Car battery terminals

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:25 pm

I'm planning to run a few 12v items off a rental car battery. I don't actually own a car or have access to one. Does anyone know what gauge spade terminals I need to connect to the screws? and most batteries do have screws as a power source dont they?

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:33 pm

the gauge terminals would be dictated by the size wire you are using......check that.
you might consider heavy duty clamps..........if you're running an inverter, they usually come with a cord with clamps on one end.

Post by **Sham** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:39 pm

What are the devices that you're trying to run? You might consider a power adapter that plugs into the power port (formerly, cigarette lighter) and will have you the trouble of fucking around under the hood. There are three way power port adapters available pretty inexpensively as well.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:44 pm

Shambala wrote:What are the devices that you're trying to run? You might consider a power adapter that plugs into the power port (formerly, cigarette lighter) and will have you the trouble of fucking around under the hood. There are three way power port adapters available pretty inexpensively as well.

do you always have to make it sexual?.........

phil · Post by **phil** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:54 pm

Does anyone know what gauge spade terminals I need to connect to the screws? and most batteries do have screws as a power source dont they?

There are issues. Most people connect to the battery using clamps instead of spade terminals because it's easier and the clamps are more likely to stay on. I don't know if the size of battery terminals varies, but clamps will fit most terminals if the clamps are for standard car batteries.

You need to have some concern about what gauge wire you'll be using. This is determined by what amps you'll be drawing. You don't give that information.

Running devices off the cigar lighter/power port can be a problem if the draw of the device (especially at start up) exceeds the fuse rating for the lighter socket. I've blown fuses on the cigar lighter of a truck, and that fuse provided power to the horn and some other stuff I didn't care about. If you blow a fuse on the playa and don't have a replacement, you may have to do without some fairly interesting stuff on the way home.

You'll probably run your battery down. If your rental car is a standard gasoline-powered car, no problem. Many, many Burners have jumper cables. If it's a Prius or other electric car, you're in trouble.

If you're renting an electric car and expect to run 12V devices off the car battery, you're in trouble. :->

Have fun. it'll be the best time of your life.

Token · Post by **Token** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:18 pm

If you cant swing the solar solution you have been asking about, just drop the whole idea into the drain and don't fuck with your conveyance.

Get a propane or white gas Coleman lantern and join the stone age with the rest of us.

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:38 pm

Yeah i had to throw the solar solution for this year. All I will be running is a .3A 12v fan and about 100 ft of el wire which from the stuff ive found online should use about .7amps?

Right now its all wired with 22g speaker wire, but not sure what i should run from the inverter to battery

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:56 pm

Shambala wrote:What are the devices that you're trying to run? You might consider a power adapter that plugs into the power port (formerly, cigarette lighter) and will have you the trouble of fucking around under the hood. There are three way power port adapters available pretty inexpensively as well.

But will this give power if the car is off? Im running a couple low current systems all night.

Token · Post by **Token** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:01 pm

Forget the swamp cooler. Its going to be cold. Check the forecast.

Buy some alkaline batteries for the elwire.

Simple, easy, no hassles and a car that starts on Monday.

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:52 pm

Token wrote:Forget the swamp cooler. Its going to be cold. Check the forecast.

Buy some alkaline batteries for the elwire.

Simple, easy, no hassles and a car that starts on Monday.

Even if i go that route id like to at least try and be able to run it off the car if the batteries die =]

chris2010 · Post by **chris2010** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:59 pm

skinnay wrote:I'm planning to run a few 12v items off a rental car battery. I don't actually own a car or have access to one. Does anyone know what gauge spade terminals I need to connect to the screws? and most batteries do have screws as a power source dont they?

DO NOT DO THIS

with the rental car battery!

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:10 pm

I am in complete panic mode to get this done this is not funny

cahlm · Post by **cahlm** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:33 am

Go to Batteries Plus and get yourself a small 12v AGM deep cycle. I picked one up for 20 bucks. 9amp hrs will run your stuff for a while.

