Date:         Thu, 6 Feb 2003 20:53:27 -0500
Reply-To:     Greg Marshall <earthboy@ROGERS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Greg Marshall <earthboy@ROGERS.COM>
Subject:      Inverter Question
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hey Folks,

I'm thinking of doing the second battery and inverter project this
summer.

I'm into 24 hour mountain bike races, and would like to have the ability
to recharge NiCad and NiMH batteries using an inverter.  It would also
be nice to plug in a small 30 watt work light to shine on my workstand,
but my primary need is for charging batteries.  Here's the specs from my
cycle light battery charger...

Input     120VAC     60 HZ    5W

Output    7.5VDC    300mA

Say I had two of these plugged into the inverter. How large an inverter
would I need. How many Watts?

Also, is it absolutely neccesary to use a yellow top or similiar
battery?  Could I get away with using a regular battery?  Once the van
is parked at the race site, the engine won't usually run for just over
24 hours.  I suppose I could start it once in a while, just not at night
when the rest of the team is sleeping.

Other things drawing on the battery over this time include occasional
use of the sink light, and maybe my stereo runing quietly.  It's just a
4x35 watt cd player feeding four 6x9's.  No big amps.  I likely won't
hook up my second battery to run the fridge, because I find it works
fine on propane.

Any thoughts, advice, or input would be great.

Greg
82 Westy.