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fountain power

updated fri 28 may 99

 

Kathy Mccormick on wed 26 may 99

Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry about the best way to power table
top fountains at outdoor shows. I thought I'd pass along what I ended up
doing in case it helps anyone else out.

I ended up buying a Whistlr inverter from Walmart for about $65. It has two
AC outlets and comes with a hard-wire kit which allows you to hook it
directly to a DC battery. I bought a big Marine no-maintenance battery from
K-Mart for about $45 to hook it to. I already had an inexpensive trickle
charger that I had bought last year from K-Mart. I charged the battery for 3
days prior to the show... this battery has a built in indicator for how much
charge it is carrying so that's pretty handy.

I used this set-up for the first time last weekend and it worked like a
charm. I was expecting to have to recharge the battery Saturday night but
decided not to and was pleasantly surprised to find that the charge lasted
all the way through Sunday as well. I was running two fountains off of it.

It will take me a few fountain sales to recoup the expense, but I'm thinking
of it as a long-term investment rather than a short-term expense. I should
be able to use this for a few years anyway.

Thanks again for the helpful information.

Kathy McCormick
Midland, Michigan