Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Is is possible to connect the Vagabond in parallel with external 12-volt deep discharge marine batteries? (like the kind used for boat trolling motors). Wal-Mart sells them for about $50-$75 each. I'm guessing that connecting a couple of boat batteries in parallel might give more capacity (amp hours) and therefore more flashes. Anyone done this? Mr. Buff is this a bad idea? :shock: Thanks to reply.

Forrest MacCormack

http://www.fsmphoto.blogspot.com
http://www.fsmphoto.com

Connecting SLA batteries in parallel is iffy . . . if they are not charged equally it can results in sparks and possible battery damage . . . like jumping two cars.

Our batteries are 20Ah. If you are looking to double your shoot time, look for a 40Ah, etc. I would rather deal with one big one than several little ones (it will end up weighing the same if not less).

That makes sense about using a bigger battery and foregoing connecting a bunch of batteries together that need special considerations, like being equally charged. Thanks for the replies. :)



Forrest MacCormack

http://www.fsmphoto.blogspot.com
http://www.fsmphoto.com

If you end up going the multiple batteries route it is still probably better (safer) to deal with them separately. You can just swap out batteries once you exhaust one rather than trying to parallel them. Same goes for charging - charge them one at a time.