John Emmons wrote:

So, here goes. I have a small, 1:32 scale slot car track upon which I run 4
cars, the cars each pull between 1 and 1.5 amps at about 8-10 volts dc. I
get the dc from a regulated, variable power supply which is normally plugged
into a standard wall circuit.

I want to set up a battery operated power system to enable me to use the
track at events where power is either not available or not practical and I'd
like to avoid the use of a generator if possible.

snip

Understand up front that what you are trying to do is very inefficient
electrically.

Start with a pair of 6VDC, T105 or T125 golf cart batteries in series to
get 12 VDC.

If you have a strong back, consider L16 floor sweeper batteries as an
alternate.

Next you want a pure sine wave inverter, probably at least 1000 watts.

Non sime wave units are lower cost, but are not suggested for this
application.

Recharging can be done a couple of ways, either with a decent battery
recharger complete wit a good regulator (Color me expensive) or some
solar panels complete with a blocking diode regulator.

An elcheapo automotive recharger will work in a pinch, but is not good
over the long haul.

Expect to spend between $500-$1,000 to get up and running.

HTH

Lew