ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Providing 24 Volts lights on diesl engine.....

We are using one no. Cummins make 940Hp/1500rpm(Model No.KTA2500G1) in a remote area where we want to provide some illumination during night operation .We plan to provide 24 Volts /100 watts lamps using engine starting batteries( Battery amper-hour 200AH) of the engine which are being charged by enigne dynamo system.Can someone advice me whether such utilisation is advicable ? what are the implications and practiacl solution ?....

Depending on how many you need, duration of need, etc., you can go to K-mart and get 12 volt drop cords with 100 watt bulbs in them. Just use the terminals off 1 battery, not both. These things have alligator clips on the ends, not cord caps. The machine uses 2 batteries to provide the 24 volt, probably something like 2 - 8D's or 4D's.

That's the quickest, cheapest method if you are using these to perform service, or checks. If you want something a little more permanent, you can still utilize the 12 volt bulbs in the same method, just use a single battery for your feed.

Be very careful that the additional load does not lower the battery charge at an inopportune time. I would recommend against using starting batteries for peripheral loads. There are plenty of integral-battery standby lighting products that will be more reliable and are cleary intended for the purpose.

100 watts @24 volts = 4.1 amps
100 watts @12 volts = 8.3 amps

Make sure your alternator can keep up and you don't drain the batteries or you might not restart the engine.

if use it all the time then set up with a switch for flood light but for occallial useage you can have portable troble light using 12 or 24 V bulbs depend on the hook up you want . if i am reading this correct that is in european area ( 50HZ gen set) ??

and btw you can find 24 volts bulbs rather easy because there is alot of large construction equmpit use 24 volts system which that is very common voltage . and any construction equmpit dealership should have one on stock without much troble. i know one company called hobbs they carry wide varites of floodlight also with hid verison i belive it is 35 watt hid it will put out slightly more than 100 watters will dish out.


merci , marc

If you are running the diesel 24/7, you shouldn't have to worry about running the batteries too low. They may loose water faster, so watch that as well. Have you load tested the batteries?
If you crank the motor over, meter the voltage as you are cranking. If it drops below 18V, then you should consider servicing/replacing them.
Keep an eye on the amperage gauge of the engine. If it is a voltage gauge, then it is not accurate at reading the load on the 'dynamo'.
12V lamps would be better to use, but may not be available in your area. Halogen or HID would give you more lumens, footcandles,etc per watt of input.

The amperage rating of a pair (or even 4 8-D's, we always used to run 4 on our KTA-50's) of large batteries would not even burp at running a few lights.

Part of your maintenance program should be to run an "equalize" charge on your batteries to keep the "fuzz" off the electrodes, adding a load to them just helps keep them healthy. You can set up a separate system if you like of course, but I'd opt for the system source.

Marc is quite correct in that 24 volt bulbs are plentiful. Most auto parts places still carry the simple A-19 style 12 volters though making them very easy to keep on hand. You can also get them through Snap-on, Mac tools, Matco, etc, even in a flourescent style which may suite your purpose better.