Wednesday, November 24, 2010

How long will a 12v car battery last using an inverter to power a set of speakers?

I am planning to go camping but want to bring my speaker with me. I plan to buy an inverter to power them.



I was wondering how long a 12v car battery will last by using the inverter and speakers. My speakers are 60W.



Thanks.How long will a 12v car battery last using an inverter to power a set of speakers?A typical new, fully charged, car battery has about 35 Ah (amp hours) of capacity. You can calculate the rated capacity of your battery by converting the %26quot;reserve minutes%26quot; number to hours and multiplying by 25.



Multiplying 35 by 12 gives you 420 watt hours of energy storage. If your speakers actually use 60 watts continuously, that would imply about 7 hours of use. The number would be slightly less once you take into account the inefficiencies associated with the inverter.



Car batteries aren't intended to be deep cycled in this way and won't last long if you go camping frequently. You may want to get a type intended for deep cycle marine use instead.



Don