Mains to 12v conversion for a Varrox

[Swift Nick]

Hi,

I intend to buy a Varrox vapouriser. From experience I know car batteries sulphate if they don't get used a lot, also I have a mains outlet 15m from the hives, does anyone know of a device that will convert mains to a 12v supply with enough current to supply the Varrox, if this exists, it may be a better option for me.

Or can anyone confirm that they have had car batteries last for more than 3 years when just used for vaping. If so was it a special type?

I could take the battery out of the car, but then the car looses all of the settings, so not a good option.

Thanks Nick

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hi,

I intend to buy a Varrox vapouriser. From experience I know car batteries sulphate if they don't get used a lot, also I have a mains outlet 15m from the hives, does anyone know of a device that will convert mains to a 12v supply with enough current to supply the Varrox, if this exists, it may be a better option for me.

Or can anyone confirm that they have had car batteries last for more than 3 years when just used for vaping. If so was it a special type?

I could take the battery out of the car, but then the car looses all of the settings, so not a good option.

Thanks Nick

A simple transformer with separated windings but what current will your varrox draw? Adequately rated transformers could be expensive. Plus it needs a suitable enclosure.
How many hives at a time do you plan to treat? A mobility scooter battery might serve you well, be lighter to transport and charge with an ordinary car battery charger.
Yet another option depending how close you can get your car would be a length of suitably sized cable to pass the required current with minimal volt drop in use. (if you are treating a lot keep the engine running).
Do you have a high capacity booster charger for starting with a flat battery?
First of all find out the current draw of a varrox (or calculate it from the resistance, or wattage). The rest follows on.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yet another option depending how close you can get your car would be a length of suitably sized cable to pass the required current with minimal volt drop in use. (if you are treating a lot keep the engine running).

That's exactly what I used to do.

 

[Swift Nick]

The Varrox will draw 12.5amp, as it has a power rating of 150W. I can't get the car close enough. Varrox specify a battery of >42Ah, so if it's a battery it needs to be a full size one.
I have a trickle charger, but not a boost charger.
I don't mind buying a decent car battery, but my mother in law's car battery dies every other year because the car is only used once a week & the battery sulphites. It would be a shame to spend £50 on a battery for use on 2-4 hives, only to find it needs replacing every other year.
I don't want to make up a power supply, I want to buy one fit for purpose or would like to know if there are specific batteries that don't have this problem, or ways of preventing this problem.
Thanks Nick

 

[Gilberdyke John]

The Varrox will draw 12.5amp, as it has a power rating of 150W. I can't get the car close enough. Varrox specify a battery of >42Ah, so if it's a battery it needs to be a full size one.
I have a trickle charger, but not a boost charger.
I don't mind buying a decent car battery, but my mother in law's car battery dies every other year because the car is only used once a week & the battery sulphites. It would be a shame to spend £50 on a battery for use on 2-4 hives, only to find it needs replacing every other year.
I don't want to make up a power supply, I want to buy one fit for purpose or would like to know if there are specific batteries that don't have this problem, or ways of preventing this problem.
Thanks Nick

Mobility scooter batteries are intended to operate on charge/discharge cycles and I use one myself for vaping five hives at a time albeit not with a varrox. Alternatively a leisure battery should be capable of the duty but could cost significantly more than £50
How much are you prepared to pay for a ready built 230 : 12 volt unit made up in a box?

 

[Bob D.]

A 200W 12V transformer will set you back about thirty quid, although second hand or surplus could be a lot cheaper. For the same money you could get a regulated supply, look for 12V LED lighting supplies.

Then you'll need a box to put it in.

Alternately why not try an old car battery. Just because it can't crank the car doesn't mean it's completely dead.

 

[Plenty of honey]

You can buy a converter. i bought one years ago for my camping fridge so it could run on its 12 volt plug, from the nearby mains output. what i dont know is, the ampere output on such devices. however they work well if your nearby a 240 output


This one , will do up to 120 watt but you would need to check and see if there are any other better models around.
This has got me thinking now because i have mains at my home apiary and i always use car batteries!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cigarette-Lighter-Voltage-Converter-Adapter/dp/B00PUNIEI2

 

[user 6228]

A 200W 12V transformer will set you back about thirty quid, although second hand or surplus could be a lot cheaper. For the same money you could get a regulated supply, look for 12V LED lighting supplies.

Then you'll need a box to put it in.

Alternately why not try an old car battery. Just because it can't crank the car doesn't mean it's completely dead.

Pc power supply off an obsolete pc server can be had for a lot less

 

[amigadave]

Alternately why not try an old car battery. Just because it can't crank the car doesn't mean it's completely dead.

I do this, as I changed the battery in the car last year, and keep it fully charged (when not in use) and not too cold. For the amount of use it gets, I would expect the battery to last a fair time yet.

