On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:47:58 -0800, Adam Aglionby wrote:
Shopping around on batteries always pays off, like lamps can see quite
some cost spread even on same brand, try looking for "leisure
batteries"

Will do...

I think I remember when my dad's old Beetle had 6V electrics...
But yeah, I'd be as happy dealing with 24V as 12V I think.

6V electrics earned Joe Lucas , maker of 6V British bike electrics,
the well desrved title as The Prince of Darkness.

Same Lucus of the car world? I've owned numerous Triumphs over the years
with Lucas bits and they certainly weren't premium quality :-)

Convoluted and variable are US Electrical codes , but would guess they
mostly use a definition of Safety Extra Low Voltage, in Euroland below
50V, that should mean you can do pretty much what you like at 24V.

Think Malibu lights and IDC connectors

Yeah, I wasn't sure if a commercial system goes through extra testing
which somehow certifies it whereas a DIY approach wouldn't - but I
suppose that makes life messy, so it'd be far easier to declare anything
under a given voltage as free from inspection.

Just remember that though voltage is low , available current can be
quite high and put fuses in all the sensible places.

Absolutely :-) I've seen the results of dead-shorts and overcharging in
car batteries and it ain't pretty...

cheers

J.