Can Inverters for Outdoor Races?

[whites75]

I know people use the car batteries to charge their gear when racing outdoors when there is minimal or no power supply but does anyone use something like this, are they worth getting or is it best just to stick with a car battery?
cheers

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ring-150W-E-Can-Compact-Car-Power-Pack-Inverter-USB-Charger-RINVC150-/400615078446?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item5d4684fa2e

[mark christopher]

It plugs into a car battery........:confused::woot:

[whites75]

It plugs into a car battery........:confused::woot:

yep I know via the 12v point in the car ie cigarette lighter etc I was just wanting to know if they are worth getting over the car battery that many seem to use, as I guess when this is used you would need to run the car whilst say charging the rc battery so not to drain the car battery?

[bretts]

I'd get a 12v battery for two reasons:-

1. You can still start your car at the end of the day.

2. Your charger will get the correct current (amps) for charging. Also it's only 150w at 240volts, so volts/watts = amps i.e. 1.6 amps at 240v Ac

You'd have to see what input your charger needs at 240v to give at least 5amps at 12v

To conclude:-

Sounds like a bit of a faff to me.

[whites75]

I'd get a 12v battery for two reasons:-

1. You can still start your car at the end of the day.

2. Your charger will get the correct current (amps) for charging. Also it's only 150w at 240volts, so volts/watts = amps i.e. 1.6 amps at 240v Ac

You'd have to see what input your charger needs at 240v to give at least 5amps at 12v

To conclude:-

Sounds like a bit of a faff to me.

hi bretts - so if I got the 12v car battery do you hook it up to the battery on my car to get the power? (sorry never done it before and not sure how it works) :blush:

[bretts]

nope, just get a cheap 12v car battery charger and make sure it's charged the night before.

Then just use croc clips on the terminals to give you power to your charger. All assuming you're charger accepts 12v input. no need to go anywhere near your road car battery.

it's the way we all did it back in the day as nowhere allowed us to use mains supply and also all the chargers where only 12v input (unless you where rich)

[whites75]

nope, just get a cheap 12v car battery charger and make sure it's charged the night before.

Then just use croc clips on the terminals to give you power to your charger. All assuming you're charger accepts 12v input. no need to go anywhere near your road car battery.

it's the way we all did it back in the day as nowhere allowed us to use mains supply and also all the chargers where only 12v input (unless you where rich)

ok cheers, so the shopping list I need a cheap 12v car battery, croc clips and battery charger :thumbsup:

just found this in my charger box - I take it this can connect direct to a car battery?

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee189/philw2007/2014-11-01113223_zps29c10fd4.jpg (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/philw2007/media/2014-11-01113223_zps29c10fd4.jpg.html)

[mark christopher]

be far better off spending a bit more and getting a decent leisure battery, it will last far longer as a car battery is not designed for deep discharge.

[whites75]

be far better off spending a bit more and getting a decent leisure battery, it will last far longer as a car battery is not designed for deep discharge.

ok pal cheers - will have a butchers online to see how much they are :)

[NeilRalph77]

+1 on the leisure battery,

The lead you've pictured is not right though try looking through your box again one came with my UAC50 it'll be croc's to a male dc power plug dia 5.5 I think, it plug's into the socket above the one for the mains lead.

[whites75]

+1 on the leisure battery,

The lead you've pictured is not right though try looking through your box again one came with my UAC50 it'll be croc's to a male dc power plug dia 5.5 I think, it plug's into the socket above the one for the mains lead.

ah right, I think I get it now. yep I have the lead you mention which attached with the croc clips onto the leisure battery will give the lipo charger power right? Then am I right in thinking I just attach my lipo battery using the wires/balance lead as I would as if I had it plugged into the mains at home?

Just a very quick look at leisure batteries and a charger for it they are pretty expensive mind

[Ashlandchris]

ah right, I think I get it now. yep I have the lead you mention which attached with the croc clips onto the leisure battery will give the lipo charger power right? Then am I right in thinking I just attach my lipo battery using the wires/balance lead as I would as if I had it plugged into the mains at home?

Just a very quick look at leisure batteries and a charger for it they are pretty expensive mind

That's right.
Leisure batteries are expensive, but worth it. Mind you, as Aston gap, you can do worse than visit a local car garage and ask for an old car battery. My experience is they chuck a few per day and there is always one that will give you an initial try out until you decide it is the way to go

[whites75]

That's right.
Leisure batteries are expensive, but worth it. Mind you, as Aston gap, you can do worse than visit a local car garage and ask for an old car battery. My experience is they chuck a few per day and there is always one that will give you an initial try out until you decide it is the way to go

cheers chris - will have a good look round on the net at leisure batteries to find the best price and decide which way to go from there - gotta decide pretty quick mind as as soon as the brca 2015 membership is available to buy online I can then book into the iceman series with my sct which is in a few weeks time, so need to sort it by then :)

[whites75]

what 'ah' size battery would be best to get for a leisure battery please?

[bretts]

All depends on how much use for how long?

Remember these are for caravans to power lights for the weekend etc...

So I think 85ah (about £45 - £50) should be more than ok for a days charging, 110ah (£60 - £65) if there's going to be more than one charger I suppose.

