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12volt battery and charger
Hi all, I m looking at building a LED light setup for camp spots during 24 hr races etc.
Currently I have a bunch of LED lights on the way that need to be powered off a 12volt source.
Im looking for a 12 volt battery rated at 25Ah or greater and charger as well. Does anyone have battery and or charger lying around that they dont need? or know of a cheap source?
A gel or seal lead acid battery would be great.
I will put a build blog up once the bits arrive.
[Mod. Moved to chat - as this is more a request from the community rather than a discussion about the technology]
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Given most of my motorbike batteries are about 10 Ah isn't 25 overkill for driving LEDs? It starts to push the cost up as compared to the smaller Gel batteries you can get for $20
25Ah is HUGE for running LED lights that draw very small amps but im guessing you know this already and just have a lot of lights to run
Go to a Jaycar store (look at products online or instore) and look at their sealed lead acid batteries. A cheap car charger will charge one of them.
As it is for lighting a camp and not riding around consider getting a cheap car battery from say supercheap, it will be heavy but u dont need to move it really.
Alternatively you could just buy jumper leads and when you go to a race take the battery out of one persons car and jump the car when you need to move it again after the race
Try Lion batteries they'll probably be able to point you in the right direction
http://www.apollobatteries.com.au/
go to jaycar they have a good range of batteries and chargers.
Or buy much better online for a small sum:
900 lumen Helmet light $77.60 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29489
900 lumen Handlebar $77.04 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149
I built my own and then I found above bargains and my home made lights got binned.
Cheers,
Staffan
I have a pair of rechargable Vapex NiMH 3300mAh with charger.
PM me if you're interested
I'd go with a car battery for sure. A Calcium semi deep cycle, from my battery supplier is like $120. That will last for ever, also store very well if you get a CTek battery charger. They are can be hooked up to the battery whilst in storage to cycle the battery extending it's life greatly. We use them in all of our cars that we restore as well as our own cars. Probably a bit more than what you want to spend, but it's an option.
Thanks for the help guys....
I will be going car battery option I think, I am looking at running 5 of these lights http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39027 I am wanting to be able to run all 5 lights for 12hrs (worked out Ah based on 20hrs run time to give a bit room to not kill the battery, non issue with a battery as big as a car battery)
They will provide lighting for the pit area for the worlds 24hr. I want to have enough light to do bike repairs if need be. Time to go and visit Jaycar and get some cable, switches etc ready for the build. I will post details etc once parts arrive.
back to your original question I do have a deep cycle battery from our boat that you could borrow. Also have a charger if you still need one.
Thanks for the offer, Ihvae decided that Im going to bite the bullet and spend the cash to get what I need now.
Gav
is the go. Car batteries don't survive being deep discharged very well at all. They're built just to have the charge taken off teh top and then be toped up immediately.
When I used to race electric model cars we used car batteries to charge the NiCds trackside, and I'd kill car batteries regularly, a couple a year at least. Got a deep cycle boat battery and it lasted several years, maybe five. They're not much more $$ than a premium battery - maybe 40%?
I've noticed whenever I've had a flat battery and had to call the NRMA because a certain - ahem - family member has left the headlights or an internal light on, the battery has died shortly thereafter.
If you need some prices to compare for some good stuff let me know.
I really recommend those CTek chargers too. They can be bought at Repco, and I think battery world in brooky as well. Also, don't get your battery Supercheap or any retail style outlet store. They are cheap and crap batteries. Go to an Auto electrician or Battery world. Spend a few extra dollars and get a battery that will outlast all the crap ones put together.
One other option, have you seen those Narva LED worklights?
They cost about $100ish and last me at least 10 hours. One light is bright enough to light up under the car. No need for car battery, or charger leads etc.
http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/led-2
There are other options as well, like long light sets that hook up on the underside of your bonnet. Repco sell these as well. Might be able to rig one of these up off a battery.
Or this for the ultimate in stadium style work area lighting... LOL
http://www.narva.com.au/documents/item/11
Thanks for the hand held idea, I have light on the way already and i NEED more light
I went into repco this morning and they sorted me out. I now have one of these
http://catalogues.repco.com.au/portal/offerdetai...
It gives me a deep cycle battery, charger and jump starter if ever needed (aye john)
Now I wish the lights would hurry up.
Sweet, much better if you can get muti purposes out of something.
I will warn you though, don't let those booster packs go dead flat with a slow drain. It kills the battery in them and they are never the same after that.
I'm looking forward to reaping the benefits of this at races, esp. after my little darlings have sent the car battery to the wall
John