I want to run the following gear on the playa. It will all be secured into the top portions of a jogging stroller. My question is this: Is it possible for me to run this stuff off of a battery(s), and if so, what type of batteries would I need to have in the bottom of the stroller, and how long would they cover me for?
I really need advice by someone who knows their stuff. I would be very grateful for help.
This is the gear I want to be running (I am a guitar player):
1) Crate Limo Tx50dBE
Output Power Rating: 50 watts
Power Requirements: DC adapter for 120VAC
2) Eventide Eclipse
Power: 25 watts 100-125V, 220-240V, AC 50/60Hz,
no voltage switching required
3) Midi Mouse
Phantom power operable via MIDI cable, OR 9V alkaline battery (not included), OR optional DC power supply, Tech 21 Model #DC2 (The specs on the #DC2 power supply says: “100-120Vâ€
BM Virgin Needs Advice On Type Of Battery Power To Use
-
Beat Hotel
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:27 pm
50W + 25W = 75W - AC via inverters
12V * 4.3A = 51.6W - Direct battery DC
Say 70% efficiency for inverters and heat loss from gear etc
75 * 1.33 = 99.7W
Total Max Power = 99.7W + 51.6W = 151.35
I'll round that down to 150W.
Drawing 150W from a battery at 12V is ~ 12.5A of current.
A typical deep cycle marine battery, roughly car sized, 20lb lead acid has a capacity of 65Ah. With a 12.5A load it should run a nice 4 to 5 hours.
You would need the following:
One - 200W inverter
One - Deep Cycle Marine battery in 65Ah size
Bunch of 9V batteries for the MIDI mouse
Means to charge the battery, like a generator in your camp or somesuch.
12V * 4.3A = 51.6W - Direct battery DC
Say 70% efficiency for inverters and heat loss from gear etc
75 * 1.33 = 99.7W
Total Max Power = 99.7W + 51.6W = 151.35
I'll round that down to 150W.
Drawing 150W from a battery at 12V is ~ 12.5A of current.
A typical deep cycle marine battery, roughly car sized, 20lb lead acid has a capacity of 65Ah. With a 12.5A load it should run a nice 4 to 5 hours.
You would need the following:
One - 200W inverter
One - Deep Cycle Marine battery in 65Ah size
Bunch of 9V batteries for the MIDI mouse
Means to charge the battery, like a generator in your camp or somesuch.
Hi, Beat,
Here's a longer answer so you can figure this out on your own and decide how long you can afford to keep your system powered.
AC power is defined in watts, but DC power is defined in amps, so you need to convert your watts to amps:
Amps = Watts / Volts.
Batteries run at 12V, so Amps = Watts / 12.
You have a total of 75 watts in items 1 and 2, so 75 / 12 =6.25 Amps.
Batteries are rated in Amp-hours - how many amps you can draw out over time. So a 6 Amp-hour battery will let you draw 6 amps for an hour before it runs out of steam. A 12 Amp-hour battery will let you draw 6 amps for about 2 hours.
So now you know how to convert your watts to amps and how to determine what battery you need to buy to run for the number of hours you want to keep your show going at Burning Man. As Token pointed out, inverters loose some efficiency to heat, so add a little extra to take that into account.
Batteries can get expensive, and if you don't keep them trickle charged throughout the year, the plates in the batteries can 'sulfate,' meaning they lose their ability to hold a charge. That means this year's 65 amp-hour battery is only a 50 amp-hour battery next year and so on in a rapidly decling spiral of death to where it won't hold a charge at all.
When you buy a new battery, there is no way of knowing when it was last charged, so it may not have 65 amp-hours in it when you get it to the burn if you haven't freshly charged it. Please factor in the cost of a trickle-charger when you budget for your battery (or batteries).
Batteries in the 65 amp-hour range and higher have lead plates and acid, so please also take into account how they are to be recycled. Louise and I are fortunate in that we are ham radio operators and can use our batteries at Burning Man and at various ham events throughout the year where we use radios on battery-power. I assure you that batteries get sucked down very quickly, so buy your gear well ahead of the burn so you can try it out and see how long it lasts and how long it takes to recharge (a _lot_ longer than it takes to drain, by the way). See
http://www.cieux.com/bm/batteryWreck.html
for more information on how to care for a battery, and
http://www.cieux.com/bm/bmtoc.html#perennialGuides
and scroll down to Alternative Energy Zone, Charging Systems, and other links to power on the Playa.
Here's a longer answer so you can figure this out on your own and decide how long you can afford to keep your system powered.
AC power is defined in watts, but DC power is defined in amps, so you need to convert your watts to amps:
Amps = Watts / Volts.
Batteries run at 12V, so Amps = Watts / 12.
You have a total of 75 watts in items 1 and 2, so 75 / 12 =6.25 Amps.
Batteries are rated in Amp-hours - how many amps you can draw out over time. So a 6 Amp-hour battery will let you draw 6 amps for an hour before it runs out of steam. A 12 Amp-hour battery will let you draw 6 amps for about 2 hours.
So now you know how to convert your watts to amps and how to determine what battery you need to buy to run for the number of hours you want to keep your show going at Burning Man. As Token pointed out, inverters loose some efficiency to heat, so add a little extra to take that into account.
Batteries can get expensive, and if you don't keep them trickle charged throughout the year, the plates in the batteries can 'sulfate,' meaning they lose their ability to hold a charge. That means this year's 65 amp-hour battery is only a 50 amp-hour battery next year and so on in a rapidly decling spiral of death to where it won't hold a charge at all.
When you buy a new battery, there is no way of knowing when it was last charged, so it may not have 65 amp-hours in it when you get it to the burn if you haven't freshly charged it. Please factor in the cost of a trickle-charger when you budget for your battery (or batteries).
Batteries in the 65 amp-hour range and higher have lead plates and acid, so please also take into account how they are to be recycled. Louise and I are fortunate in that we are ham radio operators and can use our batteries at Burning Man and at various ham events throughout the year where we use radios on battery-power. I assure you that batteries get sucked down very quickly, so buy your gear well ahead of the burn so you can try it out and see how long it lasts and how long it takes to recharge (a _lot_ longer than it takes to drain, by the way). See
http://www.cieux.com/bm/batteryWreck.html
for more information on how to care for a battery, and
http://www.cieux.com/bm/bmtoc.html#perennialGuides
and scroll down to Alternative Energy Zone, Charging Systems, and other links to power on the Playa.
DC/AC Loads on battery
Don't forget too that battery discharge rates are not always as it may seem. If you have say a 65 amp hour battery in reality you should not consider it to be any more than 52 amp hours. One deep cycle is removing 80% of capacity and then charging back up. You ALWAYS want to leave that last 20%. Dipping into this last 20% reserve for any length of time without charging completely all the way back up will shorten it's life. Also, most of the time the amp hour capacity given is at a 20 hour discharge rate. Therefore there is no way you will get 52 amps in one hour out of it. Or even 2 hours pulling 26 amps. It would mean 2.6 amps for 20 hours. The faster the discharge, the smaller the reserve. 5.2 amps would probably only last about 8 hours, not 10. So the 12.5 amps in example would be more like 3 hours with fast of a discharge rate. Putting 50 amp hours back into the battery with solar the week of BM would almost be possible with one 130 watt solar panel. in reality that one panel would replenish about 75% of it's capacity in a day. I'd offer to charge your battery up in my camp but the chargers I'll have will be too high of a disharge rate for that small of a battery. Should you decide to get about a 100 amp hour battery and purchase a 20 amp charger hit me up.