Batteries and inverter question

[ScubaVinny]

Hey everyone!

So I have a 2007 Club Car Precedent, it has 48v with the (4)12v batteries. I am wanting to connect an inverter to the golf cart but I want to know the best way to do this. This would be used just for Halloween and Christmas for some lights. The kind of inverter I have is one that connects directly to a battery. I also have a 48v to 12v reducer but it is only 10 amps. So here is my question, can I connect this inverter straight to the 12v reducer even though it is supposed to be connected straight to a battery? The wires coming out of the reducer are obviously much smaller than the cables for the inverter but the amount of amps coming off the reducer is much less than a battery. Or would I be able to connect this inverter to only one battery in the battery bank? How would that affect the batteries as a whole? Thank ahead of time for the help.

Greg

[sonofagunn]

If the lights use less than 10 amps you should be able to hook it to the reducer. It is possible to hook it up to just 1 battery in the bank but if you use a lot of juice the batteries will become unbalanced which isn't ideal.

For Christmas, I have put an extra 12v battery in the back of the cart and hooked up to it.

[ScubaVinny]

I usually use an extra battery and use a different charger for it. I guess I can continue going that route for now. I will be using about 200 watts, so the reducer will not work. In the future I guess I will either need a 20amp reducer or get a 48v inverter.

Thanks

[sonofagunn]

You could replace all your holiday lights with LED lights and probably come in way under 100 watts, which would work with the current reducer.

For example, a string of 70 LED Christmas lights uses just 4.8 watts: https://www.christmasdesigners.com/7...SABEgLEBfD_BwE

[ScubaVinny]

The lights I am using are LEDs, but they have built in controllers that must be using more watts. I tried them out last night and was surprised that 200 LEDs would trip my small 100 watt inverter. I have other inverters that can handle it, but obviously not under 10 amps.

[Fairtax4me]

Are you using lights with an AC plug (for your house)?

Best solution is to buy lights designed to work on DC power. https://primolights.com/12-volt-christmas-lights.html

All LEDs run on a DC power source. Household LED lights use an AC to DC transformer to supply DC power. You already have a DC power source (batteries). Don't use a DC to AC inverter, to make AC power to feed an AC to DC transformer just to supply your lights. Leave the inverter out of the equation and buy lights you can wire directly to the reducer you have, or get a reducer capable of supplying at least 20 amps so you have enough power for lights.

[kernal]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

Are you using lights with an AC plug (for your house)?

Best solution is to buy lights designed to work on DC power. https://primolights.com/12-volt-christmas-lights.html

All LEDs run on a DC power source. Household LED lights use an AC to DC transformer to supply DC power. You already have a DC power source (batteries). Don't use a DC to AC inverter, to make AC power to feed an AC to DC transformer just to supply your lights. Leave the inverter out of the equation and buy lights you can wire directly to the reducer you have, or get a reducer capable of supplying at least 20 amps so you have enough power for lights.

I've been trying to get 12v lights from that company for months. Never in stock.

[Fairtax4me]

I just posted that as an example, there are plenty of other suppliers for 12v powered decoration lights. Some “household” lights may also work if they have the Ac transformer separate from the light control box. 12V is common for a lot of different LED lights. You mostly just need to determine the operating voltage of the actual bulbs. Supplying power from there can be as simple as a fuse and switch. If you use color changing lights you’ll need the control box for that, and will just have to supply power for the box.

[Bugman1400]

Why can’t you tap off one of the 12v batteries similar to the way the Reverse circuit does? That way, you wouldn’t need a separate battery or charger.

[ThreeCW]

Originally Posted by Bugman1400

Why can’t you tap off one of the 12v batteries similar to the way the Reverse circuit does? That way, you wouldn’t need a separate battery or charger.

You want to keep your battery pack balanced by not drawing off of one battery in the pack excessively. The draw for a reverse alarm is very small compared to what ScubaVinny is proposing with his light set up.