Paul,
What sort of budget is this guy talking about to do this?.
If you were looking for a charger with that sort of output, you'd probably have to get something like an Industrial Charger, like is used for Charging Forklift and Pallet lifter batteries.
Bear in mind, one of these won't be cheap.
I think the 12V system idea is a good one.
A friend of mine almost has his house running independently of the Grid here in town.
He uses his fire (which has a wet-back) to heat his water and the only thing the Mains supplies is his fridge, freezer and the kitchen stove (which seldom get's used).
All of the lighting is Compact Fluorescent.
Mind you, he has quite a large PV system on the roof of his house that feeds into a couple of HUGE Cells.
Even on an overcast day he has plenty of capacity to run everything he needs to.
