12 volt rv light bulb 24v bank?

[greenkarson]

have a 24 volt battery bank. What will happen if I use 12 volt rv light bulbs will they burn out right away or will they work?

[Flux]

Bit of both, how long is right away?. You may get a few seconds of light if that suits your needs.

On a practical basis it doesn't work but partly depends on the type of bulb. Filament lamps will only last seconds, fluorescent will probably blow the inverter instantly or in seconds. Led may run overloaded for some time depending on the chosen current and margin of overload rating of the resistors.

Flux

[kurt]

if it is just an incandescent bulb just wire 2 of them in series for 24v will work fine....

[Madscientist267]

dont forget "as long as they are identical"... if not, the lower wattage bulb will see more voltage across it and burn out sooner (if not instantly)

[Opera House]

There are switching regulators  that will convert down to 12V.  You can often find 28 to 12V VICOR modules on ebay cheap.  They work fine down to about 17V on the input.  A PWM speed control can also be used as long as the lamp is incandecent, NO LED.