"Nigel" wrote in message
...
Stupid question time...
If I have a 100ah battery how much power can I expect to get out of
it... is
100ah the total battery capacity or it's useable/available capacity. My
understanding is that a normal lead acid battery shouldn't be run too
flat,
so when is flat too flat? If I should only let my battery drain down to
say
a 90% charge, have I only got 10ah before I need to recharge?

As a very basic answer, a 100 amp/hour battery should provide 100 amps for
an hour or 1 amp for 100 hours, in reality of course it would probably
melt if required to do the former. Then you need to factor in age, type of
use, deep charge trickle or whatever. At best it is a guide only as to the
possible maximum the battery can provide.