Lighting for outdoor shows

[stargazer]

Thank you very much for your help with Passing the Jury test. In the next few weeks I am going to try to scan in our "final" choice for slides and put them up on this board for critique. I am wanting to have lighting for our outdoor art display. I have heard that a forklift battery has alot of stored energy. Does anyone know about converting the battery current to the kind of current our regular plug in lighting uses? Thank you again for your generous, giving nature. Sheryl in Asheville

[Geri Comstock]

At the outdoor shows I've done, people rarely use any kind of lighting. Sunlight is generally sufficient, unless you're under some kind of heavy duty canopy or a dark canopy.

There are battery pack things (I can't remember what they're called) that you can buy at places like CostCo which you charge up and use as a power source at a show. I don't know how long they'll work for lights, though. Most of the people I know who use them are only using them for credit card machines and fans.

Good luck!

Geri

[Bert Weiss]

Thank you very much for your help with Passing the Jury test. In the next few weeks I am going to try to scan in our "final" choice for slides and put them up on this board for critique. I am wanting to have lighting for our outdoor art display. I have heard that a forklift battery has alot of stored energy. Does anyone know about converting the battery current to the kind of current our regular plug in lighting uses? Thank you again for your generous, giving nature. Sheryl in Asheville

Cheryl

If you are going to use a battery, look in to using 12v halogen MR16 lights. They are designed to work on 12VDC. I don't know about keeping them dry. The good news is that you can't really get hurt using them, except that they run HOT.

[Larry Lunsford]

What you're looking for is called an inverter. An inverter converts 12VDC (power from auto battery) into 120VAC (like what comes out of your household outlets). Small to mid sized inverters are sold everywhere (I've seen them in grocery stores). Best deals are at a place like Best Buy.

You'll need a big battery for power. For this kind of use, you should get a marine duty battery which typically has more capacity and can tolerate deep discharge cycles without damage. A typical battery would be around 11" x 10" x 7", weighs 55 pounds, and has a capacity of 80 amp hours. At 12V, 80AH gives 960 watt hours. 960WH is one 60W bulb for 16 hours or ten 60W bulbs for 1.6 hours, and so on. You loose a little to inverter losses (they're around 90% efficient).

You will also need a charger for your big honking marine battery. You can get one at auto supply stores.

You also need a little red wagon to haul your honking battery if it needs to travel more than 5 or 10 feet.

[stargazer]

Wow, one sixty watt bulb for 16 hours from one honking battery in a little red wagon. I think we'll have to pass on the outdoor lighting idea. We have a new white canopy with a big skylight . . . just never used it. Sounds like its going to work just fine. Thank you for helping me. sheryl