Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Can I test my battery by connecting an incandescent lamp to my Vagabond II and then checking the battery and/or AC voltage?

If so, what's the correct wattage lamp for this type of test?

Thanks,
Scott

Are you trying to check if the battery is still "good" and will hold a charge? If so, then it is probably better to take it to an autoparts store and ask them to load test the battery.

A load test from the autoparts store would probably be your best bet for testing the capacity of the battery. A multi meter set to test AC power can tell you if you are getting teh proper voltage from the inverter.

An incadescent light bulb will still burn, even at a lower voltage, and it may be hard to distinguish the difference with the naked eye. I guess using a known wattage light and timing how long it will run can give you a guesstimate of the battery's capacity, but the auto parts route would be the better route to go.

Right, was thinking that under a load, I could measure the DC voltage of the battery and the AC output of the inverter and see if I was getting more drop than normal.

Scott