mcfingrs

MusicLaw has a good point to run an Ammeter on it for actual power usage. the 60 Watts is rated max, so it probably doesn't hit that draw and probably operates significantly less. Here's why this isn't as simple as your solution: 5a / 12v = 60 watts for planning (battery capacity deteriorates, so conservative estimates will last longer over time and use): 6 hours play time 360 watt hours / equals 30 amp hours include the 85% inverter inefficiency = 55.5 amp hours for deep cycle batteries, damage occurs at greater than 50% discharge: 111 amp hours for 6 hours of Helix play time. The reason this makes me nuts is, all the other gear (6 other devices for 6 hours) only needs 23 amp hours and doesn't require inversion. Using the same calculations above minus inversion: I need 46 amp hours (round to 50) for all other devices, and 111 amp hours for Helix because of the insanity of Inverting DC to AC, to power a device that wants DC in the first place. Thanks for this reccomendation jbuhajla - I never really considered a gas generator, and these are appreciably quiet. The 1000w @$400 would make the rig simpler to design and operate, and would cost about the same as a deep-cell battery battery solution. But it's not as "green" or techie cool, and is not silent.

When the question is: "I wonder what PeterHamm thinks of me busking with a Helix?" this response will be respected, dude.

Apologies if this topic is covered. I want to power my rig using DC from a Deep Cycle battery. Helix is the only device with onboard power converter (probably no coincidence it's also the biggest power drain). Per the labeling, Helix requires 60 watts AC. Given other Line6 gear powered by 12v / 5a it seems pretty safe to assume that's how 60 watts is derived. It's fairly easy to connect a power inverter to a battery. The lunacy with inverting is that the power costs 85% inefficiency, for a device that wants DC in the first place! So for a deep cycle battery that should not discharge more that 50%, for any device that needs inversion I need to essentially halve again. Meaning I get only 25% of the capacity of any battery. Any recommendations?