An Interesting Disaster Light Concept

I live in a rural area subject to a variety of severe weather phenomena that can disrupt the grid for extended periods depending on how the dice roll. As such I have an interest in off grid systems for these eventualities. Recently I've come up with a lighting solution I find intriguing so I thought I'd share. It consists of the following,

Any P60 compatible 3x CR123 host
1 drop in rated for ~9 volts
1 drop in rated for ~3 volts
2 50mm rechargeable cells
6 primaries
1 SC1 spares carrier

The ~9v drop in and 2 50mm cells, be they 17500's or 18500's, are the primary light configuration. The SC1 holds the primaries and ~3v drop in.

Ideally you would have a backup electricity system of some sort and a charger capable of recharging the 50mm cells. A car adapter for the charger and a full tank of gas could be enough. If this fails you can run the ~9v drop in on the primaries. The ~3v drop in and 3 cell body allows you to fall back on 2 ubiquitous AA's if you have to start scavenging for batteries. This would also be useful for adventuring as AA's seem to be just about the most common batteries in the world. I would prefer a CR123/17500 body because it would hold the AA's better than the wider 18mm cell body.

You can play with the concept, adding or changing things. Some ideas would be a 2x CR123 host with optional 1 cell extender so you could run the ~3v drop in on 1 50mm battery + spacer, 1x 17670/18650, or a customized carrier layout in a small Pelican case, etc. I prefer the setup I outlined because of its relative simplicity and the fact that it consists of two basic modules, the light itself and the SC1. Both of these are durable, weather tight, pocketable and easy to keep track of. I feel LED drop ins are especially suited to this setup because of their overall efficiency, durability and longevity.

there is a new development to the mobile phone charger situation. by 2012 (if i am not wrong) most of the mobile phone brands will be using