My question is: Using a 10 amp battery charger, will that 1500 watt generator generate enough juice to run the charger. Long time back Mr. Kirchoff (aka w=v*a) came up with a formula but I cannot determine if the output of the charger is the "a" or if what the charger consumes would be the "a". The charger does not have any info other than the "2A, 10A and Quick Start" switch. So based on what I know (I believe the formula is correct, but the "a" is questionable) here is what I have deduced. v*a (115*10)=1150amps. Since the generator produces 1500 amps, I should be able to use the 10 amp charger to charge my batteries, correct?????

[RANGER]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-01 AT 07:18AM (CST)[p]Yes! Your generator will produce between 13 and 13.6 amps at 110 - 120 volts (w/v=a - 1500/110 = 13.6 amps). With that input to the charger you should be good to go!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"!

[Hans]

You won't be breaking any electrical laws.

Remember that the 10A out of the battery charger is at 12V, so you're talking about a 120W load. Presuming the charger is only 50% efficient (it will be a lot better than that) your worst case load is still only 240W, well within the capacity of your 1500W generator.

Hans

[Gumby]

The previous posts have it right. The charger is consuming ac(110v), but is outputting dc(12v). This generator should easily handle your charger. Hope this helps.

[ET]

You are confusing your formula with Mr. Watt, not Mr. Kirchoff. Kirchoff’s laws (he had two) had to do with the sum of currents or voltages within a circuit.

Watt’s law is P=V*I, where P is power measured in watts, V is volts and I is current in amps. As has been mentioned already, your charger is OUTPUTTING 10A @ 12V. What your charger actually DRAWS in amps should be about 1.05 A, resulting in a 120W load on your 1500W generator. Nooo problem!

[Firetiger(MN)]

Look at the back of your charger. The input voltage/current/Hz should be listed on back like most electrical items. The output voltage/current will most likely be posted also.

By the looks of the numbers you gave, you should have no problem.

[dkooser]

Thanks to all,
I kinda thought it would be enough generator to charge my batteries. Now I know I am safe. Shucks from some of the feedback I can even run something else while charging my batteries, like a welder or a big screen TV and VCR (just kidding).

Thanks again.

[cisco]

What are the usual fines these days for breaking electrical laws?

[dkooser]

From my experience, either a blown fuse or a jolt to the body.

[Frank from TBay]

Electrical laws also have the death penalty too cisco. However most times when you are sentenced to die theres no appeal.