Lister CS SOM battery bank charging

[Doug]

Your close Bob
 
The PF changes with load because the watts increase the reactive component is constant.

Draw Triangle right angle:
The virtical line is reactive, the horizontal is real and the resulatant is apparent power.

[spencer1885]

Power factors were mentioned, so I plugged my other forklift truck battery charger in (which is a 70amp 48volt charger), and switched it on. The meter which it was plugged into (which is plugged into the mains) said 2500 watts, and the power factor was 0.79
 This charger when plugged into my 2.5 Lister SOM also would not work, making the voltage drop to 220 and the watts considerably less than 2500watts and would not charge anywhere near to it's capacity.
Is this power factor a bad one or is there some other problem?

[oliver90owner]

spencer1885,

And what is the power rating for the generator quoted as?  2500Watts at unity power factor?  Not the same, I would think, as 2500VA at 0.8 power factor....A 500HP Ferrari motor car will not pull a 3 furrow plough as well as a 50HP tractor.... Got to compare like with like or use the right type of machine.

Regards, RAB

[mobile_bob]

spencer:

if i follow you correctly
the second charger pulls 2500 watts from the mains at .79pf ?

if this is the case then your 2.5kva SOM can't get you there without overheating/overloading it
because it has to provide not only the 2500watts as delivered from the mains, but also the reactive power
as well,, which might be as much as another 500, 1000 or whatever watts.

i would have to look up the formula but suffice it to say you have power factor issues that are keeping you from carrying
those chargers at near the charge rate you are looking for.

will the chargers work and deliver maybe 30amps?, 20?, 10? without such a large drop in line voltage?

bob g