Power Outage, How many Lumens, How many batteries? (for lights and more)

[reppans]

Dear reppans,
You know... I am a McGyver junkie.
A single D cell has, what? 4 to 12 times the capacity of a AA or AAA battery?

Please share with us, HOW you did this.

Hey Poppy, just based on Energizer's datasheets, it seems ~ 7x to 17x. You have a PM

 

[Poppy]

Are those Energizer lanterns from Walmart or Target any good in the event of a long term power outage ?

Typically, lanterns don't do really well for indoor lighting because they typically create a lot of glare, and ceiling bounced flashlights do a better job. But when you are out-doors, ceiling bouncing is not often an option

Energizer came up with a way to reduce glare to a minimum by bottom lighting a diffused light panel. They call it "Light Fusion Technology"

zespectre wrote a nice "Real World Review" of the 300 Lumen Energizer Folding Lantern with light fusion technology.
The high points are: it is a regulated light, runs on 4, OR 8 AA batteries/eneloops, it is electronically dim-able, (300 high, 30 lumens low, and anywhere in-between), 180 or 360 degree output, and manages glare extremely well, even at high output. The tint appears to be a neutral white. I liked it so much that I soldered a USB cable to it so that I can run mine from an 18650 power bank. I then had to try out it's little brother the 150 lumen Pop Up Lantern.

I wrote a brief review of the Energizer 150 lumen Pop Up Lantern
It is also regulated, handles glare very well, is compact, is electronically dimmable 150 to 15 lumens, and everywhere in-between, and it has a NW tint. It runs about 8.5 hours on high, and about 75 hours on low, on four duraloops. It is currently only $15 online at Target, and they honor the online price at the store, thereby eliminating the shipping charges. IMO, a super deal.

I also wrote a review of the Walmart "Ozark Trail 300 Lumen Lantern"
It is a low cost ($14.97) single Cree XB-D emitter and runs on three D cells.
It has a high and low and just uses two different resistors.
It has a CW tint, but not a terrible blue. For a couple of dollars I picked up a warm/NW XB-D and it was very easy to swap it in.
A little more challenging was to remove the inner diffuser and swap in one that was a little better.
What really impressed me with this lantern was how long 3 D alkaline cells can power an LED lantern under low loads. I imagine that just about any 3D cell lantern that starts at 50 lumens or less, will run for 7 hours a night for a month. In other words, each D cell (under low loads) will have a similar capacity to a 18650 cell.

 

[bluemax_1]

Thanks for the info Poppy. I have the Siege and UST 30-day lanterns and the much cheaper Ozark lantern is interesting. I'll have to pick one up at Wally World.

That Energizer lantern is even more interesting. Might be just the ticket for working on the car.


Max

 

[ryukin2000]

i finally had a change to play with one of these energizer lanterns at a friends place. pretty neat. its peaked my interested since Poppy did a short review of it. but its too bad target sells it over here in Canada for $25. $30 for the bigger one.

as to reppans mod. its ingenious. someone or even foursevens needs to make a D cell body that will fit the low voltage Quark heads. i would be all over it. sure it make look funny but the practicality of it is awesome.

 

[Treeguy]

Good post and good review, Poppy.

I like those lanterns but I'm still holding out for the Rayovac Indestructible lantern. Unfortunately no one carries it yet. Home Depot has a great flashlight wall, best around here, tons of stuff, but it's like a 2013 greatest hits list.

 

[Poppy]

Thanks for the info Poppy. I have the Siege and UST 30-day lanterns and the much cheaper Ozark lantern is interesting. I'll have to pick one up at Wally World.

That Energizer lantern is even more interesting. Might be just the ticket for working on the car.


Max

Max,
This is what jmsodpc had to say...

so i bought the ozark lantern today from walmart for $15....i tried it out and i like it. i have two siege lanterns and think they are nicer and have some nicer features (the hooks for hanging are nicer, the led lit on switch is nicer, and the fit and finish is nicer). that being said..this ozark lantern cost half the price...i dont think the siege is twice as good...overall i think its a good purchase and think it will be just fine in a black out.

martinaee did a nice review of the Streamlight Siege with some run-time/out-put pictures of it running Tenergy NiMH D cells.

From what I have read, the Favourlight Lanterns (Siege, UST, Rayovac S3D) appear to have PWM in the lower settings. So they use some kind of a driver, I would like to see a run-time/out-put graph of them running 3D alkalines. So that they could be compared to the Ozark Trail.

