Date:         Fri, 20 Aug 1999 23:35:27 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Subject:      Re: Optima d750-S vs. d750-U
Comments: To: Todd Last <Rubatoguy@MINDSPRING.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <37BE13A7.77B0C5EF@mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 19:49 8/20/99 -0700, Todd Last wrote:
> > Also, can anyone give me a ballpark estimate of how long the deep-cycle is
> > good for between charges? That is, if I go camping for a week (in one
> spot),
> > how many total hours (about) can I expect to get from the battery for cabin
> > lights, CD-player, stereo, etc. before the thing goes dead?

Todd, that's what the amp-hour rating is for.  Measure or calculate the
drains of the loads you use (in amps) -- if the total is 1/20 or less of
the battery amp-hour rating, just divide that rating by your measured load
to get *maximum* life in hours.  If the total is more than 1/20 (not
likely) your available time will be less b/c batteries have progressively
less capacity as the discharge rate goes up.

I can put more words around all that if you need...

Amps = watts / volts, in case you have a wattage rating for a lamp or
whatever.  The watt rating of your stereo doesn't count, that's output
power, not input.

david
David Beierl - Providence, RI
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"