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:55 am

Will the deep cycle have the same terminals as a car battery? 2 big posts and 2 screws?

Post by **Sham** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:31 am

My thought on this would be to run it off the car battery and park the vehicle in such a way that you could easily get a jump start. Once the car is running, you can let the battery charge for a little while.
As far as the terminals on a deep cycle batterty, you can get them any way you want. They come in different styles.
Since this is a rental, at you talking aobut buying a bettery once you get to Reno? If so, you might just get a solar charger for the rental, an keep it on the dashboard all week.

By the way, I've done this and it's not as much fun as it looks.

chris2010 wrote:DO NOT DO THIS with the rental car battery!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:10 am

22 ga may be adequate, but I'd run larger.

There are standard posts, positive is slightly larger.
Threaded studs for marine and commercial batteries, and those oddball gm side posts.
Some batteries have additional options for power takeoffs, so many cars having constant power use.

If you know how, I'd take the battery out and use it in place.

Griot's has some great quick release for batteries, if it wasn't a rental.
Swedish product.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:35 am

> Right now its all wired with 22g speaker wire, but not sure what i
> should run from the inverter to battery

More details would make it a _lot_ easier to help you. I understand you're looking for a specific answer to a specific question, but it occurs to me you're asking the wrong question. Please describe your whole set up, particularly the inverter. I assume your fan and EL wire run on 110VAC? And you have an inverter of some kind that for some reason doesn't have a way to connect to a battery? That's where I'm unable to grasp the situation. I've got 3 or 4 inverters that have powerport sockets, and they _all_ have a way to connect them to 12VDC power -- either clamps for batteries or a cigar lighter plug.

You have a 110VAC fan? Why don't you have a battery-powered one? I've used battery-powered fans for decades. I, too, have EL wire, and it runs on AAs powering an inverter. I've got an EL panel, and it runs on 12VDC powering an inverter, so I have a small 12V SLA battery that I carry with me to power the panel. I also run speaker wire from the battery to the inverters, but these inverters are small, sealed blocks that I can put in a pocket. Are those the inverters you have or do you have the big models that have lighter sockets?

Help us help you.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:03 am

The better inverters are hard wired.
You have to provide your own connection.

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:56 am

phil wrote:> Right now its all wired with 22g speaker wire, but not sure what i
> should run from the inverter to battery

More details would make it a _lot_ easier to help you. I understand you're looking for a specific answer to a specific question, but it occurs to me you're asking the wrong question. Please describe your whole set up, particularly the inverter. I assume your fan and EL wire run on 110VAC? And you have an inverter of some kind that for some reason doesn't have a way to connect to a battery? That's where I'm unable to grasp the situation. I've got 3 or 4 inverters that have powerport sockets, and they _all_ have a way to connect them to 12VDC power -- either clamps for batteries or a cigar lighter plug.

You have a 110VAC fan? Why don't you have a battery-powered one? I've used battery-powered fans for decades. I, too, have EL wire, and it runs on AAs powering an inverter. I've got an EL panel, and it runs on 12VDC powering an inverter, so I have a small 12V SLA battery that I carry with me to power the panel. I also run speaker wire from the battery to the inverters, but these inverters are small, sealed blocks that I can put in a pocket. Are those the inverters you have or do you have the big models that have lighter sockets?

Help us help you.

The fan and inverter both run off 12v dc. Its my understanding that i just need to run the power and ground right to the battery. im just curious what the best way to physically connect it to the battery is. i was planning to use spade terminals and screw them on but dont know what size to get or if i should be using something else .

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:58 am

gyre wrote:The better inverters are hard wired.
You have to provide your own connection.

I know I need to solder on a connector, i just need to make sure i solder on the right connector =]

cahlm · Post by **cahlm** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:31 am

skinnay wrote:Will the deep cycle have the same terminals as a car battery? 2 big posts and 2 screws?

No. Just 2 small terminals. I'm running my swamp cooler + a 50 ft string of LED modules off of mine. Works great. And I'm assuming your swamp cooler's electric is 12vdc?

