running a house from car batteries for the electrical idiot

[Marvo]

I'm not sure what inverters are available in France, the one I used was an 'Axpert' but I've seen it rebranded under other names as well. It was pretty cheap as pure sine inverters go and it's been very reliable.

Here's the battery bank, you can see the main fuse at the top right and also one the lighting circuit fuses laying loose on the left if you look carefully

Here's the inverter (the silver box in the corner);

 

[Marvo]

I ran the back-up power from the inverter on extension leads. Here's the lead that powers the coffee machine and above you can see one of the 12vDC 10 watt floodlights that's powered direct from the batteries.

 

[Marvo]

This is the LED tape lights I used in the kitchen;

And this is what they look like when they're on;

 

[Marvo]

This was another 12VDC floodlight that provides back-up lighting in my office, it was just a plain light so I added the pull switch.

As I said it's not going to win any awards but it served it's purpose when we had regular blackouts.

 

[ellie]

This was another 12VDC floodlight that provides back-up lighting in my office, it was just a plain light so I added the pull switch.

View attachment 41451

As I said it's not going to win any awards but it served it's purpose when we had regular blackouts.

Wow. thank you for the pictures. that is really helpful. and those LEDs look brilliant (literally). Thanks Marvo. much appreciated.

 

[The Ghost]

i changed my mind 3 times on which room

I've worked for you before I'm sure, maybe not just seems familiar that thing about changing your mind halfway through an install.

 

[Marvo]

You're welcome. I see you can buy 10 watt 12VDC floodlights on ebay for under five UK quid and the LED strip light is less than 10 quid per 5 meter length which is pretty cheap. I assume similar is available in France if you shop around so you should be able to buy back-up lights for the entire house for about 50 Euros.

 

[static zap]

.... i do like the idea of LED lamps

Probably the right kind of current , (My old favourite was a small 12V fluorescent...)
Car batteries -hate deep cycle ,so cannot get near AHr rating (even nearly new) with steady loads !

 

[pirate]

Indeed Static, which is why I use the golf trolley batteries which are deep cycle, and likely to be virtually fully discharged every round, then charged up again for my next attempt at breaking 100...and that's just on the front nine!

They are also very compact, about 9" square, and 3" deep, so very portable. ( i believe they come in metric sizes too!)

 

[pirate]

Here's the metric version

18cm x 18cm x 8cm

 

[Marvo]

Yep, golf cart batteries would be deep cycle as would fork-lift batteries, both would be suitable but I found that batteries made/marketed for a specific purpose were inexplicably more expensive that a general deep cycle battery of exactly the same specification.

The cheapest decent quality deep cycle batteries I could lay my hands on at the time were Trojan T105 which are a wet lead acid type. I installed 4 of them in series to give me the 24VDC that the inverter required. I've had them now for about 4 years and they've seen about 200 full cycles and maybe 25 partial discharge cycles and they're still in great condition. We had a planned power outage the other day that was for 6 hours and the system ran the entire time and still had about 30% left in reserve when the power came back on. Finger crossed they last another 4 years without problems.

 

[pirate]

Good info there, thanks Marvo!
To be fair, I thought the OP was looking for a simple, compact and cheap way to get some light when the mains failed for a couple of hours...
now I think she could run a call centre on a PP3!

 

[static zap]

(...Was PP9 the bigger one for fake Wooden Fidelity radios ? --Blast from past)

 

[pirate]

Yup, PP9 was the big fella! Think it had 2 spring terminals. Heavy beast ...

 

[Adam W]

Yup, PP9 was the big fella! Think it had 2 spring terminals. Heavy beast ...

The "lantern battery", which I remember from my youth is what they used in those flashing beacons they have on roadworks.

 

[pirate]

Think I'm getting confused...
the PP9 had snap terminals like the PP3
this is the chap with the springs...

and is the "lantern" type, iirc...
I had a flashlight that took 2 of these. It was very heavy, and very bright for about, oh, 5 minutes, before it started to dim. Things have come a long way with battery technology and LEDs!
PP1, PP7 and PP9 were all 9v with snap connectors.
There was another one, which was rectangular, and had screw-on connectors but I cannot recall what it was called.

 

[pirate]

Well, clearly I am at a loose end today!

 

[pirate]

"There was another one, which was rectangular, and had screw-on connectors but I cannot recall what it was called."
Oh well, here you go...it was also called a lantern battery.

 

[Adam W]

Bit before my time but you used to need a dual voltage 90v/1.5v battery to run portable radios.
According to t'internet they stopped making them in the 60s.

A decorator I used to work with found one in his shed. It had a battery clip on it so I tried to get it working by sticking 10 PP3s together, but let the smoke out.

 

[static zap]

Ahh memories tongue testing batteries ,3R12 - 4.5V
with long and short brassy strips ..friendlier than PP3 !
(3R12...May be new name .. )

 

[pirate]

Ah, tongue testing batteries...it's like other things...you know you shouldn't really...but you go ahead anyway!

 

[MDJ]

Ah, tongue testing batteries...it's like other things...you know you shouldn't really...but you go ahead anyway!

You mean like Mc'ewans Ale?

 

[pirate]

Aye, McEwan's Pale Ale...available from my local C0-op when I was a teenager at 8p/can! ...and that's where the rot set in...

 

[pirate]

Remember the 1289? Used in those flat torches and also in the lamps on your bike?

Also used in the Electronic Engineer kits (anyone remember those?). You could build a radio or an alarm etc, putting the components onto a perforated board with spring-clips.

 

[pirate]

Crikey, there you go!

That's me in the corner! (As REM were wont to sing...)

 

[static zap]

1289 must be the one + more affordable PP6.
Just started to learn names then C,D,AAs came in !

 

[Leyland30]

OP DC is the future, as already suggested; make sure your using LED lamps, the 12v twin pin MR16 ones will be most cost effective. I’d also suggest you get a deep cell leisure battery rather than using a standard car starter battery. Also, don’t try using this system for any space or water heating, low load applications only. Good luck.