Another Battery-Related Question

[Philippe]

This one was posed by an acquaintance...

If your all of your voltage sensitive stompbox components were rated at 16V DC (or higher) could something like a 12V automobile battery be used as an efficient power supply for a pedal board? Considering the low (mA) drainage of most guitar effects & the considerable energy/storage capacity of a 'healthy' car battery, would this even work?

Obviously a 'sealed' (i.e. capless) car battery case design would be preferred & while it might be a bit clunky to haul around, there would definitely be no shortage of available amp hours considering what it takes to fire up a starter motor. On the other hand, certain safety precautions would need to be observed (i.e. adequate ventillation & no smoking et al).

A guy down the street is toying with this idea figuring that heavier-duty components + a Sears Diehard will negate having to individually replace 9V batteries on a semi-regular basis or involve buying a Voodoo Labs power supply.

[jefe]

I seem to remember some talk about using rechargeable motorcycle batteries, for what it's worth! Search the forum for "motorcycle battery", you'll get some hits.

[amptramp]

You may want to look at gel cells.  They are sealed lead-acid batteries available in 6 or 12 volt versions.  The rechargeable weed whackers use a fairly large one and so do the UPS (uninterruptable power supply) systems.  They can be operated in any position and smoking is not an issue since they are not vented.  You can get small ones down to a couple of pounds weight.  They can recharge from dedicated chargers or a regulated 13.8 VDC supply which is available for testing car radios etc.