Do they make 12volt Compact Florescents

Do they make 12volt DC Compact Florescent bulbs? I have not seen them in stores, but that dont mean they are not made. I am asking because a friend has a cabin and dont have electricity nearby. They want a fortune to run the lines and hook it up. He is considering a generator, but for now he put a fixture on the ceiling in each room, with a switch for each room, and installed these 12V bulbs made for 12V trouble lights. Then he hooked a 12V car battery to it the system. It works well, as long as he dont turn on too many lights at once, but it drains the battery pretty fast. That got me wondering if they do make the compact florescents. I know they would last much longer on a battery. Anyone know?

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff
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Don't know. But they DO make 12v -> 120 v inverters. For a half-dozen lights, you're only talking about 100 watts, which should cost about $50.

Reply to
HeyBub

inverters lose or waste power in conversion. they do sell 12 volt regular fluroscnts for camping and RVs.......

any cabins campsites nearby?

had a fiend with this problem he ran a underground line to the nearest cabin and connected t them and split the power bill.

there are a variety of possible solutions how much does the power company want for a line?

Reply to
hallerb

Reply to
Art Todesco

Good grief. How did anyone ever manage to light his home before Edison and Westinghouse?

Tell your buddy to buy a few oil lamps.

Reply to
Doug Miller

You might look at camping lanterns and such. An example:

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LED lights would burn longer. I have a light kit from Home Depot for outdoor use. It recharges with a little solar panel during the day. Those LED lights don't look like much but put out a lot of light. Dean

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

Thanks That looks like something that might work. His wife wont allow any flame lights such as coleman or kerosene lanterns indoors., but this looks practical.

Reply to
maradcliff

They used whale-oil lamps. Really. Rockefeller, who brought the cost of a gallon of Kerosene down from $3.00/gallon to less than five cents, effectively brought an end to the whaling business. If John D. were to try that today, the government would be all over his butt claiming "unfair competition" etc.

Wait... Never mind.

Excellent suggestion. I've got five for emergencies. They burn about 1 cup of Kerosene in two hours. Five gallons of Kerosene (which NEVER goes bad) should last for a month.

If he wants to be modern, high-tech, and money is no object, get Coleman camp lanterns. They put out more light than a piddly 60-watt (or florescent equivalent) bulb anyway.

Reply to
HeyBub

Great..... Just what the doctor ordered.... I didn't think they were made.

Just curious what search phrase you used. I tried "12volt compact florescent" got nothing but some discussion group that was useless.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

I never knew they lost power, but I own one and it's noisy and they just dont seem to work the greatest. Of course mine was a real cheap thing. I never tried a light on it, but it barely wont run an small elec. drill. I dont even know were I put the thing, I was not impressed by it.

Not even close.

I dont know the exact amount but he said it was well over 3 grand. This is just a weekend getaway a few times a year so he dont want to pay for the service and pay a monthly bill too. He said his battery setup is just fine if only he could get bulbs that dont drain the battery so fast. He has a RV thing that charges 2 batteries so when he needs a charge he puts the battery in his pickup, and has quick clip on cables. It really is a decent setup for little money invested.

Reply to
maradcliff

I forgot to ask. Whats the name of that LED kit? Is that like those sidewalk lights or what? I cant imagine LEDs being bright enough, but I never really looked at a thing like that. Just the flashlights. My LED flashlights are fine for what it do, but surely not what I'd call bright. I'd be interested in seeing a lumen chart (I think thats the correct wording?). In other words, light output rating, compared to indecesant and florescent. I run mostly all compact florescents in my house and garage. They do a decent job. Most are the equivalabt to a

60W or a 100W bulb and only use 13 and 22 watts. One disadvantage to them, in my garage they take forever to get to full brightness in winter. I usually change half of them to standard bulbs when it gets real cold. I dont spend much time in there anyhow in winter.

Thanks

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

Suggest you and / or your friend visit alt.energy.homepower lots of expertise there on off-grid living.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

If you are talking about gasoline or white gas burning lanterns then I must disagree. Gasoline lanterns such as the Coleman type are unsuitable for use indoors. The fuel is flammable as opposed to combustible.

Flammable liquids give of ignitable vapors at normal ambient temperature and pressure. Those vapors are heavier than air and will flow along the floor like water and accumulate in low spots until and ignition source is encountered. One cup of gasoline can, under the worst circumstances, generate the explosive power of an entire stick of dynamite. Combustible liquids must be preheated, wicked, or atomized to make them readily ignitable.

That difference makes white gas and gasoline a much poorer choice for a fuel source for emergency use. If you want a brighter liquid fueled light then consider an Aladdin mantle lantern. Those burn as bright as a sixty watt incandescent electric light bulb but they are silent in operation and the kerosene that they burn for fuel is safer to store and handle. For a pressurized mantle lantern the Britelyt Petromax lanterns would be the way to go. There are cooking and heating adapters made for the Britelyt lanterns which adds to there versatility in emergency situations. There biggest advantage over the gas fueled lanterns is that they will burn a wide variety of flammable and combustible liquids. For indoor use Kerosene should be the liquid fuel of choice because it's lower flash point makes it safer to use and store.

Reply to
Thomas D. Horne, FF EMT

Reply to
Art Todesco

Add a couple marine batteries and if a truck can get to the cabin charge directly from truck using cables to home.or a generator with both 12 volt and 120 outputs.

a larger battery bank will have greater capacity. .

Reply to
hallerb

Reply to
Jim Redelfs

I believe they do, from what I saw in a catalog. It was a 12v light designed for 12v RV systems.

Might want to check that route.

tom @

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Reply to
Tom The Great

It's the kit here:

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Maybe they're not as bright as I think they are but they sure seem bright when one's eyes are adjusted for the dark. I have only 2 of the

3 hooked up.
Reply to
Dean Hoffman

You can get 12 volt fluorescent lamps on Ebay. they are made for mechanics who work on vehicles. Some wiring, and also to mount the lamps to the ceiling or to the wall. You've got light for awhile, until the power comes back on and you recharge your battery.

An inverter is also a good idea. And a float charger to keep the battery charged. Disconnect the inverter when not being used, it may drain the battery.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I agree on the gas or coleman fuel. I wont use that indoors. I got one that I have used outside for both camping and at home when the car is broke, or a sick animal or building stuff after dark.

I have used kerosene lamps indoors and feel pretty safe with them as long as there are no cats in the house that could knock it over.

I have heard of those aladdin lamps, in fact I think I saw one once when camping. But where do you get them. I assume they use kerosene.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

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