flashy bazook
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2007
- Messages
- 1,139
So with the bad weather coming and going around here, we got a series of power outages over several days. So it was a good test of my flashlight and battery collection!
Here is how it went down:
--The M60LL Malkoff 6P drop-ins (for which I use the cheap Cebela's XPG clone as a host) were very useful and popular in-your-hand lights (great hand size, relatively low weight, simple on-off push switch operation). The 80 lumen output was just right for indoors use, and in a pinch you can put it in a mug or something and bounce its light off the ceiling for pretty good room illumination (if the room is not too large--perfect for those visits to the bathroom). I also have a SF diffuser on one of these, which also makes this a great reading light.
--The Fenix T1 played a similar role using the low output setting but, since it can tail stand (yes, a good thing!) it also could just be put down in a flat surface for ceiling bounce w/o the need for a mug.
--My 3xD Maglite with an Electrolumens 3xSSC LED drop-in, at 600 lumens or so and fairly floody, is usually something I use outdoors. Yet, put in a tailstand position (yes, the Maglite CAN tailstand! Even if a bit unstably) it illuminated a whole large room via ceiling bounce almost as if the normal lights were on. Naturally, it went on the most important room (the kitchen) and was left on for hours at a time.
--Several smaller/EDC or even older lights were found to be useful as night-stands. For instance, a Lumapower F1, which by now does not have the latest LEDs, could still tailstand and with ceiling-bounce illumination provide useful night light. I put my GloToob to a similar use and left it on all the time in a strategic location (by a corner stairs). A Fenix P2 was put to a similar use on a low setting.
--My FirstGen SF L1 with a red LED could be used as a night stand type of light (with some support since it cannot tailstand by itself), since on low it has a very long runtime, but I ended keeping it on my person as a secondary light (in case the XPG ran out of juice so I could get myself back to a battery stash and reload).
--Two other by now not-latest-LED tech lights were also very helpful. A Streamlight survivor LED could just stand and illuminate with its 90 degree angle two rooms at once--the (relatively weak) spill put on a near-wall, with the big throw but narrow hotspot aimed at a distant wall. On its back, it could also do the ceiling bounce for decent illumination in a mid-sized room.
--The Streamlight propoly 10xLED model, with its claimed 336 hour runtime, is a real survivor tool. It was just left on all night in the second most important room (the bathroom). It is not very powerful by today's standards, and the light quality is kind of blobbish, but it's plenty of light to guide you to the room and give you sufficient illumination while you are there.
On batteries, I put in some money over time to build a collection of rechargeables: AA Eneloops, eneloop-like C and D's, RC123As and and LiFePO4's. At times I wonder if all the money for these plus various rechargers was worth it.
I guess these power outages show that you DO save money with them. I must have recharged more than 20 batteries used over the past few days in various sizes.
I did end up using 1 CR123A primary in the GloToob: the LiFePO4's that I normally use (the higher voltage ones nuke the various modes and I wanted the low mode) last about a whole evening (probably could go for two, but at some risk due to the lack of battery protection) but the primaries last for several evenings.
The AccuPower D's lasted several hours over several evenings making the use of the 600 lumen Maglite drop-in guilt free--I don't think I would have use the light as freely, or as effectively, if I was worried about how many batteries I'd have to pay for.
Anyway, this in a nutshell is the story. I'd be interested to hear what others think, whether other type of lights or battery solutions would work or have worked as well or better in similar circumstances for you. Or other clever uses for our latest or even not-so-latest illumination tools when the power we normally depend on suddenly stops!
(and also many thanks to all who have over the past year and a half that I've been reading this forum given many great ideas and shared their experience, I think I'd have had a much worse experience during these recent power outages if I hadn't put some of these excellent ideas to use!).
Here is how it went down:
--The M60LL Malkoff 6P drop-ins (for which I use the cheap Cebela's XPG clone as a host) were very useful and popular in-your-hand lights (great hand size, relatively low weight, simple on-off push switch operation). The 80 lumen output was just right for indoors use, and in a pinch you can put it in a mug or something and bounce its light off the ceiling for pretty good room illumination (if the room is not too large--perfect for those visits to the bathroom). I also have a SF diffuser on one of these, which also makes this a great reading light.
--The Fenix T1 played a similar role using the low output setting but, since it can tail stand (yes, a good thing!) it also could just be put down in a flat surface for ceiling bounce w/o the need for a mug.
--My 3xD Maglite with an Electrolumens 3xSSC LED drop-in, at 600 lumens or so and fairly floody, is usually something I use outdoors. Yet, put in a tailstand position (yes, the Maglite CAN tailstand! Even if a bit unstably) it illuminated a whole large room via ceiling bounce almost as if the normal lights were on. Naturally, it went on the most important room (the kitchen) and was left on for hours at a time.
--Several smaller/EDC or even older lights were found to be useful as night-stands. For instance, a Lumapower F1, which by now does not have the latest LEDs, could still tailstand and with ceiling-bounce illumination provide useful night light. I put my GloToob to a similar use and left it on all the time in a strategic location (by a corner stairs). A Fenix P2 was put to a similar use on a low setting.
--My FirstGen SF L1 with a red LED could be used as a night stand type of light (with some support since it cannot tailstand by itself), since on low it has a very long runtime, but I ended keeping it on my person as a secondary light (in case the XPG ran out of juice so I could get myself back to a battery stash and reload).
--Two other by now not-latest-LED tech lights were also very helpful. A Streamlight survivor LED could just stand and illuminate with its 90 degree angle two rooms at once--the (relatively weak) spill put on a near-wall, with the big throw but narrow hotspot aimed at a distant wall. On its back, it could also do the ceiling bounce for decent illumination in a mid-sized room.
--The Streamlight propoly 10xLED model, with its claimed 336 hour runtime, is a real survivor tool. It was just left on all night in the second most important room (the bathroom). It is not very powerful by today's standards, and the light quality is kind of blobbish, but it's plenty of light to guide you to the room and give you sufficient illumination while you are there.
On batteries, I put in some money over time to build a collection of rechargeables: AA Eneloops, eneloop-like C and D's, RC123As and and LiFePO4's. At times I wonder if all the money for these plus various rechargers was worth it.
I guess these power outages show that you DO save money with them. I must have recharged more than 20 batteries used over the past few days in various sizes.
I did end up using 1 CR123A primary in the GloToob: the LiFePO4's that I normally use (the higher voltage ones nuke the various modes and I wanted the low mode) last about a whole evening (probably could go for two, but at some risk due to the lack of battery protection) but the primaries last for several evenings.
The AccuPower D's lasted several hours over several evenings making the use of the 600 lumen Maglite drop-in guilt free--I don't think I would have use the light as freely, or as effectively, if I was worried about how many batteries I'd have to pay for.
Anyway, this in a nutshell is the story. I'd be interested to hear what others think, whether other type of lights or battery solutions would work or have worked as well or better in similar circumstances for you. Or other clever uses for our latest or even not-so-latest illumination tools when the power we normally depend on suddenly stops!
(and also many thanks to all who have over the past year and a half that I've been reading this forum given many great ideas and shared their experience, I think I'd have had a much worse experience during these recent power outages if I hadn't put some of these excellent ideas to use!).
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