Finding The Right Batteries

[manofthecoldland]

 

 If you have the money, have a low psychological or physical tolerance for heat discomfort.... by all means, buy a generator or set up a battery and regeneration system

 

And there is the problem.  Each of us has a different tolerance.  You may not realize that I also lived in the typhoon stricken area after Yolanda.  Gas for the generator was a HUGE problem in the first 3 weeks of the crisis.  Food and water were also critical but some supplies still available.

 

In that situation I would have been thrilled to have a battery pack that recharges with solar energy.  Even if there was not enough juice to operate 24/7 it would have been great to run my laptop (games only as Internet was down for weeks) and have a fan and a light at night.

 

I must not be the only one with 'low  physiological or physical tolerance as every boat leaving the island was sold out before the tickets hit the public window.  I know because I would have been the first one out if a spot was available.  I am just a little surprised to hear anyone making light of that typhoon.  It devastated a lot of lives.

 

   I apologize for not being clear and unambiguous re my statement. I have the utmost empathy for those of us who lived through and tolerated the horrendous aftermath. I too was miserable, but .... no choice. I am, BY NO MEANS, "making light" of the situation or the suffering on any level what-so-ever. 

   My point was that some people, living in modern times with modern technology, sometimes aren't used to physical hardships and are willing to make the extra effort and spend the extra money to insure against such. Thats a good thing, since no one should unnecessarily suffer. 

    I'm used to privation at times and like many here, I count my blessings if I am not suffering from hunger, thirst, or threats to maintaining my survivable body core temperature limits on either end of the cold/heat indexes.

   I would never knowingly make light of human discomfiture and misery.

   I am very sorry that you interpreted this the way you did. That was not my intent to upset you with what you took to be a cavalier attitude.

   Lots of things interpreted as privation and hardship these days would be stoically accepted just two generations ago. That was my point. Many people in this country live without the comforts and advantages provided by modern electricity. When the system is down, we have to forebear.  Those who can't take the heat, leave the kitchen... but some of us just tolerate it because we've been through it before and are willing to tough it out until things get better. 

   This is still a third world country and modernity is not uniform here.

    Again.... I took my hit and we suffered. But I got up again, tolerated the hardships and counted my blessings. I can tolerate a normal amount of whinging, but too much is self-defeating and counter-productive.

    Making ill-founded assumptions and jumping to conclusions is unfortunately part of human nature. I do it far less often now that I am older but still err in this regard oftentimes. I would advise others to seek clarity before chastising others.  

[Dave Hounddriver]

I would advise others to seek clarity before chastising others.  

 

Thank you for your comments.  Living through a typhoon can leave emotional sore points.  I hope neither of us has to do it again.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I know this is no good for all that you want but I did see solar fans and lights,inverters,deep cycle batteries, solar kits on the CDR Site.

 

http://www.cdrking.com/index.php?productstype=All+Products&searchvalue=solar&x=23&y=10&mod=products&type=search

[Huggybearman]

I am also one of the 'wimps' who does not handle brownouts very well. We have our fair share of power outages here and they can last up to four hours. My good lady teaches English over the internet for a Taiwanese based school so it is important that the internet is protected in such circumstances. So I knocked together a UPS which has a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter running from two locally sourced 12v 100 amp/hour deep cycle, maintenance free batteries. These are wired in parallel to provide 12 volts and 200 amp hour capacity. They are permanently connected to a four stage 'intelligent' charger which keeps the UPS charged and the TV, three pedestal fans, cable TV box and internet are permanently run off it. In the event of a brownout I also attach a couple of LED table lamps and that keeps us entertained and comfortable for about four hours. All the equipment which runs off the inverter totals around 300 watts. At 12 volts that amounts to around 25 amps current draw. It is not a good idea to discharge your batteries below around 50% state of charge, to prolong their life, so my 200 amp hour capacity will give around four hours at 25 amps down to 50%.
So, to answer the OP's question, to run a 1500 watt inverter would require a current draw at 12 volts of around 125 amps. So ideally you would need around 500 amp hour of battery capacity to run 1500 watts for four hours. That would need to be doubled to protect your batteries down to a 50% state of charge. So around a 1000 amp hours of battery capacity would be needed. I have fitted a battery monitor called a Smartgauge which indicates the state of charge so I don't go below the desired 50%. Another thing to bear in mind is the continuos rating of the inverter. On start-up some equipment have an initial current draw considerably in excess of their rated power. An example would be a 1HP air conditioner. Its continuous rated power would be around 900 watts but on start up could be three times this.
It is also important to use deep cycle batteries. Automotive batteries are built differently, for a different purpose, and their life will be very short lived if used for running an inverter for any length of time.

