Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I've decided that I want to build a stand-alone battery for each one of my AB800's instead of using a Vagabond to run all three.

I've purchased three 12V Sealed Lead Acid batteries rated at 12Ah. Now I'm shopping for the smallest, cheapest pure sign wave inverter that I can find. What wattage should the inverter be rated for??

Any suggestions from other DIY battery makers would be greatly appreciated.

You will, of course, need to ensure it is a pure sinewave inverter. Additionally, it needs to be current limited or current controlled. This results in a lower voltage under heavy draw instead of shutting off at a heavy draw. There really isn't a minimum wattage per se, but the lower the wattage, the slower the recycle times. For example, a 300W inverter will recycle a 320Ws light to full in about 1 second. A 150W inverter will recycle the same light to full in about 2 sec, etc. However, a 600Ws inverter will not charge that light in .5 seconds, but it will charge two lights in 1 second.

You will want three Samlex 150W Pure Sine Wave inverter. They cost about $100 each. I zip tie the SLA battery (7aH) to the inverter and the combination fits under the legs of my larger lightstands. You will note that this setup is not cheaper per light than the Vagabond, but is more convenient as you can just move the lightstands independently.