Certainly we have seen different regulated graphs, I'd like to know what the Siege ones look like.

 

[maxaman1981]

Re: Power Outage, How many Lumens, How many batteries?

I'd just have Nightsearcher Trio on each (three) floor that does come on in the event of a power outage. A small adjustment upon activation and they will stay on for 14 hours at half power. I agree that there is not much use in lighting rooms that people arn't in so I light up each hallway with said lights to walk around house rather than indvidual rooms and then I'd do both the streamlight sidewinder compacts with instruction to keep it on the lowest red led for maximum battery life for the two kids, and the ordinary sidewinder for the other adult, again to be kept on the lowest red led and then possibly for me it would have to be my Nightsearcher commander on low mode, as I know how to operate it and get it to that mode and it will get 120 hours per each two battery. But I do rather like the idea of my Streamlight sidewinder (double AA) for me during an outage, due to the 200+ hours of battery life for the red led on low. And the fantastic design of the light making it far easier to change batteries in the dark.

 

[C.M.S]

Typically, lanterns don't do really well for indoor lighting because they typically create a lot of glare, and ceiling bounced flashlights do a better job. But when you are out-doors, ceiling bouncing is not often an option

Energizer came up with a way to reduce glare to a minimum by bottom lighting a diffused light panel. They call it "Light Fusion Technology"

zespectre wrote a nice "Real World Review" of the 300 Lumen Energizer Folding Lantern with light fusion technology.
The high points are: it is a regulated light, runs on 4, OR 8 AA batteries/eneloops, it is electronically dim-able, (300 high, 30 lumens low, and anywhere in-between), 180 or 360 degree output, and manages glare extremely well, even at high output. The tint appears to be a neutral white. I liked it so much that I soldered a USB cable to it so that I can run mine from an 18650 power bank. I then had to try out it's little brother the 150 lumen Pop Up Lantern.

I wrote a brief review of the Energizer 150 lumen Pop Up Lantern
It is also regulated, handles glare very well, is compact, is electronically dimmable 150 to 15 lumens, and everywhere in-between, and it has a NW tint. It runs about 8.5 hours on high, and about 75 hours on low, on four duraloops. It is currently only $15 online at Target, and they honor the online price at the store, thereby eliminating the shipping charges. IMO, a super deal.

I also wrote a review of the Walmart "Ozark Trail 300 Lumen Lantern"
It is a low cost ($14.97) single Cree XB-D emitter and runs on three D cells.
It has a high and low and just uses two different resistors.
It has a CW tint, but not a terrible blue. For a couple of dollars I picked up a warm/NW XB-D and it was very easy to swap it in.
A little more challenging was to remove the inner diffuser and swap in one that was a little better.
What really impressed me with this lantern was how long 3 D alkaline cells can power an LED lantern under low loads. I imagine that just about any 3D cell lantern that starts at 50 lumens or less, will run for 7 hours a night for a month. In other words, each D cell (under low loads) will have a similar capacity to a 18650 cell.

sounds like I'm going with a few Ozark trail 300's :thumbsup:

Although if Streamlight makes there lanterns as durable as there flashlights I may consider the Siege AA .

 

[StarHalo]

Don't forget the Coleman Table Lantern; warm emitter behind diffuser, 100 lumen high mode, 4 D cell power (or CPX6 power pack), $19.

 

[chrisbfu]

I have a couple fenix e01's that are great for night use. they run forever and AAA batteries are easy to come by.

 

[an_abstraction]

I recently bought on of those Energizer pop-up lanterns (150 lumen high, dims down to 15 lumens) from Target. Probably the best $20 I've spent on a light. It sits by my bed stand and gets used nightly. Lights up a whole room, even on low.

Most of my other lights are AAA Arc's and Fenix's that get long runtimes off of lithium cells. Plus they can sit indefinitely without the worry of battery leakage.

Low lumens and long runttime always wins for extended power outages.

 

[Wiggle]

Oddly enough I may use my super thrower (k50vn) as my preferred power outage room lighting. It has tons of runtime on medium brightness thanks to 4 x 18650 and it is very stable to tail stand. The narrow beam pattern does not seem to matter on all the ceilings I've bounced it off. It also can direct charge by USB without removing cells so I can use my solar panels or USB battery backup to charge it.

