Electrical Help

[levitayelor]

well i ended up winning the vector for 130. now for the deep cycle batteries. =]

[levitayelor]

well progress on the bus has been very good. were jus now getting the batteries.. we get to wally world and were gonna get the 4 cheapest deep cycle batteries. as pictured here. ($60 bucks a pop) =$240

and what do you know.. just our luck! they only have 2 so we thought either we could come back later or.. pay the same price for 3 batteries ($80 bucks a pop) = $240 .. that were about the same when considering the specs. so after talking to the very "intelligent" automotive employees they said we could bring them back if they werent the right ones. so we ended up with the 3 bigger ones pictured below

with that said. whats your opinion? we figured they're just as good but were no electrical school bus gurus! =)

[bansil]

So you now have 375 AH of batteries,from all my research you don't want to drag them below 50% so you have about 185 AH availible before recharging.
Now just figure out how much power you need from each appliance and this will tell you how many hrs you have before charging example if your fridge averages say 3 amps x 24 hrs,that's about 75 AH per day,add say a tv at 5 amps x 5 hrs that's another 25AH so your up to 100AH per day...don't forget to add in the invertor losses.
These numbers are just nubers,so check out you needs first
This will help you grasp the idea

[levitayelor]

ohhhh. got ya! what kind of volt meter do you have? is there any of them that are recommended over some cheap epay knockoff? lol

[bansil]

Originally Posted by levitayelor

ohhhh. got ya! what kind of volt meter do you have? is there any of them that are recommended over some cheap epay knockoff? lol

There is a tool called a watts meter(not sure of name..on phone...google it)
It mounts in line of appliance and gives off lots of info(its normally blue and digital)

[levitayelor]

there are 2 different ones but look similar. what is a G.T. POWER brand and the other is a TURNIGY brand. the turnigy looks a little nicer. so thatll prob be the one we will go with! thanks man!

[thommassey]

Just about every electrical device/appliance/gadget will have the amp usage or watts on a sticker or plate, somewhere on the back or inside the door. That may help you determine your needs in amp hours. May save you from buying a meter... Unless you wanted one to mount permanently to monitor usage?

[levitayelor]

well i was mainly needing one jus so i know how much juice i have left in my batteries.. so i don't use them after they are 50% drained. . not so much how much im using.. im kind of a newbie if you can't tell lol

[bansil]

There is lots of reading at expeditionportal-dot-com in the 12v,solar power area as well other neat builds and stories

[bansil]

this is what I was talking about
http://www.amazon.com/Watts-Meter-An...8532096&sr=1-3

[syke]

Bansil, are you over at expeditionportal.com? I use the same name on that site also. Pretty neat place with tons of offroad/camping/expedition info.


I've had good luck with the Kill-A-Watt meter... just as another option.

[bansil]

Originally Posted by syke

Bansil, are you over at expeditionportal.com? I use the same name on that site also. Pretty neat place with tons of offroad/camping/expedition info.


I've had good luck with the Kill-A-Watt meter... just as another option.

I am a member at all sites pertaining to my projects
same name at all sites,it's easier/better to talk to people with a passion about one particular thing than get to generalized and miss out on cool stuff pertinent to a well rounded project,there are 5 or so I go to and read everyday
want to learn about a small fiberglass project,check out a car audio site
want to grasp a fiberglass wall,check out boat building
want info on mobile electrical,check out boat building and custom built overland vehicles(vessels for away from the hiway use)
so on,and so on
it's a viscious cycle

[Ginikanwa]

I'd like your opinion on something.

[levitayelor]

who? me?

[bansil]

Originally Posted by Ginikanwa

I'd like your opinion on something.

Smells like pork