circuits off a battery?

[experi-mental]

hello

i want to practice a few circuits on a board at home.

just want to practice a simple ring circuit with maybe 4 sockets.

mainly i want to practice wiring up lighting circuits-

with 2/3 ceiling roses, two way switching, intermediate etc etc-different combinations,

want to practice with single core and twin+earth.

i have all the bits i need.

just wondering if i can power this with a battery.

i really want to power the circuit,so-

other than going from the mains,what kind of battery can i use,if at all.

what type of battery,size,voltage etc, and wheres the best place to get them.

also,has anyone any links to online guides/vids on how to do this/set it up?

im a novice,as you may of guessed,so all advice appreciated

cheers

 

[Andy™]

ideally you will need a 230V supply to get proper results. if you dont feel confident direct to the mains, you can get a 230-230V isolation transformer, so if you do touch something live, there is no return earth path (so unless you touch a 'live' and 'neutral' you wont get a shock). or you could get a small/cheap petrol generator which will give similar results

you could use a battery to test power etc is getting to where is should be, but you would need lots of batteries to get a higher voltage, and you wont be able to use a test kit since battery is DC

 

[a1]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Andy™]

and welcome to the madhouse

 

[oliver1234]

You used to be able to buy 12 volt lamps with a standard bayonet fitting for use in caravans, if you were to get a few of these, some standard 2 way and intermediate switches and some pendants you could power it all from a car battery or an alarm battery.

 

[Apache]

just hook it up to the mains - through an RCD plug if you've not got one on your CU. Worse case it will trip.

And welcome to the forum.

Can't see what advantage a generator has over mains unless you like carbon monoxide poisoning and a headache?

 

[Andy™]

just hook it up to the mains - through an RCD plug if you've not got one on your CU. Worse case it will trip.And welcome to the forum.

Can't see what advantage a generator has over mains unless you like carbon monoxide poisoning and a headache?

well the general idea is you keep the genny outside...

 

[sparkyork]

if youre clearly not confident with basic wiring (until you become confident) id just get some bayonet cap to edison screw convertors and get some 12v lamps popped in.

im only saying this because you state your a novice and wouldnt recommend playing with 230v unless fully confident.

you'll be able to simulate the lighting circuits easily and will work as if it was 230v but using say a 12v battery (id get a security alarm type one maybe, wouldnt recommend a car bat.

as for the practicing ring mains etc, your sockets will still be wired the same just only supplied with 12v.

are you planning on practicing testing as well? if so then im not sure how you'd get proper readings without been connected to a 230v supply, Zs etc etc.

 

[Andy™]

if youre clearly not confident with basic wiring (until you become confident) id just get some bayonet cap to edison screw convertors and get some 12v lamps popped in.im only saying this because you state your a novice and wouldnt recommend playing with 230v unless fully confident.

you'll be able to simulate the lighting circuits easily and will work as if it was 230v but using say a 12v battery (id get a security alarm type one maybe, wouldnt recommend a car bat.

as for the practicing ring mains etc, your sockets will still be wired the same just only supplied with 12v.

are you planning on practicing testing as well? if so then im not sure how you'd get proper readings without been connected to a 230v supply, Zs etc etc.

isolation transformer or genny?!

 

[sparkyork]

nah still not happy imo matey, it still needs wiring up to the mains and if your a novice your a novice, i see on a regular basis what novices get upto! lol

 

[Apache]

So long as there are no bare wires and it's wired through an RCD he should be ok with the mains

 

[Doc Hudson]

Hello experi-mental, welcome to the forum. Are you doing or planing to do some college courses, or is this just for DIY/Hobby to satisfy your own interest and curiosity? If you are going to experiment using a 12v supply, maybe a transformer from an old Scalextric or Train set may do the job, it would save having to keep batteries charged up?

Doc H.

 

[sparkyork]

yeah good idea doc, ah memorioes of me mighty metro set! 12v is the way i would go on this, unless your fully confident/competent, rcd's can fail and without any more info on your background in electrical (if any) then id stay away from 230v.

 

[Andy™]

Maybe a PM to Admin about his motorised shed should help a little with this...

 

[a1]

Maybe a PM to Admin about his motorised shed should help a little with this...

 

[jl-heating]

i would go for 230v and get it working correctly, there is no point practising if your not practising correctly i am sure the guys here will be on hand to help you out .. go for it m8

 

[Apache]

i would go for 230v and get it working correctly, there is no point practising if your not practising correctly i am sure the guys here will be on hand to help you out .. go for it m8

my thoughts exactly.

 

[msb2003]

i would go for 230v and get it working correctly, there is no point practising if your not practising correctly i am sure the guys here will be on hand to help you out .. go for it m8

My opinion here would be that unless you are competent, working with 230v is not advisory. Sure use an RCD but if your still unsure about testing, have you connected that correctly!?

I would use a reduced voltage until you gain some experience, it'll work on the same circuitry so why introduce a hazard?

Slightly of the topic of the voltage but relevant to the thread, on lighting circuits, lengths of cables are not critical to prove circuitry as the R1+R2 will prove the operation of the switches if done correctly. However when it comes to ring circuits, the end to end testing, a small amount of cable will suffice but when using the figure 8 method small readings will be difficult to accuratley measure and prove calculations ie (R1+R2)/4 as the values will be so small and your meter may not be accurate enough. This means you may need to leave longer lengths between your sockets to gain any measurable values you can really work with.

good luck, be safe!

 

[Andy™]

you can get resistors you can add to the ring main to substitute longer cables

 

[ferret]

how about a 12volt battery and an inverter if you want it seperate from the mains ,plus the rcd for protection.

I take it you dont want to knock out thee house electrics