Look at the output voltage of the alternator. Usually about 14.4V. If you look at the charge characteristic curve for a lead acid battery at that voltage, it rises steeply to about 80% and then flattens and the last 20% can take many hours to achieve. In practice, just relying on the alternator you are unlikely to do much better than 80% charged.
In addition to charging the batteries, the alternator will also be supplying current to power the connected loads; fridge, freezer etc.
The optimum solution with present technology is a battery to battery charger from Victron or Sterling or similar. These have a multi stage charging profile and will charge the domestic battery many times quicker than relying on the alternator.
Alternator And Charging System
in Technical Questions and Answers
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Look at the output voltage of the alternator. Usually about 14.4V. If you look at the charge characteristic curve for a lead acid battery at that voltage, it rises steeply to about 80% and then flattens and the last 20% can take many hours to achieve. In practice, just relying on the alternator you are unlikely to do much better than 80% charged.
In addition to charging the batteries, the alternator will also be supplying current to power the connected loads; fridge, freezer etc.
The optimum solution with present technology is a battery to battery charger from Victron or Sterling or similar. These have a multi stage charging profile and will charge the domestic battery many times quicker than relying on the alternator.