I borrowed an 'old' car battery which had been in a mates garage for a year or so in the summer. It was dead but charged ok and I ran a charger all day and soldering iron on it and it lasted.....but how low until it knackered, i'll never know.

[whites75]

All depends on how much use for how long?

Remember these are for caravans to power lights for the weekend etc...

So I think 85ah (about £45 - £50) should be more than ok for a days charging, 110ah (£60 - £65) if there's going to be more than one charger I suppose.

I borrowed an 'old' car battery which had been in a mates garage for a year or so in the summer. It was dead but charged ok and I ran a charger all day and soldering iron on it and it lasted.....but how low until it knackered, i'll never know.

thanks bretts - will keep scouring the net to find a decent priced one as well as a trickle charger for it :)

....or poss a 'smart' charger seems to be the way to go for leisure batteries?

[neallewis]

Your core rc charger will also charge lead acid batteries, but probably safer (for your lipos) to get a plug in trickle charger, as forgetting to change the mode back to "lipo" will result in a fire.

Leisure batteries are fine and great, but nothing wrong with using a car battery if that's what you have. I replaced my BMW 110Ah battery with a new Bosch, and have used the old BMW one for the last three summers outdoor racing. I normally have two chargers running and sometimes a third, all day/weekend at meetings. Never failed me (apart from one time I forgot to charge it the night before). Sure small cheap car batteries might not last too long though, but you'll certainly get a meeting worth (5/6 packs) of charging out of one for a season.
When this packs in i'll probably replace my boat leisure battery and run the old one.

[whites75]

Your core rc charger will also charge lead acid batteries, but probably safer (for your lipos) to get a plug in trickle charger, as forgetting to change the mode back to "lipo" will result in a fire.

Leisure batteries are fine and great, but nothing wrong with using a car battery if that's what you have. I replaced my BMW 110Ah battery with a new Bosch, and have used the old BMW one for the last three summers outdoor racing. I normally have two chargers running and sometimes a third, all day/weekend at meetings. Never failed me (apart from one time I forgot to charge it the night before). Sure small cheap car batteries might not last too long though, but you'll certainly get a meeting worth (5/6 packs) of charging out of one for a season.
When this packs in i'll probably replace my boat leisure battery and run the old one.

cheers neal - I don't have a battery at all just my mains charger, so when I goto places like A1 Racing for the Iceman series with my SCT I will need something to power my core mains charger from. Originally I was going to get a can inverter like they have in argos that plugs into the cigarette lighter and run from my own car with it running to top up my lipos, but it seems the better way to go is the car battery or leisure battery route - just want to get something sorted before the 23rd so I have something at A1 to charge with :)

[mark christopher]

other option is a generator, or find some one u can give a couple of quid too and plug in

[Aire valley]

Alphaline XV24 Leisure Battery, 88Ah - Suitable for boats & caravans

This is the one I got off EBay....seems good and less than £50

[whites75]

Alphaline XV24 Leisure Battery, 88Ah - Suitable for boats & caravans

This is the one I got off EBay....seems good and less than £50

great thanks :thumbsup:

[mattr]

I will need something to power my core mains charger from. I is confused, you keep muttering about an inverter and 12v batteries and mains chargers.

You do know that the UAC 50 will run from mains or 12v don't you?

You don't need an inverter.

[whites75]

I is confused, you keep muttering about an inverter and 12v batteries and mains chargers.

You do know that the UAC 50 will run from mains or 12v don't you?

You don't need an inverter.

geesh thanks for putting it so nicely......apologies for 'muttering' :p

my original post was about inverters and wether people used them etc (as I originally did not know my charger would connect directly to a car battery), then was suggested about car and leisure batteries, so yes I looked at all 3 options as I am grateful for the other member contributions, which may of started getting a bit confusing/muddled for others reading the thread?

Yeah it was pointed out that my charger will also connect to a battery (car/leisure) as well as the mains so I guess an inverter is now redundant like you say, which leaves the leisure/car battery type - which is what I am now looking at :)

So thanks to all that have contributed - its appreciated and thanks for sticking with me as I knew nothing about it all :thumbsup:

[whites75]

thanks for the input peeps - collected myself a leisure battery at bury metro earlier from a fellow member, thanks very much Danny :)

[spudnuts]

What size did you end up getting? Looking at getting a leisure battery for field charging. 2 chargers running at 5amp each charging 5000mah lipo's for about 4 cycles each. Just not sure what size i need, 70AH or 115? Anyone with a few brain cells know?

[charlesk]

What size did you end up getting? Looking at getting a leisure battery for field charging. 2 chargers running at 5amp each charging 5000mah lipo's for about 4 cycles each. Just not sure what size i need, 70AH or 115? Anyone with a few brain cells know?
At that you're only using about 20ah (assuming you fully discharge) so the 70AH is plenty.
I use a 88ah and it's fine even for 2 day events doing more than 1 class...

[spudnuts]

Excellent :thumbsup:

[whites75]

What size did you end up getting? Looking at getting a leisure battery for field charging. 2 chargers running at 5amp each charging 5000mah lipo's for about 4 cycles each. Just not sure what size i need, 70AH or 115? Anyone with a few brain cells know?

I got a 100ah one pal, bought from someone else on here and it was only bought march this year. Cost me 30 quid :)