LED lights for our first family camping trip (Xmas)
Submitted: Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:04
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Agent009
Hey everyone
We are going on our first family camping trip for Xmas...or should I say glamping (setting up in caravan park). We are slowly ticking off things that we have needed to buy and the next thing on my list is lighting.
We only plan on camping at caravan parks which have sites with 240V power.
There's 2 lights on how "To Buy" list...one for the tent and one for the gazebo. We would like both lights to be LED as they don't attract bugs/insects. And I've been told the latest LED's are very
bright.
1. The tent light is ok to run off batteries and we just want something very cheap. We also want to hang it from the top of the tent so it needs to be something which can hang. We were thinking this one from Anaconda:
http://www.anaconda.com.au/Product/Camping-Gear/Dune-Utility-Light#90035458
Only thing is it only outputs at 80 lumens so don't think this will be very
bright. The tent light doesn't need to be overly
bright but what do people think on the above light. Is there any other better cheaps ones that you could recommend?
2. The gazebo light needs to run off 240V (or at least rechargeable via 240V). We have a power board with RCD/safety switch as
well. We like the look of this one:
http://www.exploroz.com/Shop/4x4_Equip+EVOLight_LED_Rechargeable.aspx
We like how it can be used whilst charging. It only outputs 150 Lumen so again, not sure if this is
bright enough as we wanted the gazebo light to be
bright enough to light up the entire 9 square metres (3x3). I guess you can place this light where you want though which is a plus.
Anyway, what does everyone think of above or is there better options we should be looking at?
Thanks so much!!
Reply By: Agent009 - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:07
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:07
Also looking at this one for Gazebo:
http://www.exploroz.com/Shop/Smart_Choice_LED+LED_Rechargeable_Portable_Flood_Light.aspx
AnswerID:
521038
Follow Up By: Member - johnat - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 16:50
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 16:50
We got a couple of these for our hiking trip in Taswegia.
Work a charm and light the tent up
bright enough to read by.
see here
Cheers
John
FollowupID:
801652
Reply By: Member - Brenton H (SA) - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:34
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:34
Check out Korrlighting.com.au
Has something for a number of situations and uses. Are 12v LED and can also use with a 240 AC transformer they sell
The remote control on/off/dimmer is neat.
Cheers
Brenton
AnswerID:
521040
Follow Up By: Agent009 - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:53
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 15:53
The dimmer functionality does sound cool. However, it's $40 a metre and I'm guessing I would need a good few metres so it could get pricey.
Plus the transformer is $60 which adds to the price.
I do like the look of the 50cm Light Bar at $40:
http://korrlighting.com.au/led-light-bar-18w.html
However, I then need AC cable plugged in etc. hence why I liked the look of the rechargeables. If the korr ones are recommended I'll definitely consider it though.
FollowupID:
801646
Reply By: Patrol GU VI - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 16:37
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 16:37
Hi Agent009,
Just on your point of attracting the insects, I don't think that the LED's themselves are what stops the attraction of the bugs, but in fact the colour of the LED's. I have a set of white LED strip lights in the back of my 4WD and when on at night, it still attracts all the bugs. (you live and learn!!) I am of the belief that the Amber coloured LED's are the ones to go for if you are after some that the bugs are not attracted to.
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Reply By: Mick O - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 18:23
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 18:23
I got one of these from the exploroz
shop. It has a twin LED system that you can select one or both. It also comes in one white and one yellow strip if insects are bad. Gives you a choice.
LED wand
The other strip light I use is a ribbon in a velcro backed pouch. Can be hung, strapped or velcroed.
Mine is a dual switching again so you have two brightness settings. Advantage is that it rolls up and is easier to store than the tube type.
Strip light
Here's another one on Ebay
Strip light - ebay
Cheers Mick
AnswerID:
521051
Reply By: Member - Bruce C (NSW) - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 19:07
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 19:07
009,
If you want some cheap but effective camping LEDs them you could do a lot worse than the reject
shop.
