Power Supply for Lighting!! HELP!!!

[shadowboxer]

Howdy!

Here's what I'm trying to do...

I need to power 3 10ft strips of 5mm el wire, each on pipsqueak drivers with the little 12 volt AC plug adapters (3 of em)

Also, one 40 watt regular frosted light bulb.

I was thinking of hooking up an inverter to a car battery to run this. Does anyone have any idea on how long the battery might last? Anyone have a better idea on how to implement this without using a generator?!?

Big Thanks!

Shadowboxer

[capjbadger]

Howdy!

Here's what I'm trying to do...

I need to power 3 10ft strips of 5mm el wire, each on pipsqueak drivers with the little 12 volt AC plug adapters (3 of em)

Also, one 40 watt regular frosted light bulb.

I was thinking of hooking up an inverter to a car battery to run this. Does anyone have any idea on how long the battery might last? Anyone have a better idea on how to implement this without using a generator?!?

Big Thanks!

Shadowboxer

Don't use a car battery. They are built for starting/quick amps, not for long draw applications. You'll ruin the battery. Get a deep cycle battery (not a "Marine" battery). Golf cart batteries are good. They're built to be drained and rechanged a lot.

As for charging, solar panels? Charge by day, light by night.

[phil]

There's some math involved, but it's not hard. See
http://www.cieux.com/bm/chargingSystems.html
for lots of information.

You need to know how many amps your battery-powered devices draw and how many hours you want them on, then you need either batteries with sufficient amp/hours to power them for as long as you want or you need a way to recharge batteries in time for the next use. That's really simple.

So if each 10-ft strip of el wire draws 20 milliamps (a milliamp is a thousandth amp), you've got three, so that's 60 milliamps, and you want to run the el wire for 60 hours, you need a battery that will power .06 Amps for 60 hours is .06 x 60 = 3.6 amp-hours. That's very easy. I have a couple of sealed lead acid batteries that are 7 A-hrs, so I'd be set. You need drivers that run straight off 12VDC instead of converting 120VAC to 12VDC, and I'm confused when you say you have 12 volt AC plug adapters. Are they wall warts to convert 120VAC to 12VDC? Just run your drivers off a sealed lead acid battery.

My 7Ah batteries are 6 inches x 3.5 x 2.5 and their weight is not negligible. I don't carry them in a pocket, although I could. I also have a dozen 2 Ah batteries that are 6 x 3.5 x .75, and their weight is negligible, and I do carry them in my pocked to power EL panels at night.

I'd suggest getting rid of the 120VAC bulb and getting something that runs on 12VDC, like an LED. That way you won't need a generator.

As capjbadger said, using a car battery (especially the one in your car) is a problem, as they are not made to be slowly discharged and then recharged. See Brad Templeton's page at
http://www.templetons.com/brad/burn/burn-power.html

[diane o'thirst]

If the light bulb isn't absolutely essential to some artwork you're planning, consider going low-tech for your lighting needs, like a battery or kerosene lantern. Those work at least as well and you won't need to hook up to your car's battery.

And if you have the budget — say, ~$50 — consider getting solar lanterns.

[robotland]

You could replace the 40W bulb with a white cluster LED module- They're made for underneath kitchen cabinets and such, and cost about ten bucks. Loads of cheap LED flashlights are available now too. Or if that certain luminous quality of "bulbness" is mandatory, try a 12V bulb designed for RVs. I often "isolate" high-drain lights from other systems that merely sip power like EL or LEDs, and give them their own power supply that they can drain at their own rate, sparing the overall system the load.

[shadowboxer]

Good idea on separating out the lights. The bulb light's purpose is to create a clear shadow. Someone told me that a regular light bulb is the best way to go. I should try the LED's light, though and see what kind of difference that makes.

Thanks!

C