Battery Life

[Farilla]

Does anyone know how long I can run a string of X-Mas lights on a car battery? Thanks!!!

[Bob A]

Well a little vague. You need to know how many watts they use. and how many amp hours the battery has. Both should be on the packages.

Then the next question is are the lights dc or ac and your using an inverter, answer these and all will be made known to you.

Bob A

[Farilla]

Thank You Bob A for the info! Yes I am a neophyte with this sort of thing, however, this points me in the direction of where and what to learn! I will regroup and give this another shot. Thanks........

[AntiM]

Methinks I've seen this thread before ... but I can't seem to find it using search. Talked about 12volts and inverters and such things ... I KNOW it is on eplaya somewhere .....

[headquarters]

6.478653223 hours

[Farilla]

Actually I plan on plug'n one string of lights into the old RV and letting them rip through out the night (with out the generator) so the folks in camp will have some chill light to come and go..

So I am wondering if my RV battery will be dead in the morning? Thanks!

[Tancorix]

Rather than rely on educated guesses from people scattered across the continent with 15 variations of lights and 10 different kinds of batteries, why not hook up them up and test before you leave for the playa? Measure your voltage starting out before turning them on, then measure it when you pull the plug in the morning? If you're worried about people seeing a string of lights outside your vehicle, since the vehicle will be off and cold, coil the lights up and turn them on, then sit them on top of the engine and see if you can close the hood. Then remember to remove them in the morning before driving the vehicle. Voila! Instant testing facility without attracting nosy neighbors or other undesirables.

[Bob A]

Actually I plan on plug'n one string of lights into the old RV and letting them rip through out the night (with out the generator) so the folks in camp will have some chill light to come and go..

So I am wondering if my RV battery will be dead in the morning? Thanks!

Wait, is this the main vehicle battery or a second on that just runs the camper related stuff?
1. If the main vehicle battery, bad idea. Car batteries are designed for quick discharges (starting car) not slow deep drains like running lights all night. They should not go below 80% of their capacity on a regular basis and should be recharged right away, like when you are driving down the road after starting your car. Using one of these batteries for this purpose will do damage to it and could leave you stranded depending on how new it is, or at least leave you unable to start your vehicle at the end of the week.

If you are talking about a separate battery it should be a deep cycle battery. This can go down below 50% of capacity on a regular basis and can occasionally go lower if recharged soon after. If it is also a car battery you can use it just keep recharging it and be aware of how low you are bring it every time or you will end up with a chuck of scrap lead,

Bob A