Hello all…I am going to Burning Man in about a month and my van is not quite built up. I am looking for some information on how large of a battery bank I need to run a water pump, a couple strips of led lights, and charging two phones. I was thinking a 100ah AGM battery would do well and last a few days even. Could I get away with a modified sine wave inverter to run everything(minus the LED light strips)? Thoughts?
I would recharge the battery with a generator, I feel like I would only need to run it once or so.
Try to eliminate the inverter if at all possible, and if not possible only have it turned on when actually in use. Inverters waste a lot of power, even when powered up but not in use.
Make sure your water pump is also turned off when not in use. Not only can this prevent accidental flooding, it will also help to conserve power.
Finally, you’re going to want an actual battery charger to go along with your generator. Generators alone, even inverter generators, are not good battery chargers by themselves. Many of us prefer “automatic” battery chargers. They’re better for the batteries and give a deeper charge that will in turn last longer. I got mine on sale from Harbor Freight for $29. Then I added a honda scooter muffler to my $99 generator to make it nearly silent.
Give some serious thought to the heat, wind, dust, and possible downpours at Burning Man…
Cheers!
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