Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure light

[scottie]

I’m a newbie who had originally posted a question about rechargeables but has since learned that what I’m really looking for is a power failure light.
Until Jan 1 of this year what I knew about flashlights could probably be summed up by saying maglite – if that much. Most of our flashlights at home rusted out lying around.
Over the past 2 months, due in no small part to prolonged exposure to cpf, my outlook has somewhat changed. I’ve now bought and given arc AAs, AAAs and uk 2AAAs to relatives; bought an A2, e2e, uk e4aa (and the incandescent one), and lightwave 4000 for the house; tt2l for the car; edc an arc aaa and photon II - as does my wife. I am expecting an lsh to arrive tomorrow. I’ve even gotten my first mods - lambda’s wonderful Micro Illuminator and mag pill. I order lithium batteries and find myself discussing the tint of LEDs.
I think I’ve been bit. Do I thank or blame cpf for dreaming about 5w luxeons stuffed into tiny bodies powered by n cells with regulation and 10hr+ runtimes? In any case, I’m sure you all know the symptoms.

The question I should have posed goes like this:
I work in a theatre and now serve on a safety committee. The theatre manager was going to buy about a dozen Eveready rechargeable flashlights – power failure flashlights that stay plugged in and turn on in the event of a power outage. I said I would try to find out if there was anything better on the market.
I have since learned that there are also products by Coleman, Garrity and Dorcy that are close in price to the Eveready ($13 at Home Depot), but have not been able to find any information on how much light they produce or anything else about them. I was able to find out that the Eveready in question puts out about 6 lumens.
Has anyone had any experience with any of these relatively inexpensive lights?
Any recommendations would be welcome. But cost is a factor –they will simply be plugged in and it is very possible that some will be lost to theft and need to be replaced.
Thanks in advance.

 

[charliek]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

I've never had too much luck with batteries that are left on a constant trickle charge. Most of the time, when you *do* need them you find that the capacity of the batteries are shortened greatly by the constant charge.

If you do decide to go with rechargeables, make a regular habit of taking them off the charge, running them to near death and recharging them again at least once every 6 months. Just like the battery powered emergency exit lights, you need to have a regular maintenance cycle to ensure they will be there if you need them.

The flashaholic in you should be telling you to carry your own lithium powered light as a backup.... at least that's what the little voice in my head keeps saying.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[paulr]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

The usual choice for a power failure light in a commercial environment like that is the Streamlight Lightbox in the power fail configuration. It costs around $100 and mounts on the wall. It makes plenty of light for folks to find their way out of the theater, and it uses a gel/lead acid battery. Between its heavy weight and its wall mount, it's less likely to get stolen.

 

[Josey]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Hey Scottie:

I think I would mount a string of Edison-base AC-powered LED lights (for long periods of light) or compact fluorescent lights (less espensive) in all of the strategic places and power them off an UPS. Then, if you lose power, the lights would come on automatically, and mounted lights are not likely to be stolen.

This is similar to what Paulr said, but may give you more lights in more places, avoiding dark areas.

And I agree with Charliek that you should all carry lithium-powered backup flashlights.

 

[paulr]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

We have to keep in mind that this isn't for someone's bedroom or even an office where the workers can all be given flashlights to put in their pockets. It's for a theater where if there's an outage, there's going to be a crowd of audience members stumbling around trying to leave, and tripping over each other. I think those rechargeable flashlight thingies plugged into standard outlets at around ankle level are NOT going to cut it in this situation. The lights have to be high up off the floor, over people's heads.

Basically, I'd say if you want power failure lights for this crowded commercial environment, get real ones, don't fool around with half measures that are intended for home use where there's just a few people around. Those Streamlights are very sturdy, and quite powerful, so a few of them should be enough for a theater. They should be permanently mounted high on the walls.

You might be able to have your theater techs figure out something cheaper, e.g. mounting a bunch of 12 volt lamps on the walls wired to a float-charged car battery, but you then have to start worrying about wiring codes and who knows what.

Sure, ushers and so forth should carry flashlights in their pockets, but flashaholic lithium lights are overkill, ordinary cheap penlights are fine.

