Running garage lights on a car battery

[HawkEye244]

Hello.



I want to run some garage lighting on a car battery. Nothing heavy just one or two 100W bulbs maybe. Problem is I know nothing about electrics. How would I go about doing something like this? I currently run power tools on a generator I have which runs on petrol. And I will only be using lighting at night time if I need to. So this seems like an attractive option as lights that run on batterys generally run out of power very fast.

 

[ericmark]

Try a caravan and camping shop the florescent units give off more light for power used. And often supplied with croc clips.

 

[XtraRaptor]

Why not put up 230V lighting, run that off the generator when you are using that, and buy an inverter and power that off the battery when you just need some lighting.

You would need to put a changeover switch to swap between the genny and the inverter.


Nick.

 

[HawkEye244]

230V lighting? I googled it and these look quite nice. I may have some already (kitchen lights). I think they are 50W or so each and produce alot of light so I could use them.


How do I go about actually wiring them to a car battery? Please know that I have never properly examined a car battery or know about 'inverters'. Would it be at all possible for you to simplfy to the extreme so that I can understand. Thank you

 

[breezer]

I would suggest your easiest option is to follow ericmark's advice, get a couple of flourescent lights used for caravans.

no inverter required, easy and safe to install

 

[flyingsparks]

230V lighting? I googled it and these look quite nice. I may have some already (kitchen lights). I think they are 50W or so each and produce alot of light so I could use them.


How do I go about actually wiring them to a car battery? Please know that I have never properly examined a car battery or know about 'inverters'. Would it be at all possible for you to simplfy to the extreme so that I can understand. Thank you

 

[securespark]

You can't run 230VAC gear straight off a 12V DC battery. You have a few options:

1. Run 12V lighting direct off the battery.

2. Run 230VAC stuff off the battery via an inverter: google it if you're not sure what one is.

3. Run 230VAC stuff off your existing genny.

1 & 2 pose a problem in that how are you going to keep the 12V battery charged?

 

[big-all]

my dad has a normal car battery as back up to his 12v garage door

i have wired 3 mains powered low energy bulbs via a silverline 150W inverter
http://www.toolstation.com/documents/search/index.html?searchstr=Power+Inverter+150w+ 58864

basicly a pressure switch on the 12v side affixed on the door frame powers up the circuit [via a 10 amp fuse] with the door open

the output is a 13 amp plug socket

have a fused spur box with a length of flex to a plug

from the fuse spur box hard wired via a triple switch to the lights

there is also a bypass switch on the 12v side to turn the lights on with the door shut

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So this seems like an attractive option as lights that run on batterys generally run out of power very fast.

A good quality car battery in good condition will power 200W of lighting for at least an hour.

 

[HawkEye244]

I have four 17W floresant lights. This means I will need 70 watts of power.

So I get a 100W or 150 W Inverter. Connect that to the car battery then just plug the lights into the Inverter?

 

[HawkEye244]

So this seems like an attractive option as lights that run on batterys generally run out of power very fast.

A good quality car battery in good condition will power 200W of lighting for at least an hour.

Is that it? Why does the battery in my car not need replacing for years on end? Is it because its the petrol that's powering the energy heavy things like the headlamps and not the car battery itself?

 

[sparkyspike]

Is that it? Why does the battery in my car not need replacing for years on end? Is it because its the petrol that's powering the energy heavy things like the headlamps and not the car battery itself?

That's because the battery is only used to start the engine. The alternator powered by the engine does the rest, including recharging the battery.

You could go and buy a quality portable car starter pack. You can keep it in the house to charge up, then carry it to your garage to power your 12v lights. Something like this.

 

[HawkEye244]

Is that it? Why does the battery in my car not need replacing for years on end? Is it because its the petrol that's powering the energy heavy things like the headlamps and not the car battery itself?

That's because the battery is only used to start the engine. The alternator powered by the engine does the rest, including recharging the battery.

You could go and buy a quality portable car starter pack. You can keep it in the house to charge up, then carry it to your garage to power your 12v lights. Something like this.

How long will something like this run for before I need to recharge?

 

[big-all]

I have four 17W floresant lights. This means I will need 70 watts of power.

So I get a 100W or 150 W Inverter. Connect that to the car battery then just plug the lights into the Inverter?

what you need to remember is 70w at 240v is 20 times the draw at 12v
so 20 times 70 is 1400w which =6 amps

so you need to work out the amp hour of your battery so if your battery is 40 anp hour[40ah] you will probably get 5 or 6hrs run time from a full battery allowing for a slight power loss in the conversion

the £35 "power pack" on sparkyspikes list is 8ah so will run for just over an hour before recharging

 

[sparkyspike]

How long will something like this run for before I need to recharge?

Recharging is an issue too. Overnight will usually do. Cheaper ones take 24 hrs.