To be honest I'm not certain what type of battery is inside, but it won't be a "leisure" type so you will probably need to derate it by 50 percent.
So the average 12 volt 4 watt fluorescent lamp should run for maybe 24 hours in between charges. (these lamps seem to generally be under-run - so even the twin tube ones only run at 8 watts)
(of course you then have to hope you don't need it to jump start the car
We took two rechargeable lanterns this year (no EHU), one LED and one flourescennt . The LED was brightest but used the flourescent more as it had remote control and with young children was handy at night because of that.
We have just bought (ahead of next year - or hopefully later this month) a camping gaz Stellia CV which uses a Butane Propene mix (according to the gas can) with two mantles. It gives off an extremely bright light (apparently equivalent to 150w on full) which can of course be lowered.
It does however being gas have to be used far more carefully and we intend ours to be an outside lamp because of the children and use the two rechargeable lanterns in the tent.
Hi No Faff
The unit as a 17amp hour battery, assuming when new it is what it is rated at, it would run an 8 Watt 12volt DC strip light for 24hours continues.
Rex.
------------- "Be the person your dog thinks you are" (BM)
I've got a 5 in 1 /17ah /12-240v power station from towsure product code P439 which i use to power a 10 inch tv and dvd player which is 20 watts.It is avaliable from towsure for about £85 but it is for sale at malpins for £69.I have not fully tested it to see how long it last yet.
If you have an electrical hookup I wqould recommend a buiders light I have free standing one that has the low energy lamps in. This gives off loads of light and is quite safe as the low energy tubes also are low heat which is where the fire risk comes from. Otherwise if you have no hookup the only alternative is the LED lights there are loads around and they are cheap and very safe. But they do get through batteries, we used 2 in Cornwall and Wales this year and they used 3 AAA batteries every 2 days (around 4/5 hours use).
Best Regards,
Steve.
We've gone down the LED lights route. However, instead of usual ones like steven refers to, we have solar powered shed lights (came from Homebase, for less than £5 each). They each have 9 (or more?) LEDs and the solar panel is more effective than I thought it would be - we can leave it inside the tent and it still charges during the daytime! The panel charges the AA batteries inside the light, so it only needs to be connected to the light when charging. The lights themselves can also take normal AA batteries which would be useful if you forgot to charge it.
We bought a ufo led light from wilkinsons for £2 this gives off some amazing light even on the lower setting and just takes AA batteries it's much better than all the so called lanterns we've bought and a much cheaper option. It's worth a try they're so cheap.
we got the ufo lamps too. we have a battery charger that runs off cig sockets in the car but the batteries lasted the whole of our 9 day trip this year. we did need at least 2 to light up our biarritz 6 but when you get them from a pound shop you can afford to buy a few!
Also, have recently seen an inverter in a camping equipment magazine. I'm guessing that by connecting one of these to the car battery you can then use a normal household table lamp with a 3 pin plug. Would it give out the same amount of light as at home and how long could we run it for before draining the car battery?
We don't use an inverter for camping, but my husband got issued with one for work as he has a few 240v power tools that he occasionally needs to use in locations where there's no power. Every time he's used it, it's blown a fuse on his van, so we're not very impressed!
We manage fine with an LED lantern for ambient light and LED headlights (approx £5 from a builders merchant) for task lighting. The headlights are brilliant as they're very bright, shine right on what you're looking at and leave your hands free.
If you need light that is bright enough to actually do something eg read rather than to illuminate a space, then the best thing is a headtorch. Don't laugh, I have given in and bought one for myself this year and wish I had done so ages ago. A clear bright light which is always pointing exactly where you want it to and leaves your hands free.
Just be careful you don't buy one that is too clumsy or heavy on your head! MT
And why should people laugh at something so eminently practical, I'd like to know?
They're brill, I wouldn't be without mine. Mr F uses his at home as well, ideal for searching in dark corners of the loft where you're standing in yru own light.
They're the only thing for clearing up after the dogs after dark - there's no way I can hold two leads, a torch and a poo bag!
My neighbours bought me a a brilliant LED circle from the pound shop of all places, it needs 4 AA batteries, but the light from it is fantastically bright, though take a supply of batteries in case of emergency.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: BRIGHT Lighting - no EHU
