Powering the Routemaster: Batteries or generator?

[tkobus]

Hello,

First time poster here - I would be eternally grateful for some words of wisdom on the subject as I am a little naive and am about to start spending money to make this happen.


I have a double-decker old London Routemaster that is used frequently for charity events and children's parties. On the bus is a Wurlitzer jukebox that needs 320W at maximum load, and a small coca cola cooler (the theme of the bus is an old 50's diner). I am looking to be able to power these two things (and perhaps have a little power to spare for phone charging, etc).

I guess I am looking at two options

OPTION 1: Batteries. There is space for a few batteries but I would like to keep weight down to a minimum. What would I need to be able to output lets say 750W of power? Would I need anything else too? (inverters, etc)

OPTION 2: Generator. Because this is for events, noise is the biggest biggest issue - along with price of course. Are there any generators that would be a lot less quiet then some fairly quiet background music from the jukebox? What kind of price range am I looking at?

I would really appreciate some advice on this from someone who knows more than me. I should imagine some people here have faced a similar dilemma when arranging to power their motor homes... care to share some wisdom?

OR BETTER YET: Is there a garage in the London area I can call up about this? To save you guys the hassle of explaining!

[wolfe10]

tkobus,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

First question is how long you will be running those loads. Multiply that times the amp draw of everything you will be running.

Because inverters are not 100% efficient, up that figure by 15%.

If this is for only occasional use and the battery bank will be brought up to full charge (shore power) after each use, you can reasonably discharge the batteries down to 30% (vs 50% as recommended for long battery life). That will tell you the size (in amp-hrs) that you will need. From there you can make a decision as to cost vs a quiet generator (Honda makes several very quiet ones).

[teachers_pet]

If you have a vented compartment with air circulation a small generator would be a possible answer. A Honda 2000 inverter generator would work for your needs, it is very quiet and very fuel efficient running for up to 9 hours on a one gallon tank of gasoline. The peak output is around 1600 watts which should handle your needs. The going price here in the US is around $1000.