For prolonged power outages I also have a little Honda Eu10i inverter generator which is very economical and quiet in operation. The gennys you can buy cheaply in the likes of Ace Hardware are very noisy, and use a modified sine wave which is not suitable for all types of equipment.


Ken

 

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by Huggybearman

[Dave Hounddriver]

So, to answer the OP's question, to run a 1500 watt inverter would require a current draw at 12 volts of around 125 amps. So ideally you would need around 500 amp hour of battery capacity to run 1500 watts for four hours. That would need to be doubled to protect your batteries down to a 50% state of charge. So around a 1000 amp hours of battery capacity would be needed.

 

A well thought out response.  Good to see that someone here is actually doing it.

 

My original 'need' of 1500 watts is high.  I used to connect my inverter to my truck battery and run TV, VCR, Laptop, fan, lights and Internet with it but I noticed that my TV and VCR were using most of the power so I could eliminate those and run with fewer watts.

 

I find the concept interesting and I believe you have a great set up with a few batteries, and a generator.  Thanks for your input.

[Huggybearman]

So, to answer the OP's question, to run a 1500 watt inverter would require a current draw at 12 volts of around 125 amps. So ideally you would need around 500 amp hour of battery capacity to run 1500 watts for four hours. That would need to be doubled to protect your batteries down to a 50% state of charge. So around a 1000 amp hours of battery capacity would be needed.

A well thought out response. Good to see that someone here is actually doing it.

My original 'need' of 1500 watts is high. I used to connect my inverter to my truck battery and run TV, VCR, Laptop, fan, lights and Internet with it but I noticed that my TV and VCR were using most of the power so I could eliminate those and run with fewer watts.

I find the concept interesting and I believe you have a great set up with a few batteries, and a generator. Thanks for your input.

It depends on what type of TV you are running. The older sets are quite power hungry, but our 48" LED TV only uses 48 watts. Each of our three fans are around 60 watts, the modem only 6 watts, the cable TV set top box about 20 watts and each of our two lamps are only 15 watts. So you don't really need a large inverter to run all of these. Even our large fridge freezer only uses about 120 watts so quite a lot of equipment can be run from the little Honda genny if need be. We find that, apart from not being able to run the aircon, we can live very comfortably through any brownouts. It just requires a little forethought and preparation.

I forgot to mention in my original post that each of my 100 a/h batteries cost around 8000 pesos. Not cheap, but consistent with what I was paying for similar in the UK for my boat batteries.

Ken

Edited January 5, 2016 by Huggybearman

[intrepid]

 

 

So, to answer the OP's question, to run a 1500 watt inverter would require a current draw at 12 volts of around 125 amps. So ideally you would need around 500 amp hour of battery capacity to run 1500 watts for four hours. That would need to be doubled to protect your batteries down to a 50% state of charge. So around a 1000 amp hours of battery capacity would be needed.

A well thought out response. Good to see that someone here is actually doing it.

My original 'need' of 1500 watts is high. I used to connect my inverter to my truck battery and run TV, VCR, Laptop, fan, lights and Internet with it but I noticed that my TV and VCR were using most of the power so I could eliminate those and run with fewer watts.

I find the concept interesting and I believe you have a great set up with a few batteries, and a generator. Thanks for your input.

It depends on what type of TV you are running. The older sets are quite power hungry, but our 48" LED TV only uses 48 watts. Each of our three fans are around 60 watts, the modem only 6 watts, the cable TV set top box about 20 watts and each of our two lamps are only 15 watts. So you don't really need a large inverter to run all of these. Even our large fridge freezer only uses about 120 watts so quite a lot of equipment can be run from the little Honda genny if need be. We find that, apart from not being able to run the aircon, we can live very comfortably through any brownouts. It just requires a little forethought and preparation.

I forgot to mention in my original post that each of my 100 a/h batteries cost around 8000 pesos. Not cheap, but consistent with what I was paying for similar in the UK for my boat batteries.

