ABR - SIDEWINDER replied:

50m radius ?

How high is the branch ?

Sounds like a sports field not a camp site ;-)

TerraFirma replied:

There are plenty of 12v Fluros that would achieve what you want. As for standalone battery packs they should be able to power a 12V Fluro for 3 nights and charge an Ipod etc. The other option is buy a battery box and put your choice of battery in for even more power. I have a Projecta Battery Box that has served me well, take your pick, buy something as big as possible. I would also suggest a 12V LED Light for when you don't need the power of a Fluro, the insects will love the Fluro and perhaps drive you crazy.

REV'S replied:

Hi Codmaster,
Look into solar power panels
Cheers Mary Anne

DIO replied:

Here's what you need. LINK

Maîneÿ . . . replied:

What you need is something like this 12v light or possibly 2 or three as they are soo cheap, you can buy larger capacity globes than the 60 watt (equivelent) I use

Run it from a "quality" 100 ah AGM Deep Cycle battery, reason being it will recharge fast daily

Obviously change the light cable fitting (from 240v) to one that will securely attach to the AGM battery, they can also be made waterproof

= 60 watt globe

Maîneÿ . . .

Boobook2 replied:

A flouro ( or 2) won't light up more than about 10 - 12m radius with much light. 40 - 50m radius is a big area.

I have a HID work lamp which I put on the top of a long tent pole that clips onto my roof rack. The higher the better. It lights up the sort of area you are looking at, like daylight. You can make it by buying a H3 worklight then doing a HID upgrade on it. ( like driving lights), or there is usually one on ebay for about $180.

I only use it when a group is setting up at night or sometimes at meal time when we go with a large group of people as it is very bright but you lose the camping atmosphere.

Downside is that it draws 3.5A which means that you would get about 14 hours out of a 100AH battery. But then again if you really do want to light that area then you would need 5 -6 flouros at least and it would be worse. You are asking for a lot of light.

Mandrake's Solar Power replied:

I use one of these 91 LED BL109B from this mob
Scroll down to BL109B or W

Ot has a rubber outer cover ( waterproof ) and drop-proof -Lights up my annex area 2m X 3.5m quite well - draws .48 Amps so 2 of these would do you with a 100aH AGM should last the 3 days you require ..

Rgds

Mandrake

Sand Man (SA) replied:

You are already aware of the Blue Apple Thumper and I can state by personal experience that they are a worthwhile investment.

A 75Ah unit is a good choice for a multitude of applications. Anything bigger and they become difficult to handle as they are quite heavy.
This size Thumper is available in two styles. The cheaper one doesn't have "jump start" capability, but if you are investing a considerable amount in a premium battery pack, the addition of jump start capability would be a wise choice.
These units also come with an in-car charging kit so you can recharge the pack from your vehicle if necessary.

As for a suitable light, I wouldn't go past one or the other of the following two lamps.

Verslite Fluro - 12 volt DC - 1 amp draw. Also available as Piranha brand but is the same light.
Verslite available from most major camping stores or from the ExplorOz Shop.
Piranha available from TJM stores Country wide.

Evakool Torpedo 12 volt DC - 0.45 amp draw.

Versalite also have released an LED version of there product using the same casing but I have not used one and not sure of the amount of light emitted.

Bill.

Member - Pesty (SA) replied:

We have spent many a night around the camp with 12v 11w fluro's from piranha.
Roachie has a small 7ah battery, and usually lasts to the stayers of the fire b4 it dies. Think from memory they draw about 0.9 - 1. amps.
I suggest a couple of these 11w fluro light would take the dark out of the camp, and a 100AH deep cycle car battery fully charged, would give you 4-5 nights of light with sensible use without charging.
The laptop will kill it in no time, so if you are going to use it for anything other than the suggested lighting, you will need some means of charging it.
Much much cheaper to buy battery power in car battery size and put it in a proper battery box than to buy battery packs.
Out of 10 tents, no one has acess to a quiet genny you can run for a few hours during the day with a large charger, 20 - 25 amp?

Pesty

CodMaster replied:

Thank you all for the valuable input! You guys are so helpful.
So this is what I have in mind…

Battery box: Based on everyone’s opinion I’ve opted for TerraFirma’s battery box idea, I’ll need to get a big battery box and dump the highest AH rating AGM battery that can fit (and that I can afford!) into it. I’m guessing around 100AH but the more the better, in cases of extended trips. The box will need a cigarette socket (what’s the proper name for those?) so I can run a small inverter that I have for the laptop or the adapter specified by ABR – Sidewinder.

Accessories: ABR – Sidewinder’s charger and outlet board. It would be perfect for multiple lights.

Light: Mainey’s lights look like what I’m after. Looks sturdy and the bulbs are replaceable. 2 or 3 of those would do just fine. Problem is:
1) Where can I buy it? (checked ebay already, any stores I can visit?)
2) Ofcourse... price, how much do they go for?
3) The photo shows a 240v mains plug. I have an in-car inverter that can do 120w (for the laptop), but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use it for lighting purposes. Mainey suggests to change the fitting to attach it to the AGM battery, how would I go about doing this?

I might pop into some outdoor stores this weekend and look for some of these Versalite/Piranha fluros too.

Other thoughts...
- Boobook2’s HID idea would indeed be overkill. I know you must be thinking I’m being finicky. Also the battery consumption rate is a little too high. I think I may have exaggerated the lighting radius, but on those dark moonless nights, even a little light can go so far.
- People have suggested LED lamps. From my experience, there are dodgy LED lamps that use cheap/low quality emitters that don’t do the job and others that use much brighter/powerful emitters but often have heat issues due to prolonged usage. I’m going with the safer bet with the 360/180deg illuminating fluorescents.

Member - Lia H (SA) replied:

HI, thanks for putting this up, I am looking into all power options at the moment as well.

Can someone please explain in girl terms (sorry to the many very competent lasses out there when it comes to power terms, but I'm not one of them!!) the smart charger?

We have a hilux, and are putting a spare 100ah battery underneath the hood. If we got another spare battery, is there a system that will recharge them without alot of driving? We are looking at moving to an area for a few months work and then moving to another area, so there won't be LOTS of daily drivinng, moreso the trip to whereever the worksite is and back and maybe some errands.

We have a three way fridge, so I'd say we'd run that on gas. We will get a few lights for night, but other than that, it's just the laptop, which I have calculated to be about 30-40 ah a day, if I use it for about 5 hours a day (home schooling).

With a smart charger, where is it hooked up to and going to...does the car need to be running, and all of the threads ive seen say, you could charge it in XYZZ driving hours - if you have several stints of driving a day but no big ones - will they accumulate?

Thanks alot.

Lia