Light options for campsite

I found a dual tube flouro powered by two of those dolphin torch batteries very usefull.

A question to others, though I don;t want to hijack your thread. Can you buy a LED lantern similar in size and output to a 12v flouro? That is what I would like to have.

David O

I usually only use lights to eat and cook by - the rest of the time I rely on the fire and a torch.

I would suggest you make you own using a 12V electronic fluoro from Jaycar (SL2850) and base (PS4072) plus a plastic food container from the $2 shop. You can happily run this from your normal car battery for at least 10 hours before having to consider charging it.

The cheap 12V lights from Super Cheap et al are OK, but they use more current and are less efficient.

Mike Harding

Smocky

12 V fluoros are the way to go INMO ... negilble current draw even off the main battery so can be used with confidence. Bloody gas units ... blooby mantles ... bloody glasses ... bloody jets ... get my drift. Only other option ... hurricane lamp.

Cheers

Smocky,

good to see you as a member mate. The lowest current draw I have seen for light is the LED option but they are very directional. Someone had a mention of them last week at about .25 of the current draw of the fluro option. I saw white light LEDs at the Melbourne outdoors show at about $60-70.00 for reversing lights. I would have the phone number somewhere but you may find it in the archives here. A flouro would still be my best suggestion with 11 watts required if you required a flood. I do understand the question over the single battery, but still the flouro.

Gidday All, I agree with the fluro idea.I purchased 3 of those power saver fluro's in 12 volts mounted them in a plastic container and they are fantastic.Very little drain on the battery.I also put in the container a sheet of orange or yellow plastic wrapped around the fluro to act as a insect reppellent (yes it does work just like those yellow tubes).I take them everywhere with me and they work well.You can plug them into the cig lighter or power supply with the correct plug and socet.
Seeya Locallaw

Smocky,

I use the versalite to light up camp and for after dinner etc a "miners light", from Jaycar. Triple LED torch that can detach from headband/attach to a cap or many other places. $20 inc 3xAAA.
Consider a "power pak" for the light that can be charged on the fly from your cig lighter. The low draw of the fluro will have minimal impact, $250? (pak & light)with change
my 2c worth.

See ya in the bush, well maybe::::::))) is that you Smocky

Smocky, you need to get that rig picture up mate so we can see who you are!!

Here we go again, everyone has an opinion on this one.

You can't go wrong with one (or even 2) of these fluro's for around the camp kitchen/dinner table. We started with a Versalite as it was pretty much the only decent one available a few years back. Since then the copies have come out and we bought another Primus one quite a lot cheaper and it works much the same only the lead is a couple of metres shorter. They only draw 1A so you will not need dual batteries. Great to just jump out and hang one off a tree to set up camp by after dark, so quick, safe, powerfull.

We also have one of the Coleman black brick fluro rechargeables that the kids use, it's portable and I don't care if they fllatten it, just charge off the car the next day. Not cheap to start with but ours is 4 YO still going strong.

Everyone in the family has a different colour Dolphin

We have a medium sized Hurricane running on citronella for after dinner

In winter we often don't use the Fluro's as much and fire a Tilley X246 Storm Lantern (pressure kero, now odourless) for the camp kitchen and dinner table for the heat and atmosphere....hissssss.

Hi Smocky

Inexpensive fluros can be had from Whitworths Marine and the say Springers 12 volt shop. These cost about a quarter of the $80 Camping Goods store lights and provide up to 16 watts of light. So $20 - $25 depending on whats on sale. Super Cheap also has them.

If you want radio free inteference then you will need to pay around $60 per light from Springers or a specialist 12 volt shop of some sort.

For expensive lights, the camping goods stores all have good ranges. Personally I can't see the difference in a Versa light for $90 and a Whitwoths light for $20 and I have both. All of which are about to be surplus to requirements.

I have just converted totally to LED lights in my CT. Expensive but now drawing less than .6 - .7 of an amp where before the combined drain was over 5 amps.

I use three 20 degree spread MR16 Dichroic LED lights for reading lights, two over the dining table and one over the bed, a 3 watt MR16 Dichroic 100 degree spread Luxeon Emitter LED for general lighting in the annex. A 28 LEDs on panel light that plugs into a standard car light fitting (ie like in a tail light) for general lighting in the tent itself.

Lastly 3 LED Festoon bulbs that don't even move the ammeter for lighting in the pots and pans storage area near the kitchen.

The 20 degree LEDs came from Australia via the Net and the rest were from the USA also via the net. (the 3 watt LED Emitter, the 28 LED panel and the 3 festoon LEDs)

They throw more than enough light but of course not as much a a fluro (which I reckon are too bright in any case), draw almost zero current, do not attract insects, give off no heat and do not intefere with the radio.

But visit your bank manager first to take out a second loan. Lights average $50 - $60 each made up. So far I have invetsed well over $250 on the lights but consider it well worth it.

So, fluro or LED is a good choice. Know a few people who use only LED in camp. Never any worries at all about battery drain.

Cheers

Magnus

Hi Smocky
We have some rechargalble twin fluro lanterns from Supercheap auto. You can have 1 or 2 of the fluros on. Great cheap option, you can pick them up for about $20 on special. They have a fantastic battery, ours are about 4 years old now and still on the original tubes. I have wrap some reflective material around half of one of them to focus the light.
cheers

Adam

i always laugh at the silly b%stards playing with mantles and trying to get gas lights to go.

generally end up using my fluro for 30 minutes trying to get their gas light going!

ive run the fluro for up to 6hours a nite off my single battery. i dont have a voltmeter on the battery so i dont know how much life it actually sucks out of it but ive never noticed any difference when i turn the key in the morning.

also have a rechargable coleman fluro that i use when moving around.... it gets about 4hours with both tubes running.... you can run it on single tube only and i guess youd get longer. 4 hours isnt much but it recharges off a cigarette lighter after just a few hours driving.

