where to carry a battery

[dales133]

Same sort of thing darrel come in heaps of sizes.

[deleted]

Can I safely carry it in my car

I'd recommend you put it in your trunk, if you've got room. Today's vehicles are incredibly crashworthy, but imagine being in a rollover with a fifty pound hunk of lead bouncing around inside.

I second Tony's concern about a loose battery becoming an unintended projectile in an accident of any type. Even in the trunk it's best to secure it as much as possible and if you think it could tip over in transit use a sealed AGM battery.

[PKCSPT]

I a rethinking putting a battery on the floor of my car, trunk has 2 spare tires but I might be able to make some room. Thank you everyone for your help. You are all better than google.

[Donutboy]

I bought a smaller AGM battery from Harbor Freight. 35 amp hours. You would have to determine if that is enough for your needs. Most ads for Harbor Freight have a 20% off coupon that reduce the price to about $60.

http://m.harborfreight.com/12-volt-35-amp-hour-universal-battery-68680-8746.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

[tony.latham]

I bought a smaller AGM battery from Harbor Freight. 35 amp hours. You would have to determine if that is enough for your needs. Most ads for Harbor Freight have a 20% off coupon that reduce the price to about $60.

http://m.harborfreight.com/12-volt-35-amp-hour-universal-battery-68680-8746.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

Interesting battery.

I can't find the dimensions or the weight. I'm also wondering how many of those amps are useable. Any idea? It gets good reviews.

Tony

[PKCSPT]

I like a little air movement when I sleep, I just use a small fan when I can't get a breeze. I have been noticing IN MN state parks non electric sites are usually less crowded and in some parks even more remote so I want to unplug. Really won't need a huge battery bank. If I like it I may add a solar panel but we will see

[Dale M.]

If its just a small fan to move air and a LED light or two (and not on all night) why not just umbilical it to car battery...

Just remember to take a run to town for a smoothie or frozen yogurt or manly brew each day to be sure car battery stays charged.....

Dale

[noseoil]

If it's just a fan & some small lights, a fairly small AGM battery would work well enough. Most fans run with anywhere from 0.2-4.0 amps, depending on the speed setting you want to use & the airflow. Let's say you wan to use a 1 amp setting, a fairly low speed for sleeping.

A 35 amp-hour (wheelchair type AGM battery) will cost $65 & run for about 28 hours (80% duty cycle) with the fan on & running at 1 amp. That's about three nights of camping without any charge. The size & weight is about half of what a regular car battery would be, not too big really. If you use a solar panel during the day, say a 50 watt panel, you can put together a small solar system for under $130, complete with new parts. So $200 for a new AGM battery, solar system & you're up & running with limitless power for your needs, as long as you don't add a microwave or something else which draws too much current. This would be able to completely recharge your battery in a day of full sunlight (puts out 4 amps per hour, or 4 amps x 7 hours = 28 amps).

Sorry, but I still didn't answer your question about where to carry the battery. I try not to carry one, they're just too heavy to tote around.... Best of luck, tim

[PKCSPT]

Small solar for $130 or give or take a little and smaller battery? Ones I have seen were quite a bit more. I might have to ask Santa to find me one for Christmas.
Almost everything I buy for my tear costs x2. Since my husband doesn't camp what I buy for the tear I give him the equal amount in cash to spend on what he wants, most of the time. That's why just thinking battery for now, but you may have me looking for a panel as well
Still trying to figure out where to carry it keeping it off the hitch area. But I now have a few safety things to think about.

[kudzu]

Small solar for $130 or give or take a little and smaller battery? Ones I have seen were quite a bit more.

Just as an example, Renogy makes some affordable starter kits.

Renogy 50 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Bundle Kit
http://www.renogy-store.com/50W-Mono-Bundle-Kit-p/kit-bundle50d.htm

[PKCSPT]

Going to send that link to Santa, thank you