Need to get lighting for outdoor shows which do not provide electricity. Companies I have talked to say the only option is track lighting (of course I want the MR16 Halogen) - and they say only one track per battery. Is this correct? I don't want to become an electrician, but I don't think tracks will allow me to highlight the glass the way I need to.
Plus - what are the pros and cons of battery (Marine) and power pacs. I am not familiar with Power Pacs.
Any advice would help
Thanks
Booth Lighting - Outdoor w Battery
Moderator: Brad Walker
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Diane Anderson
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2003 1:11 pm
- Location: Chicago area
Marine batteries are designed for repeated drawdown and recharging. Pro...they can be recharged easily using any standard battery charger. Con...they are heavy to haul around. They'll run a VHF radio, a couple of 12 V lights and a car radio for a few evenings before they need recharging. No idea how long they'll last in a show situation. You can easily test the charge using an inexpensive battery hydrometer (suck out a little liquid from each cell and the density will tell you how much charge is left).
Power packs...no idea what they are.
Carol
Power packs...no idea what they are.
Carol
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Carla
In our jewelry booth we have two tracks (halogen lites total) we run off of a marine battery. The key to all this is getting an inverter. When we first set this up we got a huge battery (100lbs!) and a little inverter. We had it wrong. And had to change things around, meaning a littler battery and bigger inverter. So the relationship between the inverter and battery is important.
The partner who knows all the specifics this just headed off on errands. When he gets back I will post what we have. I only know the generalities.
Bottom line yes, you can do this. The battery is heavy (tho no longer 100 lbs) and will need to be recharged at nite, but it's all doable. We got our track lites from Home Depot and they were cheap ($40) a track.
Hope this is helpful.
Carla
foxon@bendnet.com
The partner who knows all the specifics this just headed off on errands. When he gets back I will post what we have. I only know the generalities.
Bottom line yes, you can do this. The battery is heavy (tho no longer 100 lbs) and will need to be recharged at nite, but it's all doable. We got our track lites from Home Depot and they were cheap ($40) a track.
Hope this is helpful.
Carla
foxon@bendnet.com
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Carla
The specifics on our system, that works:
Battery is: Exide Nautilus Gold Dual Starting/Deep Cycle 12 volt battery
(with carrying case) We got it from a boating store.
Inverter:
Vector PowerFOrce 350, Power Inverter~ with fan: fan is important (purchased from a sporting goods store)
Battery charger: Signature Series
Lights: Two 4' halogen track lights hooked together+6 spots, (from Home Depot)
What we did wrong at first was to get a BIG battery and a little inverter. The inverter would run the lites for about an hour and gave out.
What we needed and finally ended up with was a smaller battery (tho still heavy) and a larger inverter w/fan that could run the lights all day. I wish I could give you the specific reason why the first set up we got did not work, but I can't. I know that what I listed above works well. I'm sure you don't need our brands but hopefully this is enough info so some sales person can point you in the right direction.
Carla
Battery is: Exide Nautilus Gold Dual Starting/Deep Cycle 12 volt battery
(with carrying case) We got it from a boating store.
Inverter:
Vector PowerFOrce 350, Power Inverter~ with fan: fan is important (purchased from a sporting goods store)
Battery charger: Signature Series
Lights: Two 4' halogen track lights hooked together+6 spots, (from Home Depot)
What we did wrong at first was to get a BIG battery and a little inverter. The inverter would run the lites for about an hour and gave out.
What we needed and finally ended up with was a smaller battery (tho still heavy) and a larger inverter w/fan that could run the lights all day. I wish I could give you the specific reason why the first set up we got did not work, but I can't. I know that what I listed above works well. I'm sure you don't need our brands but hopefully this is enough info so some sales person can point you in the right direction.
Carla
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:59 pm
- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
Why would you need an inverter? Most of the halogen lights are 12 volts DC to begin with, aren't they? Get rid of the inverter, get rid of the transformer and wire the lights straight to the battery and save yourself the energy that you're losing by converting the DC to AC then back to DC again.
Tony
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
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Carla
Why do we need an inverter.......? I dunno. I am a totally clueless electrician answering someone who seems to know something. Cuz we were told we need an inverter. Cuz everyone has them. Cuz it doesn't seem to work without it.
I found more info on our system so maybe when I plug in the numbers that will make sense. I think it is something about amps and volts and watts and swithcing back and forth...and all the electrical stuff. This is a pretty standard system that many artists use on the arts and crafts show circuit. Everyone seems to have inverters. Help/explantions from someone who understand this is needed!!!!!
