Battery to power 1000 watt lights?

[jimgranger62]

Hello,

Can anyone please help?

Firstly, is it possible to power lights, speakers etc from a car battery/truck battery/stacker truck battery? What sort of battery would be needed to power 600w bulbs and how long would that battery last approximately?

Secondly, can a powerful battery be recharged using solar panels, hydro-power systems etc. and if so how is this done?

I'm planning a bit of a camping/disco in the hills and would like to know how to achieve this without having to shell out for generators and that.

Huge thanks!

Jim

 

[rumrunner]

HI Jim.
Get a milk float they have big batterys ,and use it to run a large rotary inverter if you plan to use domestic ac equipment.even then i dont think you will have a very long party
all the very very best in the whole wide world
rumrunner

 

[ian.settle1]

600 watts load would last a max 1 hour if rated at 50 amphour if your lucky

 

[TonyM58]

Jim

The basics (not sure how much you know)

Battery is 100AH (ampere/hour) for example

so it will give 100amps for 1 hour

or 10 amps for 100 hrs

or 1 amp for 100 hrs

for 600W load I=P / V

so assuming each lamp is 12V

I=600/12 = 50A

so a 12V 100ah battery would run 600W lamp for 2 hours

These are all theoretical values based on perfect battery etc

As batteries detrioate with age their capacity diminshes

also with a filament lamp it is not voltage dependant, so it will try and stay illuminated until the battery is completely dead

Any electronics would be voltage dependanent and so would shut off some time during the discharge of the battery

Also most standard lead acid vehicle batteries will not stand discharging too low (it buckles the plates)

High-cyclic batteries are available (type used in milk floats, fork lifts etc) which are capable of 'heavier' discharging and recharging

To recharge without damaging use the C/10 rate, which basically means a 100a/h battery would be recharged over 10 hours at 10amps. Again this helps prevent buckling etc.

Of course to run any AC equipment, you will need to use an inverter, but as previously said, you will need to put a lot in to get a little out!!!

 

[jimgranger62]

Hello Tony.

To be honest, I know very little. Although the advice you've given has proved VERY useful and i'm glad I came on here. Thank you very much Tony!

Sorry to be a pain in the arse, but would you mind having a look at my new post as you seem to be able to answer my questions in a way I understand. Thanks again Tony!

Jim

Thanks Rum. I'll look into that option.

Thank you for your info too Ian!