Ultimate long term survival scenario

There has been a ton of "what light would you take / use" during some sort of survival scenario, but what I have yet seen "at least found was the answer to this one" .

You all survive some sort of mass end of civilization as we know it "sort of thing", you have all your lights and stuff, ect. ect. but what do you do in say 15,20,25+ years??? At such a point life must be pretty consistent and easy if you have made it this far but…. What about lights? You could stock up on hundreds of unused Surefires on hardware shelves, though what will you do about batteries!? The normal "I'll use solar / lithium" won't work "or will it?" because batteries won't last long enough to charge and besides even solar panels breakdown. So some good suggestions would be cool. One last thing obviously in those 25 years there isn't enough people to start production of things or get power grids up and running. Can you use things like Refillable Nickel Cadmium Batteries? They say they can be used up to 25 years in use.

Fire: flint, steel, candles, oil lamps if you get lucky enough to find or render oil. Some books on farming, blacksmithing, and blade making, in that order.

Maybe I could use the reflectors in big ones as solar firestarters. Small lights might be good as sling ammunition if I filled them with rocks first...

I thought it interesting that in "Castaway", Tom Hanks character enshrined the dead flashlight (SL Scorpion, I think). Good a use as any.

Ironically, those silly shake lights just might be the only thing still serviceable in that time frame.

BIGIRON said:

I thought it interesting that in "Castaway", Tom Hanks character enshrined the dead flashlight (SL Scorpion, I think). Good a use as any.

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Hmmm you're probably right about the Scorpion, I haven't seen that flick in a while. I originally thought it was a Pelican M6.

Marduke said:

Ironically, those silly shake lights just might be the only thing still serviceable in that time frame.

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I was thinking that to, except what I never understood was what they used for batteries that charge? It mentions it no where on the site "that I know of" if it does use rechargeable then they would stop working in probably less then 10 years, if that doesn't get them then chip weevils will eat up the LED:mecry:. If they had an Incan model and didn't use batteries I would say they would be a good choice, specking of lights without batteries, wasn't that old military squeeze light PR bulb based and didn't use batteries? I don't know so that's why I'm asking:thinking:.

my clear limited edition powerball (white leds), as a plus i would probably have the arms of hulk at the end of the period of time mentioned.

my 1 cell 123 lights for occassions i need maximum reliability and portability

for the first 12 years, a bag full of tritium spheres vials and such.

*the powerball is really really well built and tough for what it is, and the mechanism is maintenance free.

Some of the better shakelights use capacitors which have an almost unlimited service life.

brighterisbetter said:

Hmmm you're probably right about the Scorpion, I haven't seen that flick in a while. I originally thought it was a Pelican M6.

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Big Iron got it. It's a Scorpion.



Regarding the thread topic, it's almost too far out there because we don't really know to what degree things are out of whack. It it was end of the world though, I think nerdgineer put it best...

Easy, kill yourself and no need to worry. Why stay alive is all of civilization is dead? Ain't no ladies around, so nothing to do hahah.

The original high quality shake lights use a capacitor to store the energy. So that should last a lifetime. That is one reason why ultracapacitors hold so much promise, a very long service life. It's easy to generate electricity.
Good solar panels will last for 50+ years. I think there are a couple solar technologies that will last even longer. Making a simple dynamo is easy with the most basic materials; I have a couple hand cranks already anyway.
The life expectancy of rechargeable cells isn't lifetime yet. Though a well treated NiCd as far as I understand can easily serve for a decade or two.

But the way I see it depending upon the scale of this theoretical Armageddon of course, I'll most need the lights in dealing with the immediate aftermath. A few years afterward hopefully things will have settled down enough that I can live in peace with nature and simple fire for the rest of my days.

I have a small 6V Lead-acid battery which I am fairly sure is pre-WWII, so maybe ~70 years old. It has never been used - it is bone dry, having never contained electrolyte. I have no doubt that if I filled it with electrolyte and charged it, it would work perfectly.

DM51 said:

I have a small 6V Lead-acid battery which I am fairly sure is pre-WWII, so maybe ~70 years old. It has never been used - it is bone dry, having never contained electrolyte. I have no doubt that if I filled it with electrolyte and charged it, it would work perfectly.

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Wouldn't the lead have oxidized by now, unless it was stored with an inert gas.

It's not so much the lite but the supply of cells.

I believe the human species did managed to survive for quite a lot of time without portable light sources... There's much more important stuff to worry about... but for the longest term, ferro rods and flaming torches should be the way to go.

After 15-25 years, society should be reestablished enough that people start making their batteries again.

Assuming that doesn't happen, I have my Guy's Dropper(Yes, my name was an acetylene lamp brand name) Acetylene lamp and a couple of oil lanterns. The Guy's Dropper runs off of water and carbide and is at least 60 years old. Carbide can be dug up from the ground and there's no expiration date, as long as it is kept dry. Further more, the light does not require much care, and there are few parts that could break. You all know about oil lanterns, I'm sure. While they both are considerably better than candles, carbide lamps have a reflector, and therefore are directional. Their rugged, reliable construction makes them ideal for caving. In fact, they are still used in mines in many countries.




We should have an antique lamp section on CPF!

Guy's Dropper said:

We should have an antique lamp section on CPF!

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Close enough?
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=5

I saw that episode. His reading glasses broke and suddenly life wasn't so idyllic.

How about the old bicycle generator? I had one about fifty years ago and I'll bet I could still put out 1.5v.

actually i was thinking of modifying this light to be brighter and sealing up all seams and glueing a silicon cover or something over the handpress area to water-proof it. i think it would then last a very very long time. and it does seem easier to charge than the shaking light.

i have no experience modding, so can anyone reply me what materials i can get off DX or kaidomain to mod it brighter? thanks.