 

[colinc]

You can get trickle charger conditioners for not very much money and the condition discharge charge cycle batteries. Sounds like the poster with the grandmother once a week driver needs one and you could plug a battery in to one of those which would keep it alive and ready for the bees. As I am aware the electricity useage is not phenomenal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[alfazer]

I kept an old car battery that was struggling to start the car, but an occasional trickle charge keeps it working enough to power my vapouriser. My homemade device with a heating plug draws less than 10 amps but a starter motor could demand well over 100 amps.
So a "dead" battery can still be put to good use.

 

[madasafish]

Hi,

I intend to buy a Varrox vapouriser. From experience I know car batteries sulphate if they don't get used a lot, also I have a mains outlet 15m from the hives, does anyone know of a device that will convert mains to a 12v supply with enough current to supply the Varrox, if this exists, it may be a better option for me.

Or can anyone confirm that they have had car batteries last for more than 3 years when just used for vaping. If so was it a special type?

I could take the battery out of the car, but then the car looses all of the settings, so not a good option.

Thanks Nick

I have a Yuasa 12v 45AH car battery bought secondhand for £10 via Gumtree in 2015. It was 2 years old then.
I charged it and used it once in 2015.Charged after use.
Recharged every three months - March, June, Sept ,Dec - every year.. (easy to remember - every quarter end)
Used it three times in 2016 and twice so far in 2017.(Charged after each use).

So it is now 4 years old + - and works perfectly...Stored in cool place - under bench in garage..

 

[Swift Nick]

I have a Yuasa 12v 45AH car battery bought secondhand for £10 via Gumtree in 2015. It was 2 years old then.
I charged it and used it once in 2015.Charged after use.
Recharged every three months - March, June, Sept ,Dec - every year.. (easy to remember - every quarter end)
Used it three times in 2016 and twice so far in 2017.(Charged after each use).

So it is now 4 years old + - and works perfectly...Stored in cool place - under bench in garage..

Plenty of great replies & options, the Amazon transformer looks good & the conditioner looks an option.

Ref the Yuasa battery, are you saying that you charged it every 3 months since 2015, whether used or not? & That has kept the battery in good condition? If so that may be that's all I need to do, maybe with a conditioner charger it would last longer still?

Thanks Nick

 

[madasafish]

Plenty of great replies & options, the Amazon transformer looks good & the conditioner looks an option.

Ref the Yuasa battery, are you saying that you charged it every 3 months since 2015, whether used or not? & That has kept the battery in good condition? If so that may be that's all I need to do, maybe with a conditioner charger it would last longer still?

Thanks Nick

I use a Halfords smart charger which trickle charges it if not quite fully charged...-

 

[ShinySideUp]

My motor bike doesn't get used during the winter so I connect it to an Optimate charger, the battery is now three years old and works fine. I also have two leisure betteries in the house which I put on charge every six months or so and they too are fine. The cold kills batteries after a time unless continuosly trickle-charged but keeping them in the house at room temperature will keep them good for years. Always remember to charge the battery after use, don't leave it partially discharged even for a few days as sulphates will start to build up and you start the downward spiral. Also if doing a lot of hives with your vapourizer don't let the battery get too discharged (unless it's a deep-discharge type) before recharging: better to recharge after a few uses than thrash the battery within an inch of it's life then recharge it.

 

[madasafish]

My 45Ahbattery above does 12 hives and is approx 40% drained..

 

[Little John]

I don't want to make up a power supply, I want to buy one fit for purpose ...

Hi Nick - that's a pity, 'cause it's easy enough to re-wind a microwave oven's transformer secondary to give 12V @ 300-500VA (21-35A - depending on transformer size). And the Varrox won't care that it's AC ...
LJ

 

[Swift Nick]

Hi Nick - that's a pity, 'cause it's easy enough to re-wind a microwave oven's transformer secondary to give 12V @ 300-500VA (21-35A - depending on transformer size). And the Varrox won't care that it's AC ...
LJ

I am OK for doing woodwork, but that might be a bit much winding transformers, interesting though that the Varrox will work on AC, thanks.

It looks like I just need to look after the battery as suggested, charge after use & maybe store indoors, I may get one of those conditioner/chargers.

Cheers all for the wealth of info!

 

[taurus]

I use a lithium starter pack. Look on Amazon for DBPower - they don't have the problems lead acid cells suffer from and are a handy bit of kit to carry with you anywhere.

Do not be fooled by their size. Mine is about the size of a book and will start up a V6 diesel no problem.

 

[einsteinagogo]

I use a lithium starter pack. Look on Amazon for DBPower - they don't have the problems lead acid cells suffer from and are a handy bit of kit to carry with you anywhere.

Do not be fooled by their size. Mine is about the size of a book and will start up a V6 diesel no problem.

what model did you purchase ?

8,000mAh or 18,000mAh ?