 

[LedTed]

For me, two rooms would normally be lit at about 150 lumens (lm) ceiling bounce for five hours (hrs) a night; living room and bedroom. Two flashlights would be expected to move around the house with their owners.

Two Single AA led lights: each loaded with one lithium primary AAA (L92) and with four L92s at the ready
8 lumen / 6.00 hrs
85 lm / 0.50 hrs
Shortest combined run times 4 hrs

Four NiteCore (NC) D11.2s: each loaded with one 14505 and with four like 14505 s at the ready
3 lumen (lm) / 100.00 hours (hrs)
145 lm / 1.50 hrs
Shortest combined run times 24 hrs

Cat character flashlight: with two C size batteries installed and two C back up batteries
30 lm and decreasing / 4.00 hrs
Shortest run time 8.00 hrs

Lantern: with four C size batteries installed and four C back up batteries
60 lm and decreasing / 6.00 hrs
Shortest run time 16.00 hrs

Total shortest combined run times 52.00 hrs


All the above plus one NC SRT7: with its two 18650s all on reserve for emergencies
Sub 1 lm / 120.00 hrs
960 lm / 1.25 hrs
Shortest combined run times 2.50 hrs

 

[Poppy]

We are supposed to get 24-30 inches of snow, with wind gusts up to 60 mph in the next 24 hours. This got me doing a little preparation.

Gas in all the cars, check
Extra gas for the generator, check
top off back up batteries, check
top off laptops, cell phones, tablets, and other toys, check
Food run... extra snacks... bottled water... etc
Pharmacy run needed? Are we good for a week?
Called my Dad, who is in the same storm path, to tell him, to charge his phone, and be sure that he knows where his charger is; that he can plug into his car.
Made sure that all the "auto ON" emergency lighting units are in place, check

I picked up some "fun things to do" with the grand-kids materials, like the ingredients for making a variety of cookies, and cheese cake. Maybe we will start on their Pine Wood Derby cars.

At any rate, I am sitting here looking at six power banks, and knowing that I have only one light/lantern that can plug into one. I modified the lantern, by adding a USB cord to it. I am thinking that it would be a good thing to have more USB powered lights. Maybe I could alter a USB cord, in such a manner, so that it could connect to the terminal positive and negative poles in a four pack AA, AAA, C, or D battery box.

 

[Grijon]

Poppy, glad to hear that you're prepared! Thanks for sharing with us and I'm sure I'm not the only one wishing you the very best during this storm; you rock, sir!

 

[more_vampires]

I am thinking that it would be a good thing to have more USB powered lights. Maybe I could alter a USB cord, in such a manner, so that it could connect to the terminal positive and negative poles in a four pack AA, AAA, C, or D battery box.

There is a cheap laptop accessory, a usb plug with a bendable gooseneck cable terminating in a little LED (usually 3 or 5mm.) They're cheap, compact, and run off any hot USB spec port. I saw a guy make a table lamp out of a USB hub and these things.

 

[Poppy]

Thanks Grijon!

There is a cheap laptop accessory, a usb plug with a bendable gooseneck cable terminating in a little LED (usually 3 or 5mm.) They're cheap, compact, and run off any hot USB spec port. I saw a guy make a table lamp out of a USB hub and these things.

I have been meaning to order a five pack of these USB lights ever since buds224 posted about them.

 

[thedoc007]

I have been meaning to order a five pack of these USB lights ever since buds224 posted about them.

I did just that, and they are pretty neat. Would recommend them.

 

[JerryM]

I ran across this thread, and thought I would see what I have. I live in southern NM so it is not a big problem here. I have a lot of camping equipment and gas lanterns, but I remembered I had an emergency light for the road that used D cells, and had clear, red, and yellow lights. I looked at the batteries. They were 4 Energizers that expired in 2007. There was no leakage, and the voltage was 1.52 V.

Even though we have very few power outages, and they are very short, I decided to check out the WalMart lanterns and buy some more D cells just for fun.

Jerry

 

[StarHalo]

the voltage was 1.52 V.

That would be the straight multimeter reading; for the more accurate measure you need to load test - alkaline cells, especially ones that have sat unused for long periods of time, will show full voltage under no load, then die completely when a load is applied.

If you're going to store your batteries for that long, you should move to lithium primary cells, as they can manage decade-plus stretches of rest as part of their normal operation.