Best Overall Electric Lantern?

Lynx_Arc said:

no such thing. LED lanterns are not super bright.... yet. the brightest electric lantern is probably 15-18watt fluorescent and the gas/propane lanterns are as bright to over twice as bright as they are. I would estimate the output as follows:
gas/propane 600-2000 lumens
flourescent 400-1000 lumens
LED (non 5mm) 60-600 lumens
LED (5mm) 1-20 lumens.

I would say a lantern with about 6 hard driven cree emitters could be up there but nobody makes one and runtime and batteries could be an issue as when you drive crees hard the efficiency drops using up the batteries faster.

Click to expand...

Hello Lynx_Arc,

I've considered the following:

• Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern 18-watt fluorescent U-tube, Lumens & run time not listed
• GE SteelBEAM Fluorescent/LED Hybrid Lantern, 16 Hour Battery Life, Extended Battery Life When in LED Mode, fluorescent Bulb wattage - not listed
• Coleman 8D Classic Lantern, 13-watt, 395 lumens on high, Run time: 28 hours on low, 17 hours on high
• Coleman 8D Square Pack-Away® Full Size Lantern,15-watt fluorescent spiral U-tube, 390 lumens on high, Run time: 24 hours on high, 12 hours on low
• Coleman Retro Rechargeable Full-Size Lantern, 11-watt spiral fluorescent tube, 280 Lumens on high, Run time: 9 hours on low, 6 hours on high

Which fluorescent lantern provides the best overall balance among the following criteria?

• Provides even room illumination during a residential power failure
• Maximum brightness
• Maximum run time
• Pleasing, not harsh or unnatural, light quality
• Durable / reliable - Able to stand the test of time
• Availability of parts / replacement bulbs

Thanks!

This should be interesting. Personally I gave up on electrics for broad area lighting. Sure not gonna happen with LED
River Rock


Coleman 236


Same camera settings for both

Hi perterra,

Thanks for the reply and your very dramatic pictures. They clearly demonstrate your point between an LED and a gas lantern. I understand & agree that a gas lantern is better for broad area lighting.

However, our application is indoors during a residential power failure. We do not want our cats following in the footsteps of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

Do you have any similar pictures of a Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern - 18-watt fluorescent u-tube? I suspect it provides much more light than the typical "The power went out - let's light a candle."

One of your criteria is "pleasing, not harsh" light. I take that to mean warmer color temp. If so, the only one that has a warmer tint is the steelbeam. Without the led (fluoro only), the Steelbeam is available at Costco for $15. It comes with a warm CFL, and is run on 4 D cells for 15+ hours of runtime. I think it totally fits your bill. It is definitely bright enough to illuminate a room decently.

Having said that, I have the Coleman Retro. I like it alot, but it's larger, heavier and has shorter runtime than the Steelbeam (but is brighter). It has the same cool tint like in the above pic. But, it recharges internally, and can be left plugged in for power failure purposes, which is what you said you want it for. If left plugged in and turned on, it stays off unless the power fails, and then it automatically turns on.

LEDrechargeman said:

Hi perterra,

Thanks for the reply and your very dramatic pictures. They clearly demonstrate your point between an LED and a gas lantern. I understand & agree that a gas lantern is better for broad area lighting.

However, our application is indoors during a residential power failure. We do not want our cats following in the footsteps of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

Do you have any similar pictures of a Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern - 18-watt fluorescent u-tube? I suspect it provides much more light than the typical "The power went out - let's light a candle."

Click to expand...

Understood, and agree. I havent used one of the current fluorescent lights in years so my experience would be dated. Only one I have used lately is a Nightstalkerused for fishing.

Hi Phaserburn,

Thanks for the reply and your thoughts on the Steelbeam.

Pleasing, not harsh or unnatural, light quality:
In our home we mostly have 3000k CFLs. For task lighting such as in the kitchen we have 5900k full spectrum fluorescent lighting. We don't find either to be unnatural or harsh. For my eyes the harshest CFL we own is a 65w Sylvania CF65EL/TWIST which is 4100k coolwhite. It provides significant illumination for the garage but definitely not very pleasing.

Steelbeam: Do you know the fluoro color temp., wattage, or lumen output?

I like the Coleman Retro. It is a neat concept. I too wish it had a longer runtime. In the event of a prolonged power failure, how does one realistically power it? It doesn't use D-cells. Running one's car for the purpose of recharging the lantern doesn't sound very efficient. Perhaps it could be recharged with a 12v solar panel?

