Battery amps

Submitted: Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 08:58

ThreadID: 20266 Views:1703 Replies:3 FollowUps:2

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pixiemops

Can anyone tell me how many amps you can safely draw from your car battery while it is not going. I have a camry wagon which has a rather small battery. I have been told 2 amps but that seems rather small to me. I thought you would be able to draw more than that safely without damaging the battery or leading to starting problems.

Many thanks

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Reply By: Leroy - Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 10:53

Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 10:53

You need to look up the specs for the batt. If for example it's a 24a/h batt you theoretically could draw 24amps for 1 hour or 12 for 2 etc etc. You need to work out what you want to power to work this out.

Leroy

AnswerID: 97415

Reply By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 13:26

Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 13:26

It depends entirley on how long you want to draw the power for...

AnswerID: 97442

Follow Up By: pixiemops - Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 14:17

Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 14:17

Thanks guys . If I have a 24a/h battery does this then mean I can rip out a total of 24 amps before
a) The battery wont start
b) I cause long term damage
Or is it like a percentage of the batteries amp hour like say 10% which equals 2.4 amps in total i can take out. So over two hours i can draw 1.2 amps each hour to make 2.4.

FollowupID: 356045

Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 14:35

Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005 at 14:35

24amp/hr is the total ammount the battery has. You probally don't won't to use more than 50% of that otherwise the battery will be damaged. The car will possibly start on 50%.
You can by low voltage cut of devices for about $20. Might be worth using one of those. That way when the voltage drops to a specified level it turns of whatever is plugged into it.

FollowupID: 356047