Portable Generator

JGEP

Hi,

I'm looking to get a portable generator to run 3 fluorescent lights in a stable. My father looks after the horses so it'd have to be lightweight as he's coming towards retirement age. The farm is a few miles away from the house so can't leave it there permanently as we've had a few issues with theft.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Solar PV, a regulator, an old car battery and an inverter would do it.

freddyuk

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Solar PV, a regulator, an old car battery and an inverter would do it.

Correction:

Solar panel/solar regulator/deep cycle battery/12v led tube lights with a junction box and light switch. Very simple and very effective and will last years. No need for noisy, smelly and expensive generator. No need for an inverter unless you want AC mains power but it can easily be added.
LED 12v tubes have an acrylic cover not glass so are great for stables. Using simple end fittings (as this is low voltage) no need to buy fluorescent batten fittings and then throw away all the innards to fit LED tubes. Simply screw on the fittings and slot and twist the tubes. Ultra safe system and much cheaper.
If you actually have a pullcord switch up high you can run the string via screws eyes all the way down so the horse cannot get at it.
You need to work out how many hours a day the lights are on. Do the calculation based on winter time not summertime.
A better system is 24v as the cables are much thinner so less cost and no issues with voltage drop on the cables. 2 x smaller batteries will give you the correct voltage.
If you want a simple calculator I can send you one as a starting point.

2011

JGEP wrote: »

Hi,

I'm looking to get a portable generator to run 3 fluorescent lights in a stable. My father looks after the horses so it'd have to be lightweight as he's coming towards retirement age. The farm is a few miles away from the house so can't leave it there permanently as we've had a few issues with theft.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I would go one of these.
Honda build quality is hard to beat.
as you can see many of them are quite light.
The larger heavier units can be mounted on wheels.

Be careful though, these items are famous for "walking".

JGEP

@ Sir Liamalot & Freddyuk
Thanks for the response but already have fluorescent fittings to use and have them up and wired down to the switch and just need to get power to the switch now. Because of the location members of a certain community have cleaned out anything left there overnight, used have a big old lump of a generator cemented to the ground of a derelict house beside the stables but that went too. Usage will only be for the lights for max a few hours at a time, about an hour in the morning and again in the evening with the odd visit from vet/blacksmith which would increase it slightly.

The father's used to no power there but would like to make it a bit safer in the winter while keeping costs to a minimum.

@2011
Any idea of the price of those, looks ideal but can't seem to find a price online.

LeBash

JGEP wrote: »

@ Sir Liamalot & Freddyuk
Thanks for the response but already have fluorescent fittings to use and have them up and wired down to the switch and just need to get power to the switch now. Because of the location members of a certain community have cleaned out anything left there overnight, used have a big old lump of a generator cemented to the ground of a derelict house beside the stables but that went too. Usage will only be for the lights for max a few hours at a time, about an hour in the morning and again in the evening with the odd visit from vet/blacksmith which would increase it slightly.

The father's used to no power there but would like to make it a bit safer in the winter while keeping costs to a minimum.

@2011
Any idea of the price of those, looks ideal but can't seem to find a price online.

I picked up a pramac unit a few weeks ago for a job. It would be a lot bigger that you need but was about 400. Worth asking them

freddyuk

Then may I suggest a simple 30 or 50 watt LED 12/24Volt floodlight and take a battery with you to connect with crocodile clips. It will light the whole place up and you can re charge at home. Even easier is to run a cable from the car battery while you are there? You can make a temporary hook for the light and take it all home. Trying to run a couple of lights off generator AC mains power when we have LED now is just overkill and an expensive option I think.

JGEP

freddyuk wrote: »

Then may I suggest a simple 30 or 50 watt LED 12/24Volt floodlight and take a battery with you to connect with crocodile clips. It will light the whole place up and you can re charge at home. Even easier is to run a cable from the car battery while you are there? You can make a temporary hook for the light and take it all home. Trying to run a couple of lights off generator AC mains power when we have LED now is just overkill and an expensive option I think.

Good idea, can't bring the car down by the doors though. Would you be talking 12V rechargable lead acid battery? Where would I get the LED lights and battery charger?

freddyuk

You can use any battery charger but do not leave a cheap one plugged in on charge as it will ruin the battery. If you want to do it properly get an "intelligent " charger to monitor the battery and it will last a lot lot longer.
Car batteries are cheaper than "leisure" batteries but you really want a deep cycle "leisure" battery for best results as you will be running it down a lot (in winter) and car batteries do not like this and will fail prematurely. You can try this with an old car battery first to see if it does what you want and then buy the charger and proper battery. You can get a very small battery as it will only be used for a couple of hours at a time so very light weight but needs correctly charging to keep it in good condition.

Have a look on Done Deal or Ebay?

JGEP

freddyuk wrote: »

You can use any battery charger but do not leave a cheap one plugged in on charge as it will ruin the battery. If you want to do it properly get an "intelligent " charger to monitor the battery and it will last a lot lot longer.
Car batteries are cheaper than "leisure" batteries but you really want a deep cycle "leisure" battery for best results as you will be running it down a lot (in winter) and car batteries do not like this and will fail prematurely. You can try this with an old car battery first to see if it does what you want and then buy the charger and proper battery. You can get a very small battery as it will only be used for a couple of hours at a time so very light weight but needs correctly charging to keep it in good condition.

Have a look on Done Deal or Ebay?

Thanks freddyuk

Irish Steve

If the run time is short, another option would be a 12 to 240 inverter that's connected to the car battery, and use the vehicle as the supply, even if you have to leave it on tickover to avoid flattening the battery, it will take a long time to use more fuel than running a generator, and the inverter can stay in the car, so not nickable in the same way. Maplins sell various inverters, among others, and I think Halfords also have them.

I worked it out that running the engine as an electric generator was costing me €1 per kWh plus maintenance. Probably closer to €1.20 on a cheap Maplins inverter. I'd be more inclined to charge a second battery while driving and just use that, plenty of electrons left to run a few lights in one that wouldn't deliver CCA.

Freddy's right a semi-traction battery would be best if you were considering buying anything...just if there's any ex-service car starter batteries around I'd use them to get my money's worth.
+1 on cheap chargers ruining batteries if they're left connected after charge completion. I never use a charger these days without verifying every stage with a DMM. Everything under €50 generally fails...they're fine though for odds and sods if you watch them.