Probably shouldn't tell you all this as my supplier has jacked up her prices already realising she has a saleable commodity and this'll only make it worse but here goes....

Routine servicing of electric wheelchairs and scooters involves replacement of batteries whether they are stuffed or not.

I started buying 12v 26Ah and 40Ah gel cells 2 years ago of the local Scooters Australia joint for about $5 each. I only bought the ones that held 12volts after they had been off charge in the scrap heap for a while.

I have three banked together powering the electric trolling motor in the tinnie and can troll for two days fishing on impoundments off the combined 120Ah capacity. Less against the current on the Murray.

I have three others that I keep charged in the shed and I just grab one and chuck it in when i go camping. A cigarette socket and a Hella socket with bulldog clips on them live in the light box and if I want to run a light away from the ute I just sit a battery there and hook up the versa/pirhana light and away i go.

Gel cells have the advantage that you can use them upright, on their side, or upside down. They need to be kept on a float charge when not in use and should never be run to completely flat.

I use a Projecta On Board charger to keep them in good nick ($55 Bursons) which you just leave on them all the time when not in use. You can bank them up together to charge and I float two or three of one charger.

I can rotate them through the boat if I'm away more than 2 days too.

A 26 Ah will run a single Versa light for about 5 hours a night for 4 nights. The 40Ah about 7 nights.

On that topic too. The Versalight is made in Australia by Burnbrite in Melbourne (Mountain Hwy I think) and I reckon just looking at it they are contract manufacturing for Pirhana. Can anyone state otherwise as 100% fact? The design is too similar for it not to be the case or Burnbrite would have had Pirahna in court yonks ago.

They are a great light whichever color the packet - and you are buying Aussie.

Anyway, I was paying $5 a battery (they have to pay to dispose of them if they chuck them) and that has doubled in the last 18 months. I expect it will either double again now - or they'll never have any when I want them because you've all bought them!

Of all the ones I've bought they are all still going fine, either at my place, in my boat, in Frank's boat running his sounder or any number of other mates who have got them off me.

You could price them new but make sure you are sitting down......

DJ

Smocky,

Don't know your budget constraints, but here's my dollar's worth.

Firstly, I agree with most on the efficiency and practicality of a good 12 volt fluro such as the Versalite or Piranha (same manufacturer with a different badge)
These can be run off the car battery, or if you wish to use them away from the car, a 12 volt battery pack which doubles as a jump starter.
e.g. Projecta which were on special recently at Repco. There are other brands available such as the Waeco units but these are expensive by comparison, although very good.

Secondly, I would recommend a good quality fluro battery powered lantern. The one I have runs off a 6 volt lantern battery (energiser type) and lasts ages.
The lantern I use almost exclusively in the tent (now camper trailer) is a Coleman Northstar and has a low and high setting, plus a yellow night light. My search on the Coleman Web site shows a similar unit that runs off 2 6 volt lantern batteries, or 8 D-cells. Mine is several years old and may be out of production by now.

My suggestion is to buy good quality gear, bit by bit, as funding permits and you should receive many years of trouble free service in return.

Happy Camping!

Im currently using some 36 LED reversing lights which are 86mm square, and throw some excellent light.

I have a 12v fluoro (Nelson) but since I have acquired an LED headlight I rarely switch it on. Get all the kids headlights too. Much less light pollution and you can still see the stars.

Smooky as a few have said, LED's are the way to go. Here's another mob to link to, they're over you way somewhere.

I've ordered the 24LED maglight torch, should be here this week.

http://www.ledshoponline.com/24_led-flashlight.htm

Have a look at Nelson energy saver globes go to garden lights scroll down to 12v fluro globes they are brilliant as good as versalite if not better we have them in our camper they only use 1amp hour.

Baz.

I'll get some pix and show you when i can.

Baz.

Supercrap Auto do two different portable battery/rechargable camp lights. I have 3 x lights at the moment.
1 x Coleman Twin Fluro Rechargable Light $99
1 x Supercrap Cheapies (same as above) $19.95
1 x Supercrap Cheapie (upmarket one) $29.95

All three lights come with 240v Power Pack and 12v Cigarete lighter plug for recharging, they last 8 hours when running one lamp and you can charge them while driving or do what I do and charge them during the day with my aux lighter plugs in the back.
There really isn't any difference between them, I've opened them all up at one time or another and they all use the same brand's of battery etc. If you get 2 or 3 you can hang them in the tents and off trees all around the place. Cheap, flexiable and reliable IMO.

Best camp light I've found is the Superlight from WA Solar which uses a 2D square fluro tube. When we hang 2 of them up they are so bright most people swear we're running off a genny but they only use the same power as Versa Lights on 12V. Cheers Craig..................

All the different fluoros sound interesting, and LEDs too. Gives me something to follow up before the next trip.

I have run fluoros off one of our car batteries, and even made up an extension lead for those national park camp sites where you need to park ther car on the other side of a barrier. Got fed up with people tripping over the lead though.

Tried those rechargeable fluro lights a few years ago and the batteries didn't last that long. They were NiCad so I suppose they only had so many reharges. Ended up throwing the whole thing out because I couldn't replace the batteries.

Last trip I got a 18amp hour SLA (small lead acid battery 12V sealed) which weighs about 2kg from Jaycar and set that up to plug the light (or 2) into. Got one of thier 1.5amp output regulators for a solar panel and hooked it up to the car battery. Too much charge and you fry these batteries, and used it to charge the battery every few days.

The portable lighting was great. Battery went 4 nights with recharging.

John C