12 Volt TV for permanent house?

[hoggs222]

I've got the old 9" TV/VCR combo for my permanent house, that I would like to upgrade to a 13" TV/DVD combo. Is this going to pull alot more juice out of the deep cycle battery? I'm thinking that a VCR would draw more power? If not, how could I do this? Can I link 2 deep cycle batteries together to put less strain on just 1?

[Paul Waldowski]

Hoggs,

You sure can hook two batteries together and it will double your run time. Hook positive to positive and negative to negative, this will make sure that you keep it at 12 volts, and then hook your t.v. to one of the batteries.

[HaywardBound]

Is a 12 volt TV more expensive than a regular TV? If they are, you could run it off a power inverter.

[hoggs222]

Will a power inverter draw more of the battery? Or less?

I usually bring 2 deep cycles with me & when the one goes dead, the other one takes its place. So what you are saying is linking them together will give me an overall longer battery use between charging?

[eel pout hunter]

Paul, I plan to take that one step further. Take the two batteries connected together....I'lm going to run a line outside of the house to a female dryer plug that I have laying around. Next I'm going to go to the dump and get a male dryer cord, next mate the dryer cord to a pair of jumper cables (after making sure pos to pos and neg to neg) on the premolded cord. That way I can plug into the house while I'm drilling holes, getting everything ready. Haven't tried this yet, maybe today.

pout

[hoggs222]

What would I use to link them together? I believe there's some metal plates that screw down isn't there? What are those called?

[Paul Waldowski]

Just use some 6 or 8 gauge wire as jumpers between the two of of. I would avoid running an inverter as it will just eat up juice unnecessarily if you have the 12 volt t.v.

[bigtruckderbuck]

I believe that the inverter isn't quite 100% efficient with the battery power, but the loss isn't significant. I personally connect an inverter to a deep cycle battery to power a 13 inch tv and a satellite receiver. The battery also powers 2 fluorescent lights and 6 computer fans. I typically get over 8 hours off of a fully charged battery. Considering the extra expense of 12 volt tvs, I'd recommend dropping $40 or $50 on an inverter.

[Augusta]

What kind of 12 volt tv's do you guys have? I am thinking about getting one, just not sure as to what kind? Do they have DVD players on them? How about the cost?

[hoggs222]

So.....I got a deal on some interstate group 27 batteries & I am purchasing 3 of them, rated at 25 amps apiece (at 80 degrees F). How would you suggest hooking the 3 of them up in the fish house? I'm usually running a TV, lights & thinking about adding a few fans.

[hovermn]

I used to hook up 2 batteries in the fish house, but stopped after a few outtings. As the juice starts to drop off with two batteries hooked together, the lights go dim for a very, very long time before the power's pretty much gone. With 1 battery at a time, it seemed like I got a longer run. The lights would dim, giving you warning and after a short period, I'd have to change over. It wasn't as drawn out and I seemed to get much more usable light.

Just my $0.02