mikerr
07-06-2011, 09:19 AM
There have been a lot of posts lately about powering dew heaters, drives, hairdryers etc in the field.
For years I have used second hand car, tractor and four wheel drive batteries. These may be obtained free of charge from your local Auto battery Dealer as they have to pay to get rid of them and that charge has already been passed on to the previous owner of the battery.
When an Auto battery will no longer reliably turn over the starter motor to start a vehicle it gets replaced. This does not mean that the battery is useless or has no capacity left in it. It just can’t supply the required huge “Cold Cranking Amps” (CCA) necessary to start an engine, which is the toughest job it has to perform.
The capacity that still remains can certainly run all your accessories for probably days at a time and then can be recharged again, with a low cost car battery charger from Super Cheap Auto or similar.
The more modern/common “Maintenance Free” batteries are best as they do not usually spill if tipped over. Simply give the outside of the battery a good wash with mild soapy water, rinse, allow to dry and you have a new power supply for free.
The bigger the battery the longer it will provide power in one session, but they also become heavy to carry. Try to pick one with inbuilt handles.
Jaycar and others sell an adaptor which has two alligator clips on one end and a car type cigarette lighter socket on the other. You can also build a box for the battery and add whichever sockets, fuses and switches take your fancy.
I hope this information proves useful if it has not already been discussed previously.
Michael
For years I have used second hand car, tractor and four wheel drive batteries. These may be obtained free of charge from your local Auto battery Dealer as they have to pay to get rid of them and that charge has already been passed on to the previous owner of the battery.
When an Auto battery will no longer reliably turn over the starter motor to start a vehicle it gets replaced. This does not mean that the battery is useless or has no capacity left in it. It just can’t supply the required huge “Cold Cranking Amps” (CCA) necessary to start an engine, which is the toughest job it has to perform.
The capacity that still remains can certainly run all your accessories for probably days at a time and then can be recharged again, with a low cost car battery charger from Super Cheap Auto or similar.
The more modern/common “Maintenance Free” batteries are best as they do not usually spill if tipped over. Simply give the outside of the battery a good wash with mild soapy water, rinse, allow to dry and you have a new power supply for free.
The bigger the battery the longer it will provide power in one session, but they also become heavy to carry. Try to pick one with inbuilt handles.
Jaycar and others sell an adaptor which has two alligator clips on one end and a car type cigarette lighter socket on the other. You can also build a box for the battery and add whichever sockets, fuses and switches take your fancy.
I hope this information proves useful if it has not already been discussed previously.
Michael