LEDrechargeman said:

Hello Lynx_Arc,

I've considered the following:

• Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern 18-watt fluorescent U-tube, Lumens & run time not listed
• GE SteelBEAM Fluorescent/LED Hybrid Lantern, 16 Hour Battery Life, Extended Battery Life When in LED Mode, fluorescent Bulb wattage - not listed
• Coleman 8D Classic Lantern, 13-watt, 395 lumens on high, Run time: 28 hours on low, 17 hours on high
• Coleman 8D Square Pack-Away® Full Size Lantern,15-watt fluorescent spiral U-tube, 390 lumens on high, Run time: 24 hours on high, 12 hours on low
• Coleman Retro Rechargeable Full-Size Lantern, 11-watt spiral fluorescent tube, 280 Lumens on high, Run time: 9 hours on low, 6 hours on high

Which fluorescent lantern provides the best overall balance among the following criteria?

• Provides even room illumination during a residential power failure
• Maximum brightness
• Maximum run time
• Pleasing, not harsh or unnatural, light quality
• Durable / reliable - Able to stand the test of time
• Availability of parts / replacement bulbs

Thanks!

Click to expand...

The Rayovac 8D lantern should run ~14 hours with both tubes lit, or 24 hours with one tube lit. Replacement tubes can be purchased at Ace hardware, Amazon.com, or any of a number of places (part number to Google is F9W-1). The lantern itself carries a lifetime warranty.

I'd guess output would be in the neighborhood of 1000-1200 lumens, based on ratings of 9W compact fluorescent bulbs at around 500-600 lumens, and the fact that tubular fluorescent bulbs are more efficient than spiral compact fluorescent bulbs.

Hope this helps.

Hi MorePower,

Thanks for the excellent info on the Rayovac. Sounds like it's probably the brightest of the models already mentioned. I wonder what the color temp is, softwhite, warmwhite, coolwhite, daylight?

Are their any other models I should consider?

Thanks again

The Steelbeam's color temp is "campfire warm" (IIRC, it says something like that on the box). Definitely a warmer tint, more towards incan than led. It's nice for an area light.

Actually, about the Retro, if you think about it, the only way 6-9 hours of runtime wouldn't be enough in a blackout was if, 1. it lasted multiple days, re: disaster, or 2. You stayed up very late into the night indeed.

One of the things I like about the retro is that you get guilt free lumens because of the SLA battery; use it as much and as often as you like, it's always ready for more. BTW, Coleman sells a 15W bulb that fits the Retro. Yes, it diminishes runtime by 30%, but it's a screamer. I find that using the stock 11W on low is actually very bright, not much less than high.

For these reasons, get them both!!

I have two 18 watt rayovac lanterns...... I would say they are about 40 watts (incan equiv) on one tube and about 75 or so on both tubes. very bright but not harsh light very well made lanterns with lifetime guarantee on them. I bought one lantern at a flea market for $5 and put 8AA nimh in it to test it and 3 days later it had drained the batteries dead in the *off* position. I contacted rayovac and they told me to send it back and a week or so later they sent me a brand new lantern in the mail so for about $12 I had a $25 lantern. The nice thing about dual tubes is if one goes bad you still have the other to give you decent light. Lamp change is very easy no screws just twist the top off and drop in a new tube. I find for 1-2 people indoors a lantern like that on high is overkill mostly a decent LED lantern is good but my favorite is CCFL lights as the tubes have a very long long life, don't mind being underdriven and are bright for their size. when outdoors however there is no *bounce to help distribute light so most LED lights have trouble giving a decent flood compared to fluoros. I haven't seen one in person but I would *think* the new LED lanterns that have *globes* in the top may work a lot better than the inverted mirror cone ones for producing useful light on surfaces such as tables etc.

LEDrechargeman said:

Hi MorePower,

Thanks for the excellent info on the Rayovac. Sounds like it's probably the brightest of the models already mentioned. I wonder what the color temp is, softwhite, warmwhite, coolwhite, daylight?

Are their any other models I should consider?

Thanks again

Click to expand...

the rayovac I have is a cool white.... not harsh blue but not warm either.

Hi Lynx_Arc,

Thanks for your detailed reply. The Rayovac fluorescent lantern certainly has many positive qualities.

Follow-up questions:

1. Is Rayovac the only twin-tube fluorescent lantern?
2. Are CCFL lanterns available?
3. Are there any other brands / models I should consider for our application?

Thanks again

LEDrechargeman said:

Hi Lynx_Arc,

Thanks for your detailed reply. The Rayovac fluorescent lantern certainly has many positive qualities.

Follow-up questions:

1. Is Rayovac the only twin-tube fluorescent lantern?
2. Are CCFL lanterns available?
3. Are there any other brands / models I should consider for our application?

Thanks again

Click to expand...

there are other twin tube lanterns.... or used to be but they are lower power straight 4 and 6 watt tubes IMO the rayovac 18 and the coleman 15 twisters are probably in the same brightness range. As for CCFL lanterns there are none I know of the only lights that have CCFL these days are energizer 4AA trailfinder and doublebright series with LED flashlight (pathetic led output) if you can find them and they are about 5 watt flourescent equivalent on output. one thing to consider would be a 12V CFL light running off car battery or separate SLA batteries.
depending on how your lantern usage is it may be more suitable to buy two 10-15 watt CFL lanterns and set them up in two places to cover better than one 18 watt rayovac. If you are using them a lot I would give a strong thought to rechargable SLA battery power.