Ken

 

Ken,

May I pick your electric brain?  If a person only wanted to run fan and lights around the house during power outage, could you not find new 12 volt automotive led lights and fans designed for RV/ marine use and then forgo the inverter?  Connecting directly to deep cycle batteries with a solar charger to extend life until the main power is restored?  12vt chargers are also available for most cell phones and laptops, correct?  I remember having seen a small 12 volt color tv some years ago.  I would think the  marine/RV market would still sell some similar.  Should  not be too hard to calculate amp hours needed.  I guess my main question is could run more for less battery capacity by going straight 12 volt?

[intrepid]

Should have done some research first to answer my own question.  Check out the available 12 volt items from my first search.  The items are endless; 12 volt TVs and just about everything else!

 

http://www.my12voltstore.com/12_volt_tv_s/79.htm

[scott h]

Huggy...take pity on us mere mortals (or those of us who are challenged by changing light bulbs :lol: )

 

How much does a set up like that cost? Are the parts readily available in the Philippines or must they be imported?

 

I am one of those risk versus benefits type guys.

 

I read and understand your unique requirements for your wife's work. What I am wondering is if the initial investment is worth for the average "Kano" who wants a back up in case of emergencies.

 

Great post though (even though I didn't understand most of it :hystery: )

[Huggybearman]

So, to answer the OP's question, to run a 1500 watt inverter would require a current draw at 12 volts of around 125 amps. So ideally you would need around 500 amp hour of battery capacity to run 1500 watts for four hours. That would need to be doubled to protect your batteries down to a 50% state of charge. So around a 1000 amp hours of battery capacity would be needed.

A well thought out response. Good to see that someone here is actually doing it.

My original 'need' of 1500 watts is high. I used to connect my inverter to my truck battery and run TV, VCR, Laptop, fan, lights and Internet with it but I noticed that my TV and VCR were using most of the power so I could eliminate those and run with fewer watts.

I find the concept interesting and I believe you have a great set up with a few batteries, and a generator. Thanks for your input.

It depends on what type of TV you are running. The older sets are quite power hungry, but our 48" LED TV only uses 48 watts. Each of our three fans are around 60 watts, the modem only 6 watts, the cable TV set top box about 20 watts and each of our two lamps are only 15 watts. So you don't really need a large inverter to run all of these. Even our large fridge freezer only uses about 120 watts so quite a lot of equipment can be run from the little Honda genny if need be. We find that, apart from not being able to run the aircon, we can live very comfortably through any brownouts. It just requires a little forethought and preparation.

I forgot to mention in my original post that each of my 100 a/h batteries cost around 8000 pesos. Not cheap, but consistent with what I was paying for similar in the UK for my boat batteries.

Ken

Ken,

May I pick your electric brain?  If a person only wanted to run fan and lights around the house during power outage, could you not find new 12 volt automotive led lights and fans designed for RV/ marine use and then forgo the inverter?  Connecting directly to deep cycle batteries with a solar charger to extend life until the main power is restored?  12vt chargers are also available for most cell phones and laptops, correct?  I remember having seen a small 12 volt color tv some years ago.  I would think the  marine/RV market would still sell some similar.  Should  not be too hard to calculate amp hours needed.  I guess my main question is could run more for less battery capacity by going straight 12 volt?

Absolutely you could. In fact it would be the most sensible way to run things. It is more efficient to run low voltage items directly from the battery than converting 12 volts to 220 to run mains voltage equipment. If you can find 12 volt equipment to suit your needs, that is the way to go. It doesn't need to be 12 volt equipment by the way, you can get other voltages ranging from 5 volts for a USB device up to around 19 volts for the likes of a laptop. In that case you can use a voltage convertor which converts the 12 volt DC from a battery to the 5 - 19 volts DC for the desired equipment. An example would be a car 12v plug in telephone charger, which reduces the voltage to the 5v required by the phone. The downside of that is you will need a convertor for each type of equipment. That would be expensive and not very efficient. There is a large selection of 12v equipment available on the market for RV's and boats. But it tends to be expensive and I have not seen it generally available here in the Philippines. Also, for the limited time you would actually need it, it's much more cost effective to use normal mains equipment and power through an inverter or genny.

A lot of equipment by the way, although marketed for 220v AC actually runs on a much lower voltage DC. My PLDT internet modem for example runs from the mains, but is actually converted to 12v DC at the plug which is what the modem actually runs on.

Ken