Lantern flashlight modding?

[zmoz]

What would be your suggestion for modding one of those lantern things with the big 6 volt battery for light/battery life?

 

[K A]

We have a Coleman battery powered table latern that is in need of a mod. It runs off 4D's and has a wimpy bulb in it. This setup alone is supposed to run 16hrs.

I figure throw a couple white LED's in there and it would produce a fair amount of light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Coleman Lantern

 

[Hemingray]

I have modiified 4 different lanterns, using "bulbs" consisting of 8 LEDs (or more) parallel connected to a PR type bulb base, arranged so that they face outwards radially. Just make sure that this will fit inside the plastic diffuser tube, I've even fit them into the little Ray-O-Vac 4AA "kiddie" lanterns.
For those, I have 8 LEDs pointed outwards radially, and one pointing straight up. In the base, I cut one of the battery wires
and put in a 4.7 ohm resistor. Also added two (red in one, blue in the other) LEDs and a resistor to light up the colored base. LEDs can be white, or yellow (bug light?).

I have one lantern, 6D cells, that also has an RF on/off remote. That one got 12 LEDs in a 2X6 series/parallel arrangement, and a 15 ohm 2 watt resostir installed in series
with the bulb socket connection on the PC board in the top of the unit. The last lantern is a 4D "generic" no-name unit, it got 8 white LEDs, and a 10 ohm resistor in the PR-2 base.

Some of these lanterns have a chromed metal disk in the bottom, this may be a great place to mount a 1 or 5 watt Luxeon star or emitter, pointing up. Nice big heat sink. Just a thought...

/ed B in NH

 

[Hemingray]

As for one of the large 6V battery type lanterns, I am figureing
out a scheme using a 5W Luxeon star, a 5w power puck and a 12V 4AH (or more) SLA battery that will fit inside the flashlight battery compartment. Still in teh skunkworks stage...

/ed B in NH

 

[Hemingray]

I forgot to mention: with the small 4AA Ray-O-Vac "kids" lanterns, check the polarity, they aren't all wired so that the + goes to the bulb "tip" and - to the shell. I had one wired correctly, one backwards. Incandescent bulbs don't care, LEDs do. I suppoae that one of the EverLeds would work fine in one of these, but it is overkill, putting a $36 LED into a $6 lantern. I'll try it when my EverLeds arrive, just the same.

/ed B in NH

 

[Stainless]

Hemingray :
I'm thinking of the same think (cute little purple lantern) - please let us know how it works out.

 

[Lux Luthor]

I like those little lanterns. They're pretty small, have a diffuser, and seem to be fairly water tight. Has anyone tried just putting an LS side emitter into one?