The Battery is a dual terminal/deep cycle battery: costing apx $90
Converions/inverter is: 330 watt inverter, max watts 350 costing apx: $60
Charger is: Signature Series Battery Charger 50 amp start, 10 amp fast charge, 2 amp trickle charge: cost ???
Lights: 50 amp halogen spots (2 strips, 3 per strips) on a strip. As jewelers we need spot lighting. Other art forms might need a more flood lighting and should buy the bulbs accordingly. Costs: apx $40 per strip
I'm in way over my head here. I just was trying to put names and specs to our system that works. Others have looked at our system while at fairs and been impressed, and gotten themselves similarly outfitted.
Don't know at this point if I am being helpful, but am trying.
Carla
I found more info on our system so maybe when I plug in the numbers that will make sense. I think it is something about amps and volts and watts and swithcing back and forth...and all the electrical stuff. This is a pretty standard system that many artists use on the arts and crafts show circuit. Everyone seems to have inverters. Help/explantions from someone who understand this is needed!!!!!
The Battery is a dual terminal/deep cycle battery: costing apx $90
Converions/inverter is: 330 watt inverter, max watts 350 costing apx: $60
Charger is: Signature Series Battery Charger 50 amp start, 10 amp fast charge, 2 amp trickle charge: cost ???
Lights: 50 amp halogen spots (2 strips, 3 per strips) on a strip. As jewelers we need spot lighting. Other art forms might need a more flood lighting and should buy the bulbs accordingly. Costs: apx $40 per strip
I'm in way over my head here. I just was trying to put names and specs to our system that works. Others have looked at our system while at fairs and been impressed, and gotten themselves similarly outfitted.
Don't know at this point if I am being helpful, but am trying.
Carla
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Carla
Okay. The partner came back & I asked him why an inverter?
He said:
"The inverter takes direct current/dc to alternating current/ac."
Does that make sense? Please say yes!
And back to the original question. The system we use and others use, have a myriad of uses. I've seen lamps lit with this system, pumps run on fountains, backlighting, overhead lighting (like ours) etc. Probably with a little research you will be able to find a system that will do what you want.
Carla, hoping this is helpful
He said:
"The inverter takes direct current/dc to alternating current/ac."
Does that make sense? Please say yes!
And back to the original question. The system we use and others use, have a myriad of uses. I've seen lamps lit with this system, pumps run on fountains, backlighting, overhead lighting (like ours) etc. Probably with a little research you will be able to find a system that will do what you want.
Carla, hoping this is helpful
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:59 pm
- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
I think that if you find the output spec on the halogen transformer, it will say something like XX Amps, 12 volts DC. So you are taking 12 volts DC from the battery, converting it to 115 volts AC with the inverter and then plugging in a halogen transformer which converts the 115 volts AC back to 12 volts DC.
The halogen lamps that you are using are 50 watt lamps that run off 12 volts (most likely). If you wanted to be creative and save yourself some electricity, you could connect the lamps directly to the battery without the inverter and transformer.
Tony
The halogen lamps that you are using are 50 watt lamps that run off 12 volts (most likely). If you wanted to be creative and save yourself some electricity, you could connect the lamps directly to the battery without the inverter and transformer.
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
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The Hobbyist
- Posts: 308
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 7:09 pm
- Location: Sun City West (NW Phoenix), AZ
- Contact:
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Ron Coleman
- Posts: 468
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 3:20 pm
- Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
Just about all of the lowpriced halgoen track systems these days have a 120 vac to 12 vdc transformer built right into each track light fixture. Using the inverter adds cost to the system but reduces the labor content to get the system up and running, no rewiring of anything.
At 12 vdc, each lamp draws about 4 amps and would limit any individual track to only 4 lamps because of the 15 amp wiring in the track. Running on 120 vac, each lamp fixture only draws about 1/2 amp so the track wiring could supply up to 30 lamps (each one with its own transformer). Although it's not recommended to load the wiring to the maximum rating.
The limiting factor will be the inverter in the system, watts is watts, no matter how you slice it. 350 watts will only power about 6 lamps with a little left over.
Ron
At 12 vdc, each lamp draws about 4 amps and would limit any individual track to only 4 lamps because of the 15 amp wiring in the track. Running on 120 vac, each lamp fixture only draws about 1/2 amp so the track wiring could supply up to 30 lamps (each one with its own transformer). Although it's not recommended to load the wiring to the maximum rating.
The limiting factor will be the inverter in the system, watts is watts, no matter how you slice it. 350 watts will only power about 6 lamps with a little left over.
Ron