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As per title, does anyone know if it is possible to convert a 240v neon sign to work off a car battery 😕
Cheers
Yes, change the bulb to a 12VDC one.............or buy a horribly inefficient inverter.
It's a neon sign so you can't just change the bulb.
For a neon to work it normally needs to step up the voltage anyway so will probably have an inverter/transformer. the most efficient route would be to find the specs of the current inverter and get a 12V version to match. The quick and easy route is get a 12 to 240V inverter. I imagine you won't need a hugely powerful inverter but look for something decent quality as a dirty or non-pure sine wave might affect the neon inverter.
Thanks will give it a try.
What could possibly go wrong.
Neon signs run in the order of kV - somewhere around ten to fifteen [i]thousand [/i]Volts if memory serves - and require Alternating Current. To meet its power requirements you'd need a transformer specifically designed to run a neon sign rather than just some random inverter, and with all due respect if my knowledge of electronics was limited to asking "will it work" on a bike forum I sure as shit wouldn't be going anywhere near it.
Here,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon-sign_transformer
I'd hazard you'd be better served buying an EL Wire kit. Not quite the same, but considerably less likely to kill you.
You would go:
Decent 12V to 240V inverter -->-- original neon transformer -->-- neon
Or if possible find a 12V inverter that is to spec for what the neon needs. I doubt you will find anything suitable to be honest.
We used to build daylight brightness touch screens that used CCFLs. They needed a very high voltage to get the tube to fire up and then a high (800-1200V) voltage to sustain he tube. Guy I was working with made a slight handling error and got a nice shock 😀
[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271310018797?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT ]This[/url]
Sorry folks a little mis-information its a LED light not sure if it makes any difference though? Hopefully this link may show what I want to put into my Van.
All that hassle for a vw logo in a van ?
Check what output voltage that shitty Chinese transformer is using. Then start there, I'd hazard a guess its no more than 12v so might be dead easy to use a fused spur from vehicle electrics.
Big difference between LED and Neon!
Crap sign anyway.
its going in a vito right ?
Probably 12v already. Might need a regulator so just get a the correct car adapter once you know the voltage/power. Plenty on ebay