What kind of battery should I use to be able to run a skill saw and other light duty tools? I would also use this to run a floor fan when we are at the farmer's market in the summer.

How many amps and volts should I look for? Should I use a marine deep cycle battery?

You definitely need to use a deep cycle. My suggestion is to use golf cart 6v batteries and stack them to your desired voltage. This will give you more run life and allow you to go from 6-12-18 volts depending on your application and amount of money you want to spend.

Those seem so expensive though. I 1000 amp 12 v marine deep cycle is ~$100. What am I missing?

Run time. Two 6v batteries will have more cells than a conventional marine battery. You can get away with a single battery as long as your expectation are a couple of hours.

The amp-hour rating is what's important for longevity as far as batteries go.

Why not a small inverter generator? The Honda E2000 sounds like what you need.

magnumtmp said:

---

The amp-hour rating is what's important for longevity as far as batteries go.

Why not a small inverter generator? The Honda E2000 sounds like what you need.

---

I'm assuming the OP doesn't want to spend $1k for a generator.

BCStalk said:

---

magnumtmp said:

---

The amp-hour rating is what's important for longevity as far as batteries go.

Why not a small inverter generator? The Honda E2000 sounds like what you need.

---

I'm assuming the OP doesn't want to spend $1k for a generator.

---

You're probably right. I mentioned the Honda, but there are $700 options out there, the Generac comes to mind. By the time you buy a good inverter and bank of batteries, you'll be 1/2 way or better to paying for a small generator.

Just another thought, not trying to derail.

I completely agree with you. The only reason I have a battery pack is for the deer stand. Generator is definitely the way to go for longer operation time, but for just running a fan in my blind a battery pack works fine. I also have a decent solar panel that keeps it charged when I'm not there and it never gets moved so weight wasn't an issue for me with multiple batteries.

newhowdyag2004 said:

---

What kind of battery should I use to be able to run a skill saw and other light duty tools? I would also use this to run a floor fan when we are at the farmer's market in the summer.

How many amps and volts should I look for? Should I use a marine deep cycle battery?

---

The starting amps for skill saws are pretty high, but it will vary amongst different brands and models. I have run skill saws on small 1000W or 1500W inverters, but it's not good for the saw when it takes a while to rev the motor up like it did for me. If you're stuck on battery power, make sure you get a big enough inverter. In my case I actually found a 5000w inverter cheaper than I could a 2500w on camping world. But by the time you're there you're almost as much as a honda generator. And I can run quite a bit on my 2000W Honda generator.

The thing is I don't want something that I have to run with fuel (no emissions).

My goal is to build something that I can then have on a trickle charger and have ready for the farmer's market (which doesn't allow generators) and of course some work on my property (fixing a horse fence).

Now, if I get a powerful enough inverter can I then just used my Tundra to power a saw/tools?

I can figure out the farmer's market cooling later.

Could you just buy cordless power tools? They have cordless fans too.

I wouldn't advise it. You run the risk of burning up your battery and alternator if you overdo it. Vehicles really are not designed to be used as a generator. When I was a mechanic I had a lot of company vehicles that would come in with charging issues. Most of them had large inverters installed for workers to be able to charge their cordless tools. I imagine most of them used them as a generator without knowing the consequences.

What about something like this, especially if you run DeWalt cordless tools?

https://www.dewalt.com/en-us/products/accessories/batteries-and-chargers/chargers/1800-watt-portable-power-station-and-simultaneous-battery-charger/dcb1800b

On sale for $194: https://slickdeals.net/f/11193427-dewalt-dcb1800b-portable-power-station-bare-tool-194-free-shipping

W-15

I have zero technical input for you BUT after Harvey we ran a box fan off of a (maybe 750) NAPA car battery with power inverter(so we could plug in the fan) & it ran on Medium all night ~7 hours.

Ordered the dewalt power station!

Now I need to save up for a couple 9ah batteries...