George1
Newly Enlightened
Given the natural disaster in NOLA and the potential for other disasters nationwide, how many batteries should you have on hand???? 123A's, D's, AA's, AAAs's?
How Many Batteries?????
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Lunal_Tic
Flashlight Enthusiast
I keep about 40 123s, 20 Li AAs, but the rest vary because I hate leaking batteries. I also have a solar roll and AA recharger that will keep most other AA needs covered. I also keep C to AA and D to AA adapters so I can mix and match as needed.
-LT
-LT
Steelwolf
Flashlight Enthusiast
I think each person's collection of lights will determine the range and quantity of cells he will keep for emergencies. However, I tend to be the type who likes to "set and forget", so I try to ensure that the lights I intend to use in emergencies can be powered by lithium cells. This typically means CR123s and Li AAs for me. All other lights will either be powered by the lithium cells installed in adaptors, or by whatever incidental, non-lithium, cells they might have at the time of the emergency.
I also have a range of lights, some of which are very bright and will only run an hour or so, some which are dimmer and will run for the entire night, and some that will go on and on. Some are area lights and some are spots, and a couple are actually built around the joule-thief/SatCure circuit, which means that they can still run on cells too weak to power almost all other lights.
For hand-held spots and other bright spotters, I currently keep enough cells to run each for 3 hrs. E.g. KL4 runs about an hour on a pair of CR123s, so I've got 6 for it.
For area lights, I keep enough to run for 3 x 8hr nights. E.g. I have a simple Dorcy lamp with a EverLED. It takes 4 AA cells and runs about 20hrs, so I keep 8 cells for it. I could possibly keep only 4 for it, but having at least a second set of cells is what it means to be prepared.
Also, the total number of cells required could be partially reduced. E.g. I have an extended tube for my KL1 that will hold 3 CR123s and the head is interchangeable with the KL4 body. So when the cells are too weak for the KL4, I can still put them in to the KL1 either with 2 cells or 3 cells and they will still run for quite a few hours. Thus I only keep 1 spare CR123 for my KL1, knowing that I can power it with spent cells from my KL4.
I also have a range of lights, some of which are very bright and will only run an hour or so, some which are dimmer and will run for the entire night, and some that will go on and on. Some are area lights and some are spots, and a couple are actually built around the joule-thief/SatCure circuit, which means that they can still run on cells too weak to power almost all other lights.
For hand-held spots and other bright spotters, I currently keep enough cells to run each for 3 hrs. E.g. KL4 runs about an hour on a pair of CR123s, so I've got 6 for it.
For area lights, I keep enough to run for 3 x 8hr nights. E.g. I have a simple Dorcy lamp with a EverLED. It takes 4 AA cells and runs about 20hrs, so I keep 8 cells for it. I could possibly keep only 4 for it, but having at least a second set of cells is what it means to be prepared.
Also, the total number of cells required could be partially reduced. E.g. I have an extended tube for my KL1 that will hold 3 CR123s and the head is interchangeable with the KL4 body. So when the cells are too weak for the KL4, I can still put them in to the KL1 either with 2 cells or 3 cells and they will still run for quite a few hours. Thus I only keep 1 spare CR123 for my KL1, knowing that I can power it with spent cells from my KL4.
