introduction...

[nosnerd]

hello all

my name is alan..i am really impressed with the knowledge on this site.

my question,

we are looking for a bus right now....and i would like to know if i can use 4 deep cycle 205 minute res, 110ah batteries to power my accessories..my idea is to have everything on 110v thru a converter....as i have nearly everything for the bus inside..laminate,mattress,Tv,Ipod dock,DVD,small fridge,micro,5000btu AC unit etc...

i plan on having rear/mattress on a platform so i can access cargo underneath thru rr door..

i plan on skinning only 4 or 5 rear windows...limo tinting the rest...

what can we do about the school bus door???

more half camping type of thing to go to the races...wife is a princess you know

regards to all



al

[GoneCamping]

I would have to agree with the above post, using a battery bank and an Inverter (12vdc to 110vac) you will not be able to run refridge, A/C, microwave etc for any kind of sustained periods of time. Small TV & DVD may get some use out of as well as lighting etc... I too would go with a genny, at least around 4,000w to power all that needs to be powered.

[Redbear]

Real quick:

Amp hours are properly specified at a C/20, or a 20 hour discharge rate. 110 Ah per battery translates to 5.5 amps discharge each for 20 hours. You can draw less for longer, but don't expect to draw 110 amps for 60 minutes. Four batteries provide 22 amps for 20 hours. But fully discharging batteries drastically shortens their life, and the best rule of thumb is never discharge below 50%, so that's 22 amps for 10 hours, not 20.

Wattage is volts times amps, so 22 amps x 12 volts is 264 watts draw for 10 hours, or 2640 watt-hours of usable power. 100% discharge would provide 5280 watt-hours. In converting between 12 and 120 volts, your amps for a given load are roughly 10 times as much at the DC voltage. 240 watts could be 20 amps at 12 volts, or 2 amps at 120 volts. Remember to use heavier wire at 12 volts to carry the extra amps. Mount the inverter near the batteries, and make long wire runs at 120 volts.

Use watt-hours to figure your load capacity. Adjust for duty cycle, or run time. A 200-watt load that continually cycles on for 1 minute and off for 4 only draws 40 watt-hours per hour at the 20% duty cycle. You may be able to keep an efficient fridge cold between genset runs, but heaters and air conditioners are usually out of the question on battery. A 1200-watt microwave that's used for 10 minutes per day only uses 200 of your 2640 watt-hours, but run it for over two hours cooking a major meal and you are done.

[nosnerd]

hello again,

thank you for the replies...i ommitted to mention the generator...i am looking at a cheepie Champion jenny to charge the batteries...should i scale back to 3 batts.at over 120 dollars each it adds up...what size converter should i run?? any brands better than others.?..i can get a 4000w with three outlers for 449$$...most if not all the cooking will be done on the BBQ.anythoughts on using mybar fridge in bus??or should i keep a cooler for the frozen stuff?

the Ac unit will be run off the genny.i am aware of the amps required...wow...big amps!!!

i plan on using the seats out of a scrapped chevy tahoe..run the counter street side...sofa curb side..run three max airs,

what can i do about the door, and how do we go about locking it??any tricks?

hanks again guys for all advice



al

[GoneCamping]

what size converter should i run??

Converter = changes 120vac DOWN to 12vdc...
If you plan on running a lot of 12v lighting, 12v DSI stuff etc, then I'd go with a 45 or 55 amp Wifco converter or something similar

Inverter = changes 12vdc UP to 120vac...
If you are trying to run 120vac stuff off the battery bank, this is going to depend on how many watts@120vac you intend to pull. For some very low powered stuff like a TV and a Sat tuner I've got by with a 600Watt/1200W Peak Inverter, I could get several hours from a pair of Grp-31's from that. Most electronics have trouble with cheap inverters, you'll need at least a Modified Sine Wave (reasonably priced) or full sine wave (very expensive). Most electronics will not work on half or quarter sine wave. Items with motors, compressors, heating elements etc will not be usefull with batteries and an inverter...or at the very most, won't work for very long before the batteries are kaput...