220 to 110 converter

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When I was a student and I used to drive around in an old clunker, I always used to carry a set of jumper leads in the car with me.

Jumper leads, in case you didn’t know, a pair of heavy duty insulated copper wires that I used to link one car’s flat battery to another vehicles good battery. The other charge from the good battery has to travel the length of wire between the two vehicles and, with any luck, they will give a boost to the flat battery to take over the engine and get the car started.

But sometimes, the booster cables would not be able to transfer enough power to the car with a flat battery. This could be because any one of the four spring battery clips was making poor contact with a battery terminal, all because the supply voltage dropped too much along the long length of jumper wire.

These days, however, you can buy a cheap jump-starter battery pack which combines a small spare battery in a convenient plastic case together with two short jumper leads and two spring terminals.

The much shorter length of cable ensures that voltage drop is minimized, and having two spring clip terminals instead of four spring clips actually halves your chances of a bad connection someplace. So these portable jump-start battery packs work better than the old jumper leads ever did. They are much more reliable.

You can buy a jump-start battery pack at any auto-supply store or in the auto-supplies section of any supermarket. These battery packs are normally supplied with a small wal-wart type power supply that can charge the battery from your household 110 (or 220) volt A/C mains supply, plus a 12 volt DC charge cable that can charge the pack off your car’s cigarette lighter socket while the engine is running.

Maybe Santa could put one in your stocking this Christmas!

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Did you lose your digital camera battery charger? If you have misplaced your digital cameras battery charger and are wondering how to purchase a new one than you have come to the right place. If you have misplaced your battery, than chances are you have already realized how essential a charger is to your camera. Without a charger, your camera will not function, and without a functioning camera you will not be able to capture all of those perfect picture moments! If you are looking to buy a new camera charger than continue reading this article. Throughout the article we will discuss where, and how, to buy a new battery charger for your camera.

Different cameras come with different types of batteries. If you own a cheaper brand of camera, chances are you will need batteries. While replacing these batteries can become costly over time, you do not need to travel far to buy new batteries if your old ones have died. Some people, however, to prevent buying new batteries over and over, prefer to buy rechargeable batteries and a battery charger. If you have an older camera with batteries and have lost your charger, you should be able to purchase a new one at any department store.

When purchasing a charger, first ensure that you are getting the right type. Double check whether your camera takes batteries to ensure that you are buying the appropriate charger. Also, when buying a new charger, consider whether you want a charger that holds less or more than four batteries. If you use your camera often, you may want to select a charger that holds several batteries so that you will always have a spare set of batteries available to you.

One thing that many people forget to consider when purchasing a battery charger is the adapter type. If you travel often, you will want to ensure that you buy a charger that allows you to plug into both 110 and 220 volt outlets. If you do not travel often, this should not be an issue.

Most importantly, when buying a charger for your batteries, do not go the cheap route. With a charger, you get what you pay for. Thus, purchasing a cheap charger for batteries will only lead to your batteries dying quickly. You will want to purchase a good quality charger to ensure that your batteries will last.

If you own a more expensive camera, it probably came along with it’s own battery and battery charger. If you have misplaced the battery or the battery charger that your camera originally came with, return to the store where you bought your camera or to a store that will have employees that are knowledgeable about cameras. When going to the store, make sure to bring your camera with you so you can test the product to make sure that it is the right fit.

Regardless of what type of camera you own, a battery charger is essential. Without one, you will only get a few hours out of your camera. If you have misplaced your charger and are looking to buy a new one, make sure that you purchase one of good quality to ensure that your camera will not die in the middle of that perfect photograph moment!

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RV’s are a great way to get around, and millions of Americans use them every year for travelling, vacations, camping, or just getting away from the real world for a little while. The power requirements for RV’s are not that high and campsites have power points to connect you RV to but if you’re not at a campsite or you want to keep the cost down and avoid paying for the power connection then you need a different power source.

Solar power is your best option. After the initial installation costs the power produced is free and it’s green so you’re not contributing to global warming.

The technology required commonly known as solar panels are a collection of solar cells called photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cells come in different sizes and produced different voltages but the standard output is 12V.