They have some cheap round 24 LED "Camping Lights" as they call them at the moment and they are run off 4 AA batteries. They are a light
grey and are 135mm in diameter.
They are $5 each, batteries not included. I was impressed with them and have bought several for placing in under the awning if needed. They are good inside cupboards as
well as they do not have a focused beam like a lot of LED lights.
They also come with a simple hook setup which means they can be hung easily to point up or down, which ever is required.
With a little imagination and some basic electronics knowledge they can be hooked up in series to work off 12 volts if needed or use a resistor to run them individually.
Certainly worth trying to see if they are suitable for your needs.
Cheers, Bruce.
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AnswerID:
521053
Follow Up By: Member - Bruce C (NSW) - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 19:15
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 19:15
These are exactly the same as the ones in Johnats followup link.
Cheers, Bruce.
| At home and at ease on a track that I know not and
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Reply By: Agent009 - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 21:16
Reply By: John and Regina M - Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 21:58
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013 at 21:58
Outside the square but....
Have you thought of old fashioned kero hurricane lamps or Primus gas lamps?
Sad that they seem to be disregarded nowadays for anything electrical, especially if it has a gimmick attached, like camping led lights with a dimmer and/or a remote or a battery pack.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Agent009 - Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 11:52
Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 11:52
Not really considering those….we will only be camping at caravan parks on powered sites. So we would rather take advantage of the fact we have power and use something 240V.
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Reply By: John and Regina M - Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 13:09
Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 13:09
No probs. But....
Glamping, not camping.
Pretty far removed from real camping.
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Follow Up By: Agent009 - Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 13:10
Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 13:10
If you read my first post I stated glamping :)
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Reply By: John and Regina M - Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 14:42
Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 14:42
Yes no probs. U used the term camping as
well. I guess in error.
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Follow Up By: Agent009 - Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 14:57
Friday, Nov 08, 2013 at 14:57
No not in error
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Reply By: Jos - Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 00:22
Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 00:22
Just something to think about - lighting works much better if you hang it above. So, if you want to light the gazebo, look for something you can mount on the roof parts. That way you avoid someone walking or standing in front of the light and always having shadows.
Also, I've found it good to be able to have different levels of lighting. I'm a fan of the "dimmer switch" or having a few small lights so you can turn one off if you want to. Much more flexibility to adjust lighting to suit your location and needs.
I realize you want to light the whole 9m2 up, but remember over Christmas, you may have very close camping neighbours.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Agent009 - Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 07:51
Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 07:51
Thanks Jos!! That's some really good advice. So based on your
feedback something with a dimmer would really suit us. There is 1 metre flex tape from korr lightning...would 1 metre be enough? Also, I would have to buy 240V converter and because these are not rechargeable I would always have the power cable in the way....something I was trying to avoid. I'll keep thinking but I'm still thinking something rechargeable at this stage.
Is there any such thing as rechargeable led (240V) that has a dimmer?
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Follow Up By: Jos - Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 11:41
Saturday, Nov 09, 2013 at 11:41
To be honest, I only ever use energy efficient 12v lighting as I've not yet camped with 240v power available (but will soon).
However, consider trying
places like SuperCheap for work lights. They have a few rechargeable LED hanging lights in different sizes that may do the job, e.g.
SCA rechargeable work light
No dimmer, but just buy a large and small and adjust when needed. I'll probably buy a small version of this (or similar) for when I'm camping at the back of the in-laws place at Christmas (with 240 power available). I'm not really keen on spending much $$ on something I won't use long-term.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: bks - Monday, Nov 11, 2013 at 16:15
Monday, Nov 11, 2013 at 16:15
Try Supercheap auto they have a great range of 12 and 240 volt lights. They call them work lights so they don't carry the usual mark up the camping stores have.
I have bought 3 from them over the years and am very happy with them. With the 12 volt lights I have bought the small GEL batteries from Jcar to run them.
Welcome to camping, hope you have a great time. Be a bit wary of being caught in the trap of buying expensive gear all the time from Camping stores,( apart from tents and sleeping gear which you should always get the best you can afford) you can usually get the same products on line or other stores like BigW Kmart etc.
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