Ball Machine Rigged With Car Battery

dancraig · 09-20-2006, 08:43 PM

My friend has a ball machine that has been rigged with battery terminals on the outside of the machine. She bought a new car battery just for her machine. She simply makes the connection from the battery with small clamps and she's good to go for a long time. She recharges the battery at home overnight on a charger.

LttlElvis · 09-20-2006, 09:36 PM

Interesting. Seems pretty heavy to carry around, but isn't this kinda dangerous?

Cruzer · 09-20-2006, 09:38 PM

Seems like a good idea. What is the advantage over using the battey in the ball machine (assuming it is battery powered machine to begin with)? It appears to me that it is just one more heavy thing to drag to the court along with the ball machine, bag of balls, and my racquet bag.

billyboybeacon · 09-20-2006, 09:43 PM

ditto what cruzer said..I just modified my tennis tudor w/ 2 7 amp batteries connected in parallel and get 6 hours per charge and it fits nicely inside

dancraig · 09-20-2006, 09:47 PM

I guess the car battery has more power than the machine battery. She has a carrying strap on the battery. She pulls her SUV right up to the gate of the court that she teaches on. She got the electric schematic from the machine maker and her dad did the modification. The little terminals on the side of the machine look factory installed.

varuscelli · 09-21-2006, 07:30 PM

Could be some charging issues involved in terms of ability to leave the charger connected for long periods of time (as in times when you might forget that you had the battery connected and charging). For instance, the Silent Partner charger can be left plugged in with no harm for as long as you want to leave it plugged in. Depending on the type of charger used for the car battery (trickle charger with automatic cut-off?), this could possibly present some issues. But overall (except for the battery's excessive weight), it's an interesting idea.

09-20-2006, 08:43 PM	#1
dancraig Hall Of Fame Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,232	Ball Machine Rigged With Car Battery My friend has a ball machine that has been rigged with battery terminals on the outside of the machine. She bought a new car battery just for her machine. She simply makes the connection from the battery with small clamps and she's good to go for a long time. She recharges the battery at home overnight on a charger.

09-21-2006, 07:30 PM	#6
varuscelli Professional Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Houston. Texas Posts: 1,231	Could be some charging issues involved in terms of ability to leave the charger connected for long periods of time (as in times when you might forget that you had the battery connected and charging). For instance, the Silent Partner charger can be left plugged in with no harm for as long as you want to leave it plugged in. Depending on the type of charger used for the car battery (trickle charger with automatic cut-off?), this could possibly present some issues. But overall (except for the battery's excessive weight), it's an interesting idea. __________________ Stringing Machine Photo Reference Library www.photostringer.com (Send photos to: al@ruscelli.com or vruscelli@comcast.net)

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