BATTERY TIME ON A 12-VOLT DEEP CYCLE BATTERY

[Sonar]

Does anyone know roughly how long a 12 volt deep cycle battery would run a 100 watt HF transceiver before the battery would need to be charged?

 

[tba02]

It would depend on on the battery, the radio, and if you were transmitting or just receiving.

A common group 24 deep cycle/marine has a 70 amp per hour (AH) rating.
AH / Current Draw (A) = time (H)
AH = 70
A = 5
H = 70/5 = 14

Modify AH and A to your particular setup.

 

[tba02]

Here's a real work sample from Interstate Battery (RC on the chart references AH)
http://www.interstatebatteries.com/m/category/rv/rv-deep-cycle
Group 24 w/ an RC rating of 100.
It supplied 5 amps for 13.1 hours, 15 amps for 3.8 hours.

 

[Sonar]

Here's a real work sample from Interstate Battery (RC on the chart references AH)
http://www.interstatebatteries.com/m/category/rv/rv-deep-cycle
Group 24 w/ an RC rating of 100.
It supplied 5 amps for 13.1 hours, 15 amps for 3.8 hours.

If a 15 amp draw lasted for 3.8 hours I'm assuming 20 amps or there about might last a bit under 2 hours. Thanks

 

[Sarasota Slim]

If a 15 amp draw lasted for 3.8 hours I'm assuming 20 amps or there about might last a bit under 2 hours. Thanks

I am no battery expert, and I could very well be completely off base or wrong...

Unless your on air speaking habits are akin to those of Beavis on crack, I doubt that you'll be drawing 20 amps continuously. I'm thinking (again, I could be wrong ) somewhere between 5-10 amp average continuous, with 15-20 amp spikes, at intervals better estimated by you, than by me.

This is to say, assuming a battery with characters similar to the example given above, and also assuming that the battery is doing nothing more than powering the radio, that you should probably do a little better than 2 hours.

 

[sonoma]

if you are listening to a radio the battery would run the radio all night. I have left mine on in a car and 2 days later the car would still start. when you talk is when you will draw the amps from the battery.

 

[Rick330man]

Funny you should post this at this time.

For Hurricane Irma, I charged up all 6 of my marine batteries. Two are traditional group 24 lead acid "dual purpose" types. One is a group 24 AGM. Two are group 27 lead acid "dual purpose" types. The sixth is actually a car battery. I knew we'd lose power for a bit and would probably need to run on a generator, but I wanted to have the ability to communicate by radio, run a portable 12 volt t.v. and maybe even power a portable 12 volt fridge for the gap period between power going out and the generator being cranked on. Ideally, I should have used deep cycle batteries for this purpose but many boaters use the "dual purpose" ones to cover both starting and accessory service.

I ran the CB and the 12 volt t.v. off of one of the group 24 lead acid batteries for 12 hours. No problem at all. I figured I'd run off of one battery until it died and then switch over to another. I never needed to.

The battery: Interstate Batteries 24M-XHD. 1000MCA. 800CCA. RC:135.

 

[binrat]

Years ago for field day the local club I belonged to used 4 x 100 amp/hr deep cell batteries to run 3 stations. They lasted but we were not competitive at it. The one on my IC-707 still had a fair charge at the end.

 

[Bundy]

Funny you should post this at this time.

For Hurricane Irma, I charged up all 6 of my marine batteries. Two are traditional group 24 lead acid "dual purpose" types. One is a group 24 AGM. Two are group 27 lead acid "dual purpose" types. The sixth is actually a car battery. I knew we'd lose power for a bit and would probably need to run on a generator, but I wanted to have the ability to communicate by radio, run a portable 12 volt t.v. and maybe even power a portable 12 volt fridge for the gap period between power going out and the generator being cranked on. Ideally, I should have used deep cycle batteries for this purpose but many boaters use the "dual purpose" ones to cover both starting and accessory service.

I ran the CB and the 12 volt t.v. off of one of the group 24 lead acid batteries for 12 hours. No problem at all. I figured I'd run off of one battery until it died and then switch over to another. I never needed to.

The battery: Interstate Batteries 24M-XHD. 1000MCA. 800CCA. RC:135.

