What's the best way to light a shed for about three hours a time if I can't get electricity down to it at he moment? I did buy one of those push lights that work on batteries, only they don't...... Work I mean. Are there more reliable lights? It would also be nice to have one available in case of power cuts.
Janet
If you don't want batteries then the only way to go is 'GAS'
-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite
In article , Janet Tweedy writes
Attach an old car alternator to the crank shaft of a bike. Attach batteries via inverter & use car lamps & bulbs.
| | What's the best way to light a shed for about three hours a time if I | can't get electricity down to it at he moment? | I did buy one of those push lights that work on batteries, only they | don't...... Work I mean. | Are there more reliable lights? | It would also be nice to have one available in case of power cuts.
A leisure battery (Lead acid accumulator), and 16 watt 12V florescent from the caravan shop would do all you need and more. Keep the battery charged up in the house. Check the electrolyte level every month.
You can buy a solar light for this purpose - about 20GBP. Maplin?
Gas also provides a bit of heat, though the cartridges get sluggish once it gets near freezing. And piezo ignition is nice, worth spending a bit extra for... IME the mantles that tie on twice, top and bottom, last very well. Still on my first after few years of occasional use.
Other than that, I found a pile of lanterns with a fluorescent bulb, sealed lead-acid gel cell (6 Volt, ISTR 4 Ah), a charger for mains, one for 12 Volt cigarette lighter, a LED to warn of low battery, and an IR remote. They've been popping up in all sorts of shops lately here, fresh from China no doubt. Seeing you're not further from China than me, maybe they'll turn up in a shed near you?
I got a special off a pallet in a shed, two lanterns for eighteen Euro something
-- wossat, twelve quid?
Here's a picture from a shop:
Janet Tweedy pretended :
You don't say how frequent the 3 hour use session will be.
You might consider a car type battery, but of the 'leisure battery' type. The latter are intended for deep discharge, where as the prior are not.
You can then run from that some 12v florescent lights, as intended for caravans or camping. These give much more light output per watt than simple 12v bulbs.
To recharge the battery, you might consider either-
a. Recharging with a mains powered charger in the house. Make sure the charger is an automatic type designed to stop charging once the battery is full.
b. Buying a solar panel plus controller, which fits on the hut.
Either way it is important to ensure the battery is not left long in a discharged state, otherwise the battery will be damaged. Over charging will produce a similar result.
In article , Janet Tweedy writes
Absolutely no way you could string up a cable overhead?, that if not mains could take something like 12 or 24 or even more volts at up to around 40 odd, and either use that the charge up batteries or step it back up with another transformer to provide for a fluorescent or two?....
On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 23:45:47 +0100, Janet Tweedy scrawled:
Where is this shed? I'm assuming it's too far to just take a lead or 2 down to it?
Depending what the full story is ou might be better off spending your time and effort getting power down there now rather than throwing at half baked useless temporary ideas.
Depends on size of shed and how much light you need. I'd probably use a car battery and a 12V fluorescent, either caravan parts or a garage hand-held inspection light (Screwfix do a decent cheap one). If you have one, use a "deep discharge" caravan battery, otherwise make sure that teh car battery gets charged up regularly and is never left sitting near-flat, especially out in the cold.
For more light, get a gas-powered Bullfinch "Handilight". These are abotu 10-15 quid from eBay and will need a new mantle after being posted (Calor gas or caravan shops), often a hose and regulator too. They run on propane and give a generous white light. I have three or four of these things and use them for festival-scale camping or timber framing (timber framing is often done on-site, under a marquee workshop)
If you need a real worklight, then find a propane powered roadsign floodlight, again made by Bullfinch and found on eBay or via farm machinery auctions. Not cheap, but lots of light to work by.
I've checked and the Maplin light will only give you up to 45 mins from a full charge but costs 25 GBP (solar shed light). That uses a 4 watt fluorescent tube. OK for lighting the shed whilst you find something or put your tools away. You can buy a better solar light from CPC (at least two options) incorporating a 12volt battery that is re-charged from solar cells on the shed roof.
That would probably be my first choice too. Even bell wire at 4p/metre will carry 1A at upto 50v, thats 50w. 2 bell wires, add a 24v truck bulb or 2 and youre away. Cost a tenner the lot.
There are many options really, it all depends - as usual not nearly enough info. Last time I needed something like this I used gas. If you're choosing between batteries and gas, go gas. IME its many times more reliable, and equally much cheaper in the long run.
NT
I've just bought:
If you need a battery look at BT02860 from CPC but you will also need a suitable sealed lead acid charger, don't use the one for your car battery...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember zaax saying something like:
You have to do a helluva lot of pedalling to keep up with tungsten lamps. Do-able, iwt, with LEDs.
Afair, you'd be lucky to put out a steady 180W from a bicycle/alternator arrangement.
I seem to remember that B&Q were flogging bargain petrol generators a couple of weeks ago. 240V, 650W jobbies
The brand name was "Master TG950", and they were going for =A329.98. In store only, not online.
That might be an option. Then again, it might not...
Vertical shaft ? Avoid!
In article , Thomas Prufer writes
Like these but local camping shops etc don't seem to have them. Only got Focus and Sainsbury's Homebase, no sign of them there. Any idea of outlets that sell them?
Janet
You're looking in the right places, a pallet of stuff in a corner at Aldi or Lidl is about where to expect it.
The charger is no use in finding a manufacturer, it says "Adaptor", and the lanterns are away...
Lemme see if I can't tease an UK supplier out of google.
Ah, "rechargeable+lantern+fluorescent+remote+site:*.co.uk" is the magic incantation.
Mine's silver, but they come in green and yellow too... The last one's cheapest,
15 quid, plus 5 shipping, and ebay has a few starting at less. Worth it, I'd say. The only fault I've found is that the little rubber plug keeping the charging jack sealed (it's "water resistant") pops itself out on its rubber strap...
For use up to three hours at a time? OK if you've no neighbours.
The message from "The3rd Earl Of Derby" contains these words:
So what has happened to the previously ubiquitous Tilley (paraffin) lamps?
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