Power moves
Nov. 27th, 2019 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrNot having power for booth lights worried me. I have a lot of pots in the booth, and while one set of shelves are raked (larger shelves on the bottom, smaller above), the other set isn't, so work lower in the display gets shaded by the higher shelves.
I've worked my way around it by incorporating under-cupboard lights, LED bars that link together and run to a single plug. I've also just converted my main lights to track lighting with LED bulbs. My entire booth power budget is about 150 watts. None of which helps me if I can't plug in.
The last time we went without power, the year we were at a former Walmart in Talent, I bought a lot of battery-powered button lights, which kinda worked? They were pretty bright, at least at first, but they went through batteries like nobody's business. They each took three AA cells, and needed a new set every morning; in fact, they started dimming out by mid-afternoon. I really needed something better.
Something like this. This is a deep cycle marine battery, $89.99 at BiMart (plus the $12 core charge), and a 400/800 watt inverter that cost $24 at Harbor Freight, to convert it to AC current. Two plugs, which was perfect for the track lights and light bar, and it even has a USB port, which I didn't notice until this morning. I already had a battery charger, relic of a period when our car had a short-circuiting power window button, so took the whole works with me.
It worked, mostly. Friday we had light all evening, and we charged up in the motel room overnight. Saturday, the power lasted till about 3:30 pm, and Sunday much the same. If I have to do this again, I'll invest in a better charger--mine didn't get much past 75% charge in the time available--and possibly another battery. If we connect them in parallel, the voltage stays the same, but we'll have twice the amps to play with.
Still, on the whole, it was a successful experiment. I can't begrudge $125 on a show where I grossed over $6000.
I've worked my way around it by incorporating under-cupboard lights, LED bars that link together and run to a single plug. I've also just converted my main lights to track lighting with LED bulbs. My entire booth power budget is about 150 watts. None of which helps me if I can't plug in.
The last time we went without power, the year we were at a former Walmart in Talent, I bought a lot of battery-powered button lights, which kinda worked? They were pretty bright, at least at first, but they went through batteries like nobody's business. They each took three AA cells, and needed a new set every morning; in fact, they started dimming out by mid-afternoon. I really needed something better.
Something like this. This is a deep cycle marine battery, $89.99 at BiMart (plus the $12 core charge), and a 400/800 watt inverter that cost $24 at Harbor Freight, to convert it to AC current. Two plugs, which was perfect for the track lights and light bar, and it even has a USB port, which I didn't notice until this morning. I already had a battery charger, relic of a period when our car had a short-circuiting power window button, so took the whole works with me.
It worked, mostly. Friday we had light all evening, and we charged up in the motel room overnight. Saturday, the power lasted till about 3:30 pm, and Sunday much the same. If I have to do this again, I'll invest in a better charger--mine didn't get much past 75% charge in the time available--and possibly another battery. If we connect them in parallel, the voltage stays the same, but we'll have twice the amps to play with.
Still, on the whole, it was a successful experiment. I can't begrudge $125 on a show where I grossed over $6000.