At 19:49 8/20/99 -0700, Todd Last wrote:
> > Also, can anyone give me a ballpark estimate of how long the deep-cycle is
> > good for between charges? That is, if I go camping for a week (in one
> spot),
> > how many total hours (about) can I expect to get from the battery for cabin
> > lights, CD-player, stereo, etc. before the thing goes dead?

Todd, that's what the amp-hour rating is for.  Measure or calculate the
drains of the loads you use (in amps) -- if the total is 1/20 or less of
the battery amp-hour rating, just divide that rating by your measured load
to get *maximum* life in hours.  If the total is more than 1/20 (not
likely) your available time will be less b/c batteries have progressively
less capacity as the discharge rate goes up.

I can put more words around all that if you need...

Amps = watts / volts, in case you have a wattage rating for a lamp or
whatever.  The watt rating of your stereo doesn't count, that's output
power, not input.

david
David Beierl - Providence, RI
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"