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:38 am

cahlm wrote:
skinnay wrote:Will the deep cycle have the same terminals as a car battery? 2 big posts and 2 screws?
No. Just 2 small terminals. I'm running my swamp cooler + a 50 ft string of LED modules off of mine. Works great. And I'm assuming your swamp cooler's electric is 12vdc?

yep, 12v dc.

cahlm · Post by **cahlm** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:57 am

I'd really consider a small deep cycle. If you have the extra coin, I got mine for $20. I think you can visit Alternative Energy to recharge it off of their solar array. I'm picking up another one today, just in case

cahlm · Post by **cahlm** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:58 am

I'd really consider a small deep cycle. If you have the extra coin, I got mine for $20. I think you can visit Alternative Energy to recharge it off of their solar array. I'm picking up another one today, just in case

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:01 pm

The spade on my battery (I've got a cigar socket connected to the screws) is just about 3/8 of an inch wide.

I _highly_ recommend that you put fuses as close to the battery as practicable on both wires. If your wiring shorts out, you want a fuse to blow, and you want it close to the battery so a short doesn't make the wire white hot along the length of the wire to the fuse - it can cause a fire. My engine caught fire years ago when a clip rubbed through a wire and turned all the wiring white hot. Lots of smoke, totally killed all the electrical to the engine, fire and smoke damage in the engine compartment. Fuse both wires.

Make a guess on how many amps the battery has. Use the guide here:
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/12-volt- ... e-amps.htm
to determine wiring size between the battery and the inverter. Do not use speaker wire. The gauge on your spade terminal needs to match the gauge of the wire. The amperage from your battery is seriously high, and you'll need a large wire to handle it till it gets to the inverter. Get a jumper cable, by the way. :-> -- oh, and look at how big that wire is. There's serious power coming out of your car battery.

The width of the spade is numbered also, and I'm sorry to say I don't know the spade number for about 3/4". If you come up with a spade a little larger than the bolt on the battery, the wingnut should hold it for you if you tighten it well.

skinnay · Post by **skinnay** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:12 pm

phil wrote:The spade on my battery (I've got a cigar socket connected to the screws) is just about 3/8 of an inch wide.

I _highly_ recommend that you put fuses as close to the battery as practicable on both wires. If your wiring shorts out, you want a fuse to blow, and you want it close to the battery so a short doesn't make the wire white hot along the length of the wire to the fuse - it can cause a fire. My engine caught fire years ago when a clip rubbed through a wire and turned all the wiring white hot. Lots of smoke, totally killed all the electrical to the engine, fire and smoke damage in the engine compartment. Fuse both wires.

Make a guess on how many amps the battery has. Use the guide here:
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/12-volt- ... e-amps.htm
to determine wiring size between the battery and the inverter. Do not use speaker wire. The gauge on your spade terminal needs to match the gauge of the wire. The amperage from your battery is seriously high, and you'll need a large wire to handle it till it gets to the inverter. Get a jumper cable, by the way. :-> -- oh, and look at how big that wire is. There's serious power coming out of your car battery.

The width of the spade is numbered also, and I'm sorry to say I don't know the spade number for about 3/4". If you come up with a spade a little larger than the bolt on the battery, the wingnut should hold it for you if you tighten it well.

Awesome! Thanks!

Since the wire on the inverter is already very small, do you think its ok to simply solder that to the larger gauge wire? (Assuming the fuse will between that connection and the battery).

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:39 pm

Most hardwired inverters I've seen had terminals at the unit, but it does seem like I've seen some with wires coming out too.

I would think the wiring to the inverter would only need to match the power used, but I would run 12 gauge myself to keep the efficiency up and give you some margin.
Or you could match the wire to it's maximum draw, for the future.

Fusing is a good idea.
Low voltage loses a lot of power in small wire, even when it is a safe size.
Even for a small load, I would run 16 or 18 gauge.
Still very cheap and considerably better than 22 gauge.

Car battery terminals

Car battery terminals

Re: Car battery terminals