Elecrtical wizardry need

Okey Dokey, the South australian Woodenboat Festival is on again in March. On the Saturday evenng of the "Do" a fairy light parade is held. I thunk that all I hadf to do was get some of them cheap xmas lights, chop off the transformer thinngy and attach now naked wires to a car battery hidden away in the depths of the mighty vessel "R&R" but apparently doing so will lead to a somewhat dismal display. Tell me what' how and keep it simple cos I'm an electrical numbnut........

Behold!
The mighty vessel "R&R"........

I don't think you even need to chop off the transformer; most come with plugs at that end now too. You should be able to get a matching one from Dick Smith's or the like.

Good thing about 12v is that about the only way it'll kill you is if you let the battery drop on you from a great height!

Put a little flashing red one in there somewhere so you think of me!! :D

Another option could be to buy a small 240v generator (less than $100 these days) and keep it stowed below, power all the stuff from it using normal 240 fittings, kept below (make sure all the lights and above deck fittings are 12v though!). Scares me, but many do it.

Had to cancel the trip this year because the Missus said we weren't going anywhere the week before a wedding at our place. :confused: :confused: :confused:

Oh well there's always 2007!

Have a great time!

P :D

Christopher,

Car batteries are really designed to provide high current for short amounts of time, to get your car started. This is why leaving your inside light on in your car for just a few hours can flatten your battery. The normal powering of your car electronics is provided through your alternator rather than your battery.

What you need is a gel cell/SLA battery (sealed lead acid) or even a marine battery, which is a bit of a compromise.

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Originally Posted by simon c

What you need is a gel cell/SLA battery (sealed lead acid) or even a marine battery, which is a bit of a compromise.

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Simon,

I agree, (but I'm an electrical dunce), but I reckon an hour or two would be enough charge, couldn't one get more life by running multiple batteries in (oh darn...series or parallel - I know it's one of them!)... If it isn't possible to borrow sufficient battery power, the generator looks like the most cost effective solution I think.

Cheers,

P

Whoa back..... not stickin' a petrol genny in her, there isn't all that much room for starters. Car batteries are what I have, buying special batteries for a "oncer" isn't an option either, no budget! They will have to run for only an hour or so at the max. If I flatten the battery it doesn't matter as I can charge it up again when I get home as it is a spare. Kepp 'em coming fellas......

Simon
Deep cycle battery is what i think you are trying to say Christopha needs
due to the long life with a slow discharge

How many batteries Chris?

Paralleling (+to+, -to-)them will increase the amount of amps available whilst keeping it at 12V.

Be warned that if you flattem them too far they will be stuffed.

Hook up a voltmeter and when it reaches 10.5Volts with load on, turn the load off and recharge as soon as possible.

probably a maximum of two mate..... it is the lights themselves which have me a bit stuffed as the little chrissy ones I have found actually come out at 24volt without the transformer..... all I want are a bunch of little twinkly lights which I can drape over my little boat thing for an hours fun on the water once every two years.

Christopha, if you have two 12V car batteries, just connect them together in series ( + ~ - / - ~ + ) and you now have your 24V! :D

Please correct me if I'm wrong here people, Don't want stoppers having a premature meltdown or nuthin' :eek:

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Originally Posted by Tankstand

Christopha, if you have two 12V car batteries, just connect them together in series ( + ~ - / - ~ + ) and you now have your 24V! :D

Please correct me if I'm wrong here people, Don't want stoppers having a premature meltdown or nuthin' :eek:

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Yes you are right. Connect in series.

The meltdown part would be entertaining to the crowd. :D :D

For really pretty display, drop a match in the bilge - with all that red wine slopping around, it should glow really well :D

Richard
does this mean I've got to put lights on Redback? :eek:

I have my answer!!!!! I shall tow Redback as she burns :D :D :D

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Originally Posted by Christopha

I have my answer!!!!! I shall tow Redback as she burns :D :D :D

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Does that mean I should leave the last top coat until the day before so that it's still gassing off? :eek:

I'd need LOOOOOTTTTTTTSSSSSS of red wine to toss that match :D

Richard

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Originally Posted by Tankstand

Christopha, if you have two 12V car batteries, just connect them together in series ( + ~ - / - ~ + ) and you now have your 24V! :D

Please correct me if I'm wrong here people, Don't want stoppers having a premature meltdown or nuthin' :eek:

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Series connection would be: +~- +~-, that is connect the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the other, then connect your lights to the two free terminals (one +, one -) this will give you 24V.

Mick

How about extending the chain drive on the prop to run around a generator as well - you can pedal that hard can't you? :D

Richard

THANK YOU YOUNG MICK!!!!!!!!! I shall have a play......... :D

Why are you using car batteries? They make marine battteries that last longer.