Completely off topic but we're able to talk to anyone???

Back to the original post.....

 

[Sonar]

I am no battery expert, and I could very well be completely off base or wrong...

Unless your on air speaking habits are akin to those of Beavis on crack, I doubt that you'll be drawing 20 amps continuously. I'm thinking (again, I could be wrong ) somewhere between 5-10 amp average continuous, with 15-20 amp spikes, at intervals better estimated by you, than by me.

This is to say, assuming a battery with characters similar to the example given above, and also assuming that the battery is doing nothing more than powering the radio, that you should probably do a little better than 2 hours.

I didn't take into consideration the actual 20 amp draw Peaks upon talking, but I get what you're saying. I guess that's not bad. This is the time of year I enjoy hanging out on the boardwalk at Coney Island, and thought I might hook something up one of my group 24 deep cycle batteries. Good excuse to use the ft950 the and an ngp. I never go anywhere without 2 group 24 deep cycles. Although DX is sporadic at best, and I only would be using 11 meters it still might be enjoyable. I might get lucky and do a little dXing while looking out at the Atlantic.

 

[Rick330man]

Completely off topic but we're able to talk to anyone???

Back to the original post.....

I hooked up the CB (Realistic TRC 490) in my 27' boat, which rode out the hurricane in the driveway. It has an old Archer (Radio Shack) marine CB antenna with a 102" fiberglass whip. I mounted the marine CB antenna on there over 20 years ago. The darn thing gets out surprisingly well. SWRs are flat on channel 1 and about 1.3 to 1 on channel 40.

Yes, I was able to talk just fine.

 

[Sonar]

I thought I'd mention that the batteries i use are group 24 deep cycle batteries make by MK.
I'm not sure if there's a particular brand of battery that's specifically made for HF and amplifier use, or better suited for radio gear, but MK's are the best I've discovered for WC use.
I get between 25 to 30 miles per charge.
I'm not exactly sure of the exact spec's of my chairs motors, except their 12 volt x 2 (of course.)
MK deep cycle batteries last about 3 years depending on how often I go in miles per day, and how fast.
My chair can be speed adjusted between 1 and 8.5 MPH.
I try to charge them everyday. Even if I only put a few miles on them per day. I do drive a modified WC vihicle, and normally use my chair after getting to my location using the vihicle.
If anyone's looking for deep cycles to run an HF give MK a look see. I'm assuming they'd work fine with radio gear.
The ones I use are about $125, but MK sells batteries from $70 all the way up to $700.
Mine are sealed gel but they offer other battery options. Gel/non gel, sealed, and un sealed (to my knowledge.) 73

 

[Rick330man]

$125 for a group 24 gel battery is a steal. Most of the ones I have used and/or purchased have run close to twice that. I just bought a West Marine group 24 AGM on sale last week for $209.99.

If you are good doing the basic battery maintenance, my experience is that you'll still get longer life out of a traditional lead acid battery. The Interstate group 24 that I mentioned above is now 7 years old. It is amazingly strong. It has a twin that is still good, but is not holding quite a much charge.

In my experience, most group 24 and group 27 batteries last about 4 years. However, a deep cycle would probably be the way to go for the type of use you have in mind since they tend to have more reserve capacity (RC) than do other types. Also, other types (starting batteries) can be damaged if their charge is allowed to drop too low.

 

[Sonar]

I don't actually pay for the batteries myself as my insurance company does. It's been a long time since I've looked at a receipt and the cost of the group 24 deep cycle MK batteries that I get once every couple of years and the price may have risen since the last time 73

 

[Mudduckmobile]

I didn't take into consideration the actual 20 amp draw Peaks upon talking, but I get what you're saying. I guess that's not bad. This is the time of year I enjoy hanging out on the boardwalk at Coney Island, and thought I might hook something up one of my group 24 deep cycle batteries. Good excuse to use the ft950 the and an ngp. I never go anywhere without 2 group 24 deep cycles. Although DX is sporadic at best, and I only would be using 11 meters it still might be enjoyable. I might get lucky and do a little dXing while looking out at the Atlantic.View attachment 21674

My wife was "hovering over" and saw your image....she got a good smile....she is (disabled). We got a good laugh. Thank you. 73.