I have a health condition that leaves me feeling cold all of the time. I am wanting to bring an electric blanket to the playa but I don't have a generator. Questions: Is it possible to run an electric blanket off of a battery. If so what type size baterry should I purchase? and how would I rrig it up? . I have a converter of sorts but that allows you to connect a battery on one end as a power source and then plug somethin in on the other end but I was not sure what size battery to try with this nor how long this could last. Also how would one recharge the battery? would a regular car battery charger work? Thank you Glitter
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Sat, August 11, 2007 - 3:53 AMThe car battery charger requires charging itself, it's no more than a battery.
We run some lights off a deep call marine battery which we recharge off a small solar panel. However, you need to figure out how many watts your blanket will pull, and if the battery can handle it and be recharged.
There's a good post by phil in this link to a discussion on eplaya, if you can read the label on your blanket, you should be able to plug in the math and see if a battery will work.
eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php
And whatever you do, DO NOT use your car's battery to power things during the event.
Does down or a sleeping bag help? -
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Sat, August 11, 2007 - 12:58 PMHave you thought about those self heating wraps you can get in the grocery stores? You know, for back aches and such like. They work pretty well, I have used them on the playa during the coldest part of the night. whilst traipsing about.
Not a electrical solution, but still could work for you better than dealing with electric blankets.
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Sat, August 11, 2007 - 6:30 PMJust a thought, but if you have an aluminium water bottle it makes a great hot water bottle. Pour boiling water into it last thing at night and shove it in a woolly sock. In the morning it will have cooled and you have a bottle of boiled drinking water!
This is mostly if you're in a place with dodgy water, like Nepal, but I thought I'd share.
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Fri, August 17, 2007 - 11:42 AMoh yes! thank you for the reminder about these things! they are GREAT to have in your pockets, hats, scarfs, pillows.....man, they're fantastic.
see you all soon!!
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Fri, August 17, 2007 - 5:50 PMYes to the propane tent heater. I need heat also for health reasons. I use it all the time when I go camping at night in the desert and it keeps me nice and warm. One for a 10 X 10 tent is good, but get a bunch of those little tanks because you will use up one per night (depending on how long your "night" is of course). They make models that use refillable tanks for the propane, as well as those you just use once and throw away (dispose of properly - see label).
Be very careful not to have anything that can catch on fire around it. Give it lots of room and free space. Even though you can hardly see it, it is a lit blue flame. -
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Tue, July 1, 2008 - 11:23 PMWe use these alot when we go camping... they make 'em for your hands and also for your feet (they have a peel and stick back which adheres directly to the bottom of your foot inside your shoe, and it makes a HUGE comfort difference).
outdoor-living.hardwarestore.com/5...px
I also came across these things in an online search:
www.zippo.com/Products/handWarmer.aspx
Anyone use one of these? I like that it's reusable.
LaLa Toy, what kind of propane tent heater do you use? We've got a 13' dome this year, and I would love to be able to keep my girlfriend warm at night (just realized how that sounds... I mean AFTER she's gone to sleep), since she's real sensitive to cold as well.
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Mon, August 13, 2007 - 11:29 AMThose emergency blankets are pretty warm too, and trap your body heat. Maybe look into those?
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Mon, August 13, 2007 - 11:44 AMIf it was a 300 watt electric blanket, and it was on 50% of the time, you would use 1200 watt hours in a 8 hour period. To get 1200 watt hours from a 12 volt battery you would need 100AH from the battery. Call it 120Ah for inefficiencies in the inverter, That is the total storage ability of a large deep cycle battery. So the battery would need recharged at 10 amps for 12 hours to get it ready for another night.
Probably not a practical solution.
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Re: Can? how ? to you run an electric blanket off a large battery?
Fri, August 17, 2007 - 10:54 AMConsider a tent heater. It will use just less than the quart sized camping gas cans per night and keep you toasty warm.
