Good portable emergency light?

Funnily enough, I dug out a pair of those (they were daughters for when doing tree work in the winter) and charged and used them the other day and they are 'ok', for working.

Yes they would give you good emergency lighting but a bit directional and harsh for an all evening emergency light for Mum.

She gave me a bag of 4 torches to fix the other day.

One (a red one with handle, Ever Ready) just needed a battery, one of those big square ones with the springs on, 4R25, that I happened to have and still reads 6+V. It has a 4.75V x .5A flange type lamp and I've ordered an LED replacement.

Another 'Lomax' brand looks to have 4 very corroded D sized batteries in it (so I need to get some vinegar), and 4 x D cells. T think it takes the same lamp as the first one so I'll try the one I get in that and see what the light level and pattern is like and may get another.

The third is a pocket sized Brookstone branded multi-LED torch, that takes 3xAAA in a little carrier that is a bit corroded but should be recoverable.

The last is another pocket sized torch that looks like it can have one or 3 LED's on and takes a CR123A ... and I've ordered a couple.

Normally I wouldn't bother with anything that is too far gone (other than for the S&G's) but these were probably all bought by Dad and so the chances are Mum would like to see them going if possible.

Quite a few people seem to have bought these, like them and they look to cover all bases ...

Cheers, T i m

The Natural Philosopher was thinking very hard :

I'm not a bat :-)

Mine just plugs into a micro-usb phone charger. Since I have any number of these these scattered around everywhere it's less hassle than hunting for a mains lead. (One undeniable benefit of EU standards).

I have a couple of "camping lights" that are a bit like this

Is that another of your mushroom claims which is just a lie about Brian.

Bounce them off the ceiling.

Brighter, longer lasting, generally more lovely.

No but it isn't heavy enough to matter. It weighs less than a full bladder so should be insignificant for any old person.

Yes absolutely. I fit mine to children, and also to the backs of chairs, fence posts, and other temporary supports, in order to photograph fungus, copulating invertebrates, and other interesting things, at night.

Good grief no. That would be pointless. Too much fumbling.

?The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.? Wilde

It fits over a hard hat. I can't say for sure about a bun because I don't have one.

Yes, I put mine in my jeans back pocket on the way to the pub if I'll be coming back at dusk.

Bill

When there's low cloud I get no illumination from the heavens, and very little from the nearby cities. Since I walk in fields often occupied by livestock I really like to see where I'm placing my feet.

I have noticed that on a wet night there's more light reflected up to the clouds in the urban areas.

A few evenings ago we appeared to have two sunsets, about 75 deg apart.

Bill

F*ck me, what a crazy idea!

"How come you fell down the forty foot cliff?"

"Well, I normally avoid such things by listening for the echoes of my own breathing, but for some inexplicable reason I missed this one."

"Do you have a carer that we can contact? How did you escape by the way?"

Bill

Dave means, "Bounce the light off the ceiling."

Bill

I assume Dave meant "bounce the light beam off the ceiling", not the light.

Or the older person.

Owain

A full bladder is never insignificant for an old person.

Only the other week I found myself considering, shall I have a wee in Asda or can I make it to Tesco? And who has the nicer toilets?

Owain

Low cloud here and there's no light from "nearby" cities. Without local artificial light it's absolutely pitch black. Nearest street lights are a mile and half away and mostly hidden from view.

Cow pats are dark roundish patches against the lighter grass under star/moonlight. B-)

If you know where to look the sky glow from Carlisle is just a small blob on the horizon. Teeside 50 miles away is the worst offender. That can, under the right conditions, light up the best part of the ESE quadrant. On a really clear night though that sky glow is almost no existant. We have some of the darkest sky in England. B-)

Only needs to be 'bright enough.

Only needs to last as long as a power cut.

;-)

A full bladder on someone's head for several hours?

So, the strap is elastic?

Do they mind?

So by 'fit' that sounds like a specific action? On the Petzl you just pull the expanding strap out the size of the chair upright, child's head or adults head or *anything* in-between?

Except you *can* change them in a power cut.

'A fool and his money are soon parted'. Tusser. ;-)

;-)

You must have very big / baggy jeans Bill as the lamp alone looks to be about the same size as the Petzl *plus* you then have the battery pack, strap and cable, or am I looking at the wrong model?

Ledlenser 7297TP, 50 reviews, 3.6 stars.

It seems to suggest it uses 4xAAA so have you got one with a rechargeable battery pack (also available for the Petzl of course).

Petzl Zipka, 260 reviews, 4.8 stars.

;-)

Cheers, T i m

Yeah, but that means that somewhere in the room you have a beam of light going up like a searchlight and even if on a coffee table (let alone the floor, ready to become a trip hazard when it just cuts off when it goes flat), mot nice to look into (and you generally do), when compared with the diffused mostly horizontal light from a 'lantern' etc.

Like this:

If you wish to add words when the meaning is clear to most, yes. ;-)

It's what lamps do - produce light. The units themselves don't normally bounce that well.

Following this thread, I received yesterday:

All fitted with batteries and discreetly dotted around the house and I'm pretty happy.

If you turn all the lights off at night, they are easily triggered and throw enough light to make the lounge visible.

Little bit rattly to fit (I used a single screw into door frames, but they supply some stick pads).

So a worst-case scenario: neighbourhood power cut at night - they'll kick in automiagically and let me get to a lantern or torch.

Not quite sure how to read:

"After testing, every 3 batteries can be used for 30 days, which is very Durable and safe."

I hope that doesn't mean replacing the batteries every 30 days when only in "standby". 30 days "on", even in 20 second bursts, seems rather long (720 hours) from 3 alkaline x AAA's.

Dave Liquorice has brought this to us :

I think it probably does mean that, I assume they use PIR detection to sense a 'body', to turn on.

When I made my own LED lighting for the kitchen, that's how it works. Off the ceiling. 3W of DC worth. Maybe around 240 lumens. Enough light to make tea.

And there's a limit as to how much light you can bounce off the ceiling, before the glare from it gets you. I have some LED floods, that are too "hot" to do that.

Paul