One less excuse. I just now checked the price of the battery powered emergency lights: around $30 to $40 each. The more costly ones are halogen, last for about 90 minutes.
Time to install a couple.
And yes, they do need an electrical circuit to operate, both for charging and for sensing power failure, AFAICT.
Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx
Why do you need emergency lights? Oh yeah, don't you live in California - the land of roving power outages?
Bob Davis Houston, Texas - Home of Enron
snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnotforme (Charlie Self) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m15.aol.com:
Source? Enquiring minds want to know. (Actually, I'm just a bit lazy.)
Patriarch
I went really cheap... bought 2 rechargeable florescent double tube lanterns for camping from good ol' HF for about $30...
They make good emergency lights.. go on when current goes off, but the best part is that when not in the shop, we're out camping with 'em....
On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 16:07:24 GMT, mac davis calmly ranted:
battery? Those sure beat the weakarse 7-watt #38013 hallway emergency lights they sell for $20.
-- Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Turkey and Drive --
Fri, Nov 19, 2004, 4:07pm (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (mac=A0davis) claims: I went really cheap...
So you think. I've got about $7 in one of those little hand pump flashlights. That and some candles - and matches. I know exactly where the flashlight is, so I can find it in the dark, and it never, ever, has bad batteries. Then, if need be, I use it to get to the candles, to light them, without tripping over anything.
You can still find those flashlights for around $10, some places are a lot more. Very handy, should get one for the truck. They'd probably wear out pretty fast, with constant, and prolonged, use; they're probably almost all plastic inside;, and they don't have a lot of light, but they're always ready for use, when you need light, and never, ever, need the batteries replaced. I've had mine for years, and it still works great.
My older kid got me a combo thingie awhile back. Solar charge, hand crank, or AC adapter. Has a radio, light, flashing light, and a siren. More of a gizmo than something real useful, but kinda handy if the power goes out. Cranking it for the radio is kinda a PITA, because the power doesn't last long at all. But, better than nothing, and it's always ready to use. You can get those for around $20-30. Kinda nice to be alble to listen to a radio, when the power's out.
JOAT Measure twice, cut once, swear repeatedly.
I know where my table saw, planer, jointer, bandsaw and drill press are. Anything else is subject to relocation or covering, so I'd far prefer to have emergency lights hanging from the wall above the doors. About the only place that doesn't already have something hanging there anyway.
Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx
You can usually find those lights pretty cheap at any place that sells old office junk.
gfretwell responds:
Checked the price of old office junk recently? I almost choked over a file cabinet price the other day, and left without buying an office chair. Almost cheaper to go new these days.
Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx
I haven't looked recently but a few years ago I got 2 of these lights for $5 each. One was OK as is, one needed a battery. The same guy sold my father in law a leather couch for $10 and a steelcase desk with chair for $15. Maybe you are just in a place with a lot more offices going in than coming out.
Absolutely correct on the need for mains power. The batteries 'float' on the charger, so they're always fully charged. And the unit has to 'see' the power line, to detect when the power 'goes away'.
They do draw a few watts when the power is on; it's a small draw when the batteries are fully charged.
GFretwell notes:
I don't think so. This area is behind the state and the U.S. as a whole in job growth. But we do have a lot of people who are competing with ebay for high prices on used crap.
Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx
Not to mention you'd likely have to replace the battery in a used one.
scott
nope... when they're fully charged, you leave them plugged in and switch them on.. choosing 1 or 2 tubes.. If the power goes off or you unplug them, they go on.. we had no idea that they had this feature until after we bought them for camping.. (kinda nice for sitting out on the patio, too.. we put them about 20' away and get soft light)
damn.. now if you get your kid an treadmill with a generator for your tools, you're set!
I have a couple of these emergency fluorescent tubes (about 12 inches long). Leave plugged into an electric socket and they come on when the power fails. Last for 2 hours.
I got mine from a friend who is refurbishing some accommodation at an RAF station. He salvaged a number of them from a skip. They are meant to be permanently wired into a lighting circuit but work equally well with a plug attached to them.
I have also seen them for sale at an MOD surplus warehouse, but I can't remember the price. I live in hope that a couple more freebies may arrive some day.
Malcolm Webb
On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 07:36 +0000 (GMT Standard Time), snipped-for-privacy@cix.co.uk (Malcolm Webb) calmly ranted:
$14.99 isn't free, but it's a fair price. I found out yesterday that the local store has 7 in stock.
-- Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Turkey and Drive --
"Bob" wrote in news:U_nnd.2760$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:
Well, Bob, while there was sufficient home grown Californian stupidity to go around WRT power supplies, there is documented, court-record proof that the situation was aided, abetted, and exploited by some of the fine citizens of the Republic of Texas as well. Some of those folks will look good in stripes.
We've had no major problems since Enron went down, that weren't storm- related. Of course, the easing of the drought in the West meant that hydro power became more available, and at reasonable rates.
And Charlie lives in Virginia.
Patriarch
Patriarch responds:
Most of our outages are from winter and early spring storms. But at times it seems as if municipality run power systems have an IQ based hiring system. If you have an IQ, they won't hire you, at least in the planning division.
Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx
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