What is an effective way to power my bowling machine?

Hi, I am currently looking for an effective way to power this bowling machine outdoors:

My current setup includes a 12v car battery and this inverter.

Unfortunately, the inverter starts to alarm after a short period of use and the manual suggests this may be due to an overload. There are several sources advising the machine can be run on a 300w pure sinewave inverter but I was wondering if that is too conservative and a 500w+ inverter may be more suitable?

I am not savvy enough with electrics to justify the pricetag of a bigger inverter purely on a hunch, so some advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Dale

maybe batteyr voltage too low

Andy™ said:

maybe batteyr voltage too low

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It is a used 12v car battery - would I be better off getting a new one or would charging the battery fully rectify this?

Thanks, Dale.

How are you charging your car battery? As a general rule car batteries are intended to store a sufficient charge over a reasonable length of time to provide a short high power use to start the car. But then have a continual re-charge off the car's alternator once the engine is running. They are not normally required to provide any significant power for a prolonged duration without an on-going recharge. So as Andy suggest it could be a battery supply problem. Possible a "Leisure battery" as used in caravans or boats may be more suitable. But first I would try your bowling machine via your inverter while connected to a car 12v accessory socket when the engine is running. e.g. if you have a good 12v supply can your inverter's 300w output do the business for the bowling, without any warning errors? If your inverter can't work off a 12v supply that is being charged off a running engine then maybe a 500w is needed. (Your link for the bowling machine does not include any specifications for the power consumption of the machine whilst bowling.)

Doc H.   

Doc Hudson said:

How are you charging your car battery?

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With one of these.

Doc Hudson said:

But first I would try your bowling machine via your inverter while connected to a car 12v accessory socket when the engine is running. e.g. if you have a good 12v supply can your inverter's 300w output do the business for the bowling, without any warning errors?

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Thanks for the advice! I'm planning on getting it out this weekend, so will give the accessory socket a go and feed back, but I've also just checked the machine and it states 150w so perhaps 300w should be adequate and it is the battery at fault? Please could you advise what to look for in a leisure battery so I can price a decent one up? Thanks, Dale.

Leisure batteries can be purchased from camping outlets, they are designed to keep the 12v caravan or boat electrics working while not connected up to a mains hook-up point.  They have an Ampere/Hour rating. Which is how many amps they can supply for 1 hour.  http://www.towsure.com/caravanning-motorhome-accessories/electrical/batteries-accessories/leisure-batteries?limit=all  So a 75Ah battery can give 75 amps for I hour, or 25 amps for 3 hours, or 15 amps for 5 hours,  Or 5amps for 15 hours.   Power (watts) = Voltage x Current.   So (Power/Voltage) = Current.  If you want 300w @ 12v,   300/12 = 25 amps.   The power consumed by a Transformer or inverter is always a bit less on the output than the input, as no device is 100% efficient without any losses at all.  So if  you want 300watts, you should need something that can give at least 25amps per hour for the duration you want the Bowling machine to be working.

Doc H. 

Excellent, thank you. Are there any particular brands you would recommend or try to avoid?

EDIT: Would I also need to buy a different battery charger if I go down the leisure battery road? If so, how much would this cost?

No idea at all on brands, it was just an exercise to point out the concept that 'Car batteries' and 'Leisure batteries' are different beasts, even though they are both 12v DC power supplies. The power they need to supply without recharge is very different. It may also be useful to get an electrician to test how much current your bowling machine is actually consuming. What part of the country are you in? Maybe a forum member could help out with getting a few more facts and figures for what you need.

Doc H.

This place has some good information

Battery university