How to Use Golf Cart Batteries for Emergency Power
Using golf cart batteries for powering a home in an emergency is an excellent backup plan during an outage. Few batteries are required for a short-term battery bank, and they can run small computers, radios, television sets and lighting for hours. The average homeowner can assemble a backup battery bank in about an hour. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic storage container
- Three 12-volt golf cart batteries (deep cycle batteries)
- Six four-gauge coupling cables
- A/C power inverter (2,000 watts)
Instructions
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Using golf cart (deep cycle) batteries for emergency home power
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Connect three 12-volt golf cart batteries in parallel, using the coupling cables. The positive pole of one battery can be connected to the positive pole of a second battery and so on down the line. The end result is three batteries with their common poles connected. This will generate 12 volts with substantial amperage.
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Place the three batteries into the plastic storage container as shown in the picture. Three standard batteries should fit neatly into the bottom of the tub. As a precaution, laying a plastic sheet over the batteries can protect them, but do not make it air tight. A cut container lid works well.
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3
Install the power inverter. Attach the positive and negative leads from the inverter to the positive and negative posts on the first battery. This 12-volt to 110-volt inverter will have one or more standard 110-volt electrical outlets on it, and these can be run with an extension cord to any device in the home.
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Tips & Warnings
When the power comes back on, use a one-amp trickle charger to recharge the batteries.
References
- Photo Credit i.ehow.com