3 ways to go. One, you can buy the lights that run on small batteries. They sell them on the net. Two, a bank of 2 or 3 batteries will last for several hours depending on how many lights. The lights must be 12 volte, if you are using car or marine batteries, (not 230v they will not work. they must match. You need to figure the watts of every bulb and then figure the amp hours. Match the amp hours to the number of batteries amps. You can find it all on marine web sites or just type in boat electricals and you will find it. If you have the lights and they are are 220 V I would go with a small very light generator. Don't forget to match those amps as well.

I have a 26ft sail boat on a trailer. I put it in the front drive a lit it up for Christmas as well as the house, trees and all the shrubs. Over 15,000 watts of lights, all color. Now for the fun part. The bill when it comes.
Have fun.
I love deadlines. I love the sound of them going by.

Christopha, why not use a long extension cord?? that way you could light up ALL of the boats in the display :D


Sorry all my left over electrons have been spoken for :( otherwise I could have sent you a bucket or two

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Why are you using car batteries?

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Because he has them.

I wasn't going to bother about going into Amp Hours as it is just a one off fun thing, not setting up for self sufficiency. :D

Spot on young Ian........ thank you for that...... I thought I had managed to get my message across and I am thankful for the help..... except for Kev, silly buggear should know I don't share! :D

Hi Christopher,

I did a bit of research on the ability of a basic car battery to provide the power you need.

A "typical" car battery can deliver (very roughly):
300A for 30secs (cold cranking amps)
25A for 1 hour
3A for 20hrs <I>(fairly optimistic, maybe 1A is more reliable)</I>

If you have a 24v fairy light system with 80 globes it will probably need about 8A (typical globe needs 0.1A). So you should be able to run the lights for a few hours.

You will need to have two batteries in series to get the 24v - just join the +ve of one battery to the -ve of another which leaves you with a +ve and a -ve to connect to your lights.

Heed 's warning well about running the battery down to flat. It will completely stuff the battery.

Another option you have is to borrow a marine battery - they have a much flatter profile, lower cranking amps but higher long term amps.

If you only want to use one car battery, then consider using garden fairy lights. They come as 12V and are much more robust but probably more expensive. They are normally bought by the metre and rated for power by the meter too. From memory, they run at about 3W per metre or 0.25A per meter. So 30 meters of garden lights will need 7.5A.

Hope this helps.

Simon

Christopha,

Try this diagram for your wiring.

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Originally Posted by Wood Borer

Christopha,

Try this diagram for your wiring.

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Are you saying Stoppers a fairy!!

lmao

Al :D

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Originally Posted by ozwinner

Are you saying Stoppers a fairy!!

lmao

Al :D

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What a queer thing to say Al!!!! Nah, he is straight as far as I know.

I thought someone might have suggested using C cells for the boat by now. :D

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Originally Posted by Wood Borer

What a queer thing to say Al!!!! Nah, he is straight as far as I know.

I thought someone might have suggested using C cells for the boat by now. :D

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Straight? :rolleyes: That's hysterical. He may not be queer but he's definitely twisted :D

Richard

it's sad how seriously people are taking this thread, perhaps because it's about an exercise in frivolity :cool:

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Originally Posted by Wood Borer

I thought someone might have suggested using C cells for the boat by now. :D

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DOH!! silly me, what about DOLPHIN batteries? :p

What a bright idea, makes the rest of us look dimwitted.

Thank you all ( I think??????)..... twisted??? yeah, probababaly.
Kev, you aren't twisted mate, you are totally buckled beyond repair!
Simon, thanks for the tip on the garden lights and Woodborer, thank you for the nod of straightness and the diagram. How do I join up two car batteries to get 12v if I go for the garden lights?

+(POS) to +(POS), -(NEG) to -(NEG) and take a wire from + to one side of the lights, positive if there is one.

The other wire connects to the Negative.

Another diagram for you Christopha. Just a word of warning though, I find using hair pins to keep my foil hat in place stops it falling off onto the batteries. The foil will conduct and could start a fire.

He can't use hair pins, may just have to spray his head.

No Iain,

He has more hair than me! :D :D

Just to prove you wrong, heres a picture of him with his favourite pet :D

Did you meet him in your former job? :D

No idea, but its a neat little boat

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Originally Posted by Iain

Just to prove you wrong, heres a picture of him with his favourite pet :D

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Surely you're not suggesting he uses the creature he is holding to spray his head! I find it hard to believe Christopha would do such a thing. :D

That darling little creature was nought but a snack, a mere hors d'ouvre.......