[ctt956]

Originally Posted by Foster

Because the bench is outside of the gallery, the people inside will keep an eye on it. At night it gets moved to the side lockable space. The staff will be responsible for keeping the battery set up working.

So the battery requirements are:
1) Easy to change on the bench, no tools
2) Daily load is about 6AH
2A) minimal battery changes (so packs of AA batteries are out)
2B) be able to manage a higher load (summer evening hours, festivals, etc.) with a second battery change.
3) Waterproof or be mountable in a waterproof container
4) Inside recharging should be simple, no tools

I was thinking of using the battery from portable tools. (You have them, you take the battery off the charger, snick it into the drill, saw, etc. do the job and then put the battery back on the charger). I was going to get a broken tool, take the battery holder off of it and use that. The tool locks the battery in place, so I could mount the handle under the bench (keeping it out of the direct rain) and it would stay in place. I could use a charger base and rip the charging circuit out, but most bases I've seen / used, the battery is held in via gravity. So when the battery isn't in place and it's inclement the cavity would fill with water/snow.

LED strips want 12 volts (so getting 12v tool battery makes that easy), but I did find some strips that will work on 5 volts, so the GreyingJay idea of the USB 5v recharge packs are on the table for discussion. (I'd mount a plastic "ammo" box from HF @ $8.99, waterproof and locking and put the battery pack in there)

I led with the portable tool recharge packs since the gallery has power drills and sort of understands that technology.

Hope this helps.

Sounds awesome! I'd like to see the finished product. Maybe you could use the same battery they use for the tools at the gallery? Most cordless tool batteries are < 6 Ah, especially the 12 volts. Maybe the battery could stay in the bench and it could just be plugged in with an extension cord to charge? I think it could work by using the charger/battery holder/output from a tool like this...