 

[scottie]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Thank you all for the advice.

My apologies for not being totally clear about what this lighting is for. I’m only concerned with the needs of the people who actually work or perform in the theatre.

In this instance, there is no need to worry about emergency lighting for the general public. I have no doubt our theatre is absolutely, strictly, 100% up to code on that. This is a case of temporary lights for rehearsal studios, some dressing and locker rooms, etc... This is not for the front of the house; it's more for backstage personnel, performers and administration – the people who actually work in the building on a daily basis. There are no windows in these rooms. Currently the areas in question have no emergency lighting. In the event of an outage or any other emergency, after leaving a room, both hallways and stairwells would need to be negotiated to get safely outside.
I agree with both paulr and Josey that having something in the rehearsal rooms along the lines of a streamlight lightbox and perhaps a string of LEDs in the hallways would be best. It would certainly be reassuring.
There is a plan to have permanent emergency lighting installed, but that will be part of major renovations taking place a few years hence.
I will keep in mind charliek’s experience with trickle chargers. But thankfully we are not talking about needing flashlights to last hours but rather for the several minutes it should take to exit the building.
In the event the lights go out while a room is occupied, as I’ve often read here, the best light is the one you have on you. And many of us, but not all, do have edcs!
My question remains – only as a temporary solution – is one of the flashlights I mentioned better suited for the task than another?
Or should I be looking in another direction?
Thanks again.
scottie

 

[paulr]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Maybe one is a little bit better than another but chances are they're similar enough that it's not worth worrying about small differences. Whatever you get, just make sure to test it every so often.

 

[Wits' End]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

I know Wal-Mart has a new LED light of the kind you describe. Basicaly a plug in LED flashlight. Found it--
Energizer Super Charge LED

 

[paulr]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

That looks like a pretty dim light. Since this is for a commercial building, I think you don't care about 8 hours of runtime. You only need enough light to make sure everyone can exit safely if the power doesn't come back. You also don't care about pocketability, and in fact you probably want the opposite, to deter theft. So, I'd say, go for bigger, brighter lights, even if they don't run nearly as long on a charge.

 

[Wits' End]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

A rechargeable lantern would probably be better. I'd imagine if there were a handy light the stage crew would find other uses for them---quickly /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif
Imagine someone using a flashlight in the dark /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[paulr]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

They'll need well developed muscles to stroll away with this:

http://www.brightguy.com/detail.html?sku=STR45127

 

[Wits' End]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

It also might be a bit obvious during blackouts /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SilverFox]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Hello Scottie,

Welcome to CPF.

Here is an "off the wall" idea.

You could put some "glow in the dark" material on the wall near the door. That would give you a target to go towards if the lights go out. You could then mount a light of some kind in a security "but not impossible to open in emergency" box. There are plastic 2 D cell lights that are quite inexpensive, or if you want to go smaller try the $1 key chain lights from countycomm.com.

The glow in the dark material would be activated when someone entered the room and turned the lights on. If the lights go out, they would work their way to the door, grab the flashlight, and proceed to exit the building.

Very simple and no wiring.

Tom

 

[scottie]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Quick update:
Things have been rather hectic around the theatre so I haven’t had a chance to offer thank yous to Wits’ End, Paulr and SilverFox since my last post.

I’ve forwarded all the suggestions, caveats, etc… to the “proper authorities” – the guy who is going to spend the bucks. Since he's ultimately responsible, I'll let him sort it out.
I've learned that the plans for the upgrade of our fire alarm system call for the installation of an emergency generator that will kick into gear in the event of a power outage. Normal lighting would come back quickly.
Sounds good to me.

 

[Double_A]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

Ok, here is another off the wall thought. How about spending $20 and getting 20 of CountryComm's LED lights. Toss them in a drawer pass them out when needed.

For $20 bucks these would only supplement anything else your doing.

GregR

 

[scottie]

Re: Newbie needs advice- emergency/power failure l

I was pleasantly surprised to read your suggestion about the light from countycomm.
It actually came to my mind last night. Our theatre is in the process of producing an emergency procedures pamphlet. I'm going to suggest that it might be a good idea to pass these lights out along with the pamphlet.