Have you ever considered th: Rayovac SE3DLN Sportsman Extreme 3D LED Lantern?

I bought one recently based on the recommendation in this forum. It's versatile, nicely made, takes 3D batteries, rated at 72 hrs on high and 150 on low. Very satisfied with it.

LEDrechargeman said:

Hello Lynx_Arc,

I've considered the following:

• Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern 18-watt fluorescent U-tube, Lumens & run time not listed
• GE SteelBEAM Fluorescent/LED Hybrid Lantern, 16 Hour Battery Life, Extended Battery Life When in LED Mode, fluorescent Bulb wattage - not listed
• Coleman 8D Classic Lantern, 13-watt, 395 lumens on high, Run time: 28 hours on low, 17 hours on high
• Coleman 8D Square Pack-Away® Full Size Lantern,15-watt fluorescent spiral U-tube, 390 lumens on high, Run time: 24 hours on high, 12 hours on low
• Coleman Retro Rechargeable Full-Size Lantern, 11-watt spiral fluorescent tube, 280 Lumens on high, Run time: 9 hours on low, 6 hours on high

Which fluorescent lantern provides the best overall balance among the following criteria?

• Provides even room illumination during a residential power failure
• Maximum brightness
• Maximum run time
• Pleasing, not harsh or unnatural, light quality
• Durable / reliable - Able to stand the test of time
• Availability of parts / replacement bulbs

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Lynx_Arc said:

one thing to consider would be a 12V CFL light running off car battery or separate SLA batteries.
depending on how your lantern usage is it may be more suitable to buy two 10-15 watt CFL lanterns and set them up in two places to cover better than one 18 watt rayovac. If you are using them a lot I would give a strong thought to rechargable SLA battery power.

Click to expand...

Our power failures over the years have typically been of short duration. In the past year, we have had a couple of outages that have lasted several hours and I wished we had a battery powered lantern. However, our power failures are not often enough to warrant something more elaborate.

Two lanterns obviously double the cost and the batteries needed to run them.

We have a 7w CFL in a table lamp in our foyer that provides 375 lumens - basic illumination - definitey not be my first choice for reading. The CFL we use most in our home is a 23w bulb that provides 1600 lumens.

Rechargable SLA battery power:
I like the Coleman Retro. It is a neat concept. However it is only 280 lumens. I also wish it had a longer runtime. In the event of a prolonged power failure, how does one realistically power it? It doesn't use D-cells. Running one's car for the purpose of recharging the lantern doesn't sound very efficient. Could it be recharged with a 12v solar panel?

I'm leaning toward the Rayovac. If I want to have a rechargeable option for this light which batteries and charger are recommended?

Thanks again

most higher output fluorescent and LED lanterns use D cells and it sounds like you are wanting outputs of ~1000lumens which leaves you in the 15watt+ fluorescent range. the rechargable lanterns add about 50% to the cost IMO or investing in a SLA battery and charger and probably modifying a lantern to work with it. Rechargable D cells (nimh) are not recommended for occasional outages due to all but LSD cells self discharging over months of sitting around waiting of the one outage. solar power for charging batteries is not cost effective in all but the extreme situations where no power is available for long terms because of the high investment cost to charge larger power batteries at decent rates other than slow trickling for days. when I had a power outage I was reading by headlamp mostly myself, those used to using headlamps tend to not need quite as much of a powerful lantern around.

Hi Lynx_Arc,

So which is the most appropriate rechargeable option for the 18w Rayovac?

• 8 Low self-discharge nickel-metal hydride D-cell batteries
• Sealed Lead-Acid battery

Thanks again!

LEDrechargeman said:

Hi Lynx_Arc,

So which is the most appropriate rechargeable option for the 18w Rayovac?

• 8 Low self-discharge nickel-metal hydride D-cell batteries
• Sealed Lead-Acid battery

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

I think it depends on how much a year you spend on batteries. If you rarely go through a set in a year I would probably skip the rechargable idea but if you go through even 3 sets a year that can add up to $20 or more easily buying a 12v SLA (but charger is needed at extra cost). and LSD D cells are rather costly and not a lot of options yet for them and the AA to D adapters would make for a lot of AAs and charging a lot... I am thinking about $50 for D cells and a $50 charger for them perhaps leaving the SLA as most cost effective but requiring ingenuity to adapt the lantern for it as it doesn't have a 12vdc input jack you would have to rig something up for it. I have thought of putting one in mine at times but then am reminded I have a set of new alkaline D cells in it almost 2 years old.

Lynx_Arc

Given your experience, I'll start with alkaline D cells and see how it goes.

Thank you!

Hello All,

Are there currently any good deals on the Rayovac Sporstman 8D Area Lantern (SP8D)?

Thanks