Hi guys and girls im Steve i and iv just started shaping a few years ago, the only reason i havnt shaped many is because i havnt had my own space to do it in. Now iv finaly got myself a garage from a friend right by the beach,the only problem is it has no power in it. Getting my own supply or a secondary meter from the neighbours is not an option because money problem and also the neighbours are a pain in the ass.
So the only way i was thinking was running my lights off leisure batteries. I got a friend who can get me them at a good price. Only thing is my knowlege about the correct lighting is not all there. i was just wondering is there anyone out there who maybe has been in this situation or knows how to overcome this or know what type of suitable lighting i could get from using one or two deap cycle leisure batteries.
Also i was thinking of rigging up a cheapish solar panel on the roof to top up the batteries if anyone has any knowlege of this aswell would be much appreciated.
That first board will cost you $10,000. And be the most environmentally unfriendy ever. How are you going to recharge the batteries? Put them in a truck and drive them? And when you are doing that , you drop one and spill acid all over the ground? And while you are carrying them, you get acid burns all over your arms. Get a different Garage.
It.s a matter of adding up the amps, you got a 12 volt system there with batteries. Figure out how many amps each light will pull then buy your batteries accordingly. Batteries are rates CCA or whatever amps ie.s 650 cca (cold cranking amps) batteries are rates in per hour usage, 650 cca...so you could run 1, 12 amp light for 54 hrs, or.....6, 12 amp lights for 9 hrs, on that 650 battery. All 12 volt stuff has it's amp pull on the packaging or product, you can buy lights and stuff from the marine store. more than likely you'll want to run a stereo, TV, lights, power tools etc, etc...It ads up in a hurry....Plus you got to charge it back up when you are done that's another topic
The other alternative is an inverter. Inverters change Solar & 12 volt batterise into good old power you can plug your regular tools into. But remember stuff like a blow dryer, heat gun, or a microwave pulls 1600 watts. So in a nutshell if you are just running lights you'll need 2 or 3 deep cycle batterise. But if you are trying to run a shed and do some power tools etc, you are going to need at least 3-4 EV8D batteries. or 8 golf cart batterise...those 6 volt ones EV's are thoses huge bus batteries.
My old boat had 4 EV in it and i could run all the light, TV, space heaters, Bait tank, radar w alarm all night. It was great because it is completely quiet. But maybe your best bet is a generator, because you'll spend a lot less on a gen set than ahuge mound of batteries.
maybe a 3 mile extension cord is pretty good idea?
For a board here and there you don't need power tools, lights yes. An initial idea is inverter with a Costco RV "deep cylce" battery or two, take them home to charge them overnight with a standard auto battery 10 amp charger. Then again you might consider 12 volt light fixtures which would avoid the cost and inefficiencies of the inverter, 12 volt fixtures and bulbs tend to be expensive. Decisions, decisions.
If the neighbours are a pain in the ass now , it's going to be worse when you start glassing. ///////////////////////////////////you wont be around there very long so don't invest much in improvements that you can not take with you after you are kicked out !!
You're three miles from your nearest outlet? How can the neighbors be a "pain in the ass" ; when you're three miles from anything? Make yourself a stone axe and shape like Fred Flinstone and Alley Oop. Maybe you'll reinvent the wheel! Watch out for Dino.
I’ve got this 2,000/4,000 watt power inverter from harbor freight for 169$ and it works good.It will run a 13 amp circular saw as long as you cut smooth.It runs sanders/drills,sawzalls etc. very good.You can hook it up to your car battery with a set of jumper cables and run a power cord off of it to your shaping bay.You can leave the car running for a bit while you work or leave it off and go out and crank it up once in a while so you don’t kill your battery.I would carry a spare battery though with a good charge in case you kill the one under the hood.Be carefull with the connection poles on the inverter,even after its disconnected from the power source they can still hold a charge!
here is somthing to look into solar power generator, most people use them for their RV since the panels and generator are portable. I doubt you can run everything but its something.