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as I've noted before, you can use a PC power supply, but they are not designed for sustained high current applications, and lack proper cooling for such use. you stand a good chance of starting a fire doing this.

here's the sort of power supply you'd ideally want for amplifiers:
[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18796&item=5769560171&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW[/url]

just get a cheap power supply off ebay for about 30 bucks itll power the head unit, you can use the outs from that to the plate amp and there you go

Ok, so don't use a car battery :-P

[i]If charged or discharged too rapidly, gas will build up, causing the battery case to rupture.[/i]

Yep, that was one of the drawbacks. I forgot to unplug the charger one time and tried to use the same battery about 6 months later(to test a PPI xover). Needless to say I wasn't getting 12 volts anymore and did notice a slight bit of swelling on the sides of the thing.

:p

There's another option.

Poor Man's Powersupply

I was too cheap to spend the money on a decent power supply, was sick of the battery thing(I had a few more gel cells I got cheap from a place going out of business), but needed something to "bench" low current stuff. I yanked the switching power supply out of my old, and rather dead 486. I wrapped up the switch terminals(110v) with a generous amount of electrical tape to prevent electrocution and hooked the 12v+(8A) leads up to a barrier strip.

Works great and I still use it, but it does have its drawbacks as well. Since it is a switching power supply you need to make sure you power it up under load or it'll eventually die on you. I really ought to take the plunge and get me a good 50-80 amp p/s, but in the meantime I'll probably hook a resistor across the leads the next time I use it. If this one goes I still have a 386 I can cannibalize.

Got any old puters layin around?

:D

-Fishy

[quote="Fishy"]Gel Cell

Back when I was running my poor man's home theatre(Sound Blaster Extigy and my old Harmon Kardon stuff) I was using a SS Class A 50II to power my center channel. I just ran it off a 12v, 7.0 amphr gel cell I had laying around. I kept it on a 6 amp battery charger and simply plugged it in when watching a movie and shut if off afterwards and plugged in the DC transformer/charger it came with. Kind of a PITA, but worked and sounded great and no noise either.

It was a unique setup, but a plate amp would be a better solution.

-Fishy[/quote]
[b]Gel Cell[/b]

The gel cell battery, used in aircraft and designed for portability, are usually small and have gelled acid within a sealed case. This battery works in any position and is designed to be clean and usable in environments intolerant of acid vapors and spills. These cells are designed to be deep cycled over a long time, but since the cells are sealed, special care must be taken when charging. If charged or discharged too rapidly, gas will build up, causing the battery case to rupture. The lifetime of gel cells varies considerably. Besides possible rupture, storage at high temperatures (i.e., above 78 degrees F) accelerates self-discharge and shortens the battery's life. Although more expensive, the sealed gel cell battery can be a safer and cleaner alternative to the deep cycle type batteries.

The problem with gel cell is that if charged/discharged to rapidly gas will build up causing the battery case to rupture, etc. Other than that its a great battery for this application.
Still don't like the fact of having a car battery in the house. If it were ment to be in the house, it'd be called um a house battery, not car battery, ya catch my drift? :)

Gel Cell

Back when I was running my poor man's home theatre(Sound Blaster Extigy and my old Harmon Kardon stuff) I was using a SS Class A 50II to power my center channel. I just ran it off a 12v, 7.0 amphr gel cell I had laying around. I kept it on a 6 amp battery charger and simply plugged it in when watching a movie and shut if off afterwards and plugged in the DC transformer/charger it came with. Kind of a PITA, but worked and sounded great and no noise either.

It was a unique setup, but a plate amp would be a better solution.

-Fishy

[quote="William from NOLA"]Yea, or just don't use car amps in the home. If you do, cheapest route is to just use a 12 volt car battery. Recharge when empty.

Most head units should be okay powered by one of the cheap converters.[/quote]
!You for real? Who the hell would do this? Maybe some type of dry cell Deep cycle battery, such as the [b]optima Yellow Top[/b], but it still doesn't seem like all that good of an idea. I sure as hell wouldn't put a cheapy battery in there and re-charge when empty, this can as kiki stated above cause [b]gasing, which can KILL people![/b]

[size=100][font=Times New Roman][quote]I know this isn't exactly the easiest idea but I figured I have all summer to do it.[/font][/size]

[size=100][font=Times New Roman]The only way to hook up a HU would be to use a car battery? I figured there was some sort of converter I could use that would allow me to plug it into a wall outlet.[/quote][/font][/size]



[size=100][font=Times New Roman]Wow, this just doesn't sound like all that good of an idea. It doesn't seem too safe either. I've only seen one "adapter" that would allow you to safely convert your ordinary household current into 12v dc, and charge a battery with it. I guess it's cool if you’re just doing it to see if it's possible, but I’d be damn careful in your wiring setup, etc.[/font][/size]



[size=100][font=Times New Roman]I think Kiki Put it best when he said:[/font][/size]



[size=100][font=Times New Roman][quote]you need a high current 12VDC power supply rated for 50-100A or more to handle amplifiers in a house. You can get away with the cheaper 2.5 or 5 amp models from radio shack for a head unit alone, but it wouldn't have the power to drive a sub.[/font][/size]

[size=100][font=Times New Roman]Your best bet is still that plate amplifier I mentioned before.[/font][/size]

[font=Times New Roman][size=100]Adire Audio's subs (Shivas for example) work very well in homes. They were originally marketed as home audio subs.[/quote][/size][/font]

"cheapest route is to just use a 12 volt car battery. Recharge when empty."

this will cause gassing which will kill people in a poorly ventilated enclosed space like a room or a car cabin. this is why I didn't suggest using a car battery.

Dont most cheap car battery's have an acid vent that puts out air that can be toxic to animals, any leather products, and electronics that are exsposed to it for long periods of time?