Before deciding on the size and rating of solar panels you will need to calculate your power consumption. If you have a large RV you’re likely to need a 330 watt installation. This is likely to consist of three 110 watt solar panels that are mounted on the roof of you RV. For small RV’s one 110 watt solar panel will be and adequate RV solar battery charger. Medium size RV’s can use two 110 watt panels producing 220 watts

The 12V output from the solar cells is connected to a charge controller which in turn is connected to the batteries of your RV. The charge controller regulates the voltage going to the batteries and prevents over charging. During the day, if you are parked up, the light shining on the solar panel charges your batteries and generating power for you to use. An additional benefit of RV solar panels is that if you are driving during the day, the solar panels charge the batteries of your RV reducing the load of the RV’s engine and therefore increasing your fuel consumption.

The solar panels are placed flat on the top of the RV. They are reasonable light weight so won’t increase your fuel consumption.

Solar power RV kits are available from supplies such as RVMaxx. Their biggest kit is 330 watts. The kit consists of the following components.

o Solar Module: 110W x3

o Flat Mount Hardware x3

o 35 amp charge controller

o 34 feet of 8-2 output wire (8 ft for module interconnection, 6 ft for controller to battery connection, 20 ft for solar array to controller connection. Battery clamps and connection lugs not included)

o Combiner box with breakers

o DC disconnect with breakers

Cost:

110 watt RV solar battery charger kit will cost in the region of $900

220 watt RV solar battery charger kit will cost in the region of $1800

330 watt RV solar battery charger kit will cost in the region of $250

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If you have a caravan, Camper Trailer or RV you might often want to take it off the beaten track and get down and dirty with nature. I’m talking about the wilderness experience; selecting a campsite that offers little in the way of services – especially electrical power. In these cases you will have to rely on your battery power, and if you plan on staying a few days and still want the convenience of light, fans, radio and maybe DVD player, etc, you will need to boost your power reserves somehow. In this article I will discuss how you can accomplish that. It may not suit everyone’s needs or pocketbook, but if it gives you food for thought it will be a good start.

First off let’s have a look at some battery facts. There are three main types of battery, conventional wet cell, deep cycle, and AGM, and left to right reads from least to most expensive. The conventional type battery is usually found under your vehicle hood and has to provide a heavy current surge to start your engine. These batteries are not intended to be deep cycled and will have a very limited lifetime if exposed to that. Deep Cycle batteries are not meant for heavy current drains but can be discharged to lower levels. These are usually found as auxiliary batteries in a vehicle or caravan. Both of these battery types need to be vented to the open air because they can generate explosive gases during the charge/discharge cycles. Also bear in mind that batteries do not like being discharged and will rapidly deteriorate if repeatedly discharged below about 50% of their capacity. So, if you have either of these batteries with a 100 Ampere Hour rating, you only really have 50 Ampere Hours of capacity. That is the rule of thumb you should use. Now add to this the fact that if you are charging from a vehicle alternator, the electrics in the charging system will only charge the battery to around 80% of its capacity. This means that potentially you may only have a usable 40 Ampere Hours.

AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries on the other hand are in my opinion the battery of choice. They last longer than the other types. They are sealed and so can be stored just about anywhere, even on their side if you want. All they require is venting to atmosphere. Because of their construction these batteries charge faster and at a lower voltage so will charge closer to that magic 100% of capacity when using conventional chargers. They can also be occasionally discharged below the 50% threshold without long term damage. Consequently an AGM battery will last longer if treated well (typically 8 to 10 years). Now the bad news. They are more expensive than conventional batteries.

In my pop-top camper trailer I use two 110 Ampere Hour AGM batteries wired in parallel. This gives me at full charge, a usable 110 Ampere Hours (220 AH / 2). This preserves the life of my batteries and provides me plenty of power, plus a small margin if I need it in emergencies. The camper is fitted with a “smart charger” so that when I am connected to mains power the batteries will charge close to 100% capacity. I also charge the batteries from the vehicle alternator when traveling and this requires some safeguards – you do not want to discharge your starter battery below its operational level, so a battery isolator to protect it is essential.

I have used this system on several occasions for extended stay camps and had plenty of power for lighting, water pump, radio/CD player, TV/DVD player and so on. You can work out your battery drain by identifying all the appliances you want to run, what their current draw is multiplied by the use time.

For full details including schematic see my resource box below.