Will Powerpack sort out how to get electric in my garage?

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gladiator

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I need to put some electic in my garage, which is too far from my garage to install a proper mains supply or run an extension lead.

I've just seen this item which seems to contain everything I need i.e. 300w power inverter, inbuilt battery, even has lights and it could be used to start my bike if the battery is low.

http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_40&products_id=572

This does away with humping a battery around in one tidy package.

I could create a work area in the garage, add a couple of 60w bulbs and use this to run them.

I would appreciate some feedback and help please.

Thank you
 
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1) Neither link works.

2) You'll still have to lug the thing back home to charge it up.

3) Regular batteries don't appreciate being discharged - 120W of lighting will draw at least 10A from the battery. How long will it keep that up? Fluorescent is essential.

4) Search the forum - this topic has been discussed before
 
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It claims it will provide 300W at 240V, so it wouldn't draw 10A for two bulbs as the last guy suggested, presumably thinking it was 12V. However when running two bulbs you'd already be taking half its capacity so you really couldn't run much else. You mentioned a work area, if that means power tools then I don't think this will meet your needs. If you just want lighting without mains power, there are cheaper options. If you don't need this thing for jump starting vehicles which seems to be its main purpose in life, it doesn't look to me like a good buy.
 
Thanks again for your help.

I don't need to run powertools. I just need the light and a radio.

I have a motorcycle and want to be able to clean it and tinker about when I get home from work. There's just not enough natural light getting in.

:)
 
sherlockholmes said:
It will provide 300W at 240V, so it wouldn't draw 10A for two bulbs as the last guy suggested,.
Click to expand...

Watts = current times voltage

current = Watts divided by volts

1.25 amps for 300 Watts on 240 volts

25 amps for 300 Watts at 12 volts.

If the battery is 12 volts then to have 300 Watts output the battery has to supply 25 amps into the invertor that produces 240 volts and 1.25 amps.
 
My mistake, I hadn't realised the 240v output would still be coming off a 12v battery.

This really isn't going to meet your needs gladiator, it sounds like it's more for a camping trip.
 
Once again thank you for your replies and honest help.

Each time I call a company i.e. wilco, maplins to ask whether a product they retail will do the job I am told yes. However, it seems selling without any responsiblilty is the name of the game nowadays!

Thanks again
 
If you have to use batteries then think vehicle

A car radio with a short whip aerial on the shed roof and a pair of speakers will provide good radio service.

A vehicle (or camping) 12 volt flourescent light or lights will provide reasonable lighting. two 8 watt units will light a shed for all most activity.

Labcraft Ltd make good quality reliable units

http://labcraft.co.uk/products/product/pdfs/Squarelight_NX.pdf

http://labcraft.co.uk/products/product/T8_Batten_lights_(BL).html

There are other supplies

The only thing would be having to carry the battery to the house for charging on a regular basis. Or you could run ELV ( extra low voltage ) 12 volt cable from a charger in the house to the battery and keep it on a trickle charge Half an amp trickle charge for 24 hours will give 4 amps ( 48 watts ) for 3 hours
 
holmslaw said:
I doubt the claims for that invertor - 12v 20ah = 240Watts not 300Watts.
Click to expand...

12V 20Ah = 240Wh, not necessarily only 240W

Heating, efficiency losses, battery power delivery characteristics, cable sizes etc ignored, i.e. a purely theoretical model:

12V 20Ah will give you 300W for 48 minutes.

Or 3kW for 288 seconds.
 
I would agree with bernardgreen 12 volt discharge lamps are way to go for lighting. I have used a 120W inverter in the car for years without a problem for lap top etc.

However the 3000W inverter was a real failure and it did not work as the spec said it should. It would not run even a resistive load of a 2.2kW kettle without expensive blue smoke even though it say up to 6000W peak for starting loads.

Plus we had 4 x 160Ah batteries not one 20Ah.

One problem is inverters many are what is referred to as modified sine wave. This is nothing like a sine wave really and only one washing machine manufacturer LG makes machines able to use this type of supply.

Florescent lights also do not like running off modified sine wave inverters so even if using the inverter for very small tools it is no good for lights.

We ran a vacuum cleaner from the 3000W inverter "Dyson" but on 300W very little will run. Lap top is about the limit.

I would look at leisure batteries and a regulated charger. They should not be left flat or even part discharged but will deep cycle better than a car battery.

NiCad can be left in discharged state and if you don't want to re-charge after every use then look at NiCad instead. Old bus batteries are Ni-iron and also good but heavy.
 
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