stupid question

[Lottomunch]

so what would happen if we ran a power supply and a deep cycle battery in series.

Would the drain be equal between the two? Would they both be loaded with the same amps?

[Gregor99]

Because they are in series the current will always be the same through both of them. However the voltage between the two will be very different. Suppose you connect a 47a 12v supply to a decent sized Pb battery. The Pb battery voltage will drop under load. But the supply will stay constant. The load (presumably a charger) will see the combination of the steady ps and the dropping Pb battery. Instead of 24v, it will be closer to 23v or lower.

If you increase the load to say 40 amps, the supply will be fine, but the Pb battery will continue lower the voltage and may be over discharged.

What's the reason for the question? Are you considering it?

[Lottomunch]

Just a stupid theoretical question. I figured there was a reason it wouldn't work but wasn't thinking of what it would be. I'm not considering it....I just like knowing stuff and it popped into my head while mowing the lawn. Kinda similar to the question of why a Honda 1000 and honda 2000 watt generator can't be run together. Just stupid theory question.

So as long as lead acid battery was managed (not over discharged) it would theoretically work?

[RedOctobyr]

It seems like it would work. I'd carefully set the minimum input voltage on the charger, to avoid accidentally over-discharging the lead acid battery. I would not connect them in parallel, only series.

And as I understand it, different Honda inverter generators can be run together in parallel, even if they are different sizes. Do some more reading before trying it, of course, I only have one, so haven't had to research it much myself

[Gregor99]

The big issue with generators in parallel is that the sine wave coming off the inverters must be in sync. The Honda generators that can operate in parallel have cable connected between them that syncs the sign wave.

[Lottomunch]

but if you ran a 1000 and a 2000 generator would you be limited by the 1000 to pulling only 1000 from each (for a total of 2000 watts)?

I'd just assumed this. Because it would be nice to occasionally start things requiring a 3000 watt generator if that were possible. I'm just assuming it isn't possible or the Honda advertising people would be pushing that idea.

[RedOctobyr]

Paralleling different size Honda EU inverter generators can apparently be done.

Wisesales.com is a very big retailer of the Honda inverter generators. They sell this:

http://www.wisesales.com/triple-parallel-kit.html

"TRIPLE PARALLEL KIT

Triple Parallel combiner box connects any combination
of EU2000i or EU1000i generators to produce up to
6KW or 50Amps. This unit uses the parallel ports on
your generators and may be used with one, two, or three
generators. Overcurrent protection and anti-oscillation
circuitry assure safe reliable operation. Ground
connection is quickly accomplished by plugging into the
front outlet, no screwdriver required! "

I also found this, showing a pair of EU1000's with an EU2000:

How to triple parallel honda eu series generators (12 min 29 sec)

I found a bunch of threads discussing this, with people saying it will work, and that it won't work. There was also discussion of how the load is shared, and whether the wattage draw will simply be split evenly (in which case a 1000 would quickly overload), or whether the 2000 would take 2/3 of the load, giving 1/3 to the 1000. I didn't see any firm answers on that.

Honda doesn't recommend it, so draw from that what you will. Like I said, I only have the 1, so I'll leave further research, before actually trying it, to you

[theColonel]

I would have thought (I have never tested this though!) that you could run each power supply off a separate generator without the need for the parallel kit. i.e. they would be connected together on the DC side, the parallel kit is only needed if you want to connected them together on the AC side.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by theColonel

I would have thought (I have never tested this though!) that you could run each power supply off a separate generator without the need for the parallel kit. i.e. they would be connected together on the DC side, the parallel kit is only needed if you want to connected them together on the AC side.

You would need to earth things in this case, or you risk voltages getting rather higher than you might want. But it could be done I think.

Still, safer (and easier IMO) if you just use multiple chargers powered independently.