On 9/26/2013 8:04 PM, sms wrote:
The marching band at my son's school needs lights for the practice
field. We've been renting lights for about $2600 for five weeks, not
including fuel for the generators. This is for two 4000 watt lights (4
x 1000W bulbs).

We'd like to find an alternative, even if we have to spend three-four
times as much as five weeks of rentals cost. We don't actually need
8000 watts worth of light. We need lights for two hours a day, two
days a week. There is no electricity available at the practice field.

My idea is to purchase sixteen 4000 lumen 75W 12V HID flood lights,
four 90AH deep cycle batteries, and eight 18' light towers. This would
cost about $4000. The batteries would probably need to be replaced
every 3-4 years.

I was looking for some other ideas on how to do this.

I would call your local professional/wholesale electrical supply
company and have a chat with them. Their sales force may come up with
helpful ideas.

BTW, have you contacted the local electric utility to find out what it
would cost to run power to the field? Is that something you could do,
if the billing went to the band association and not to the school
district? Or would the district be willing to foot future electric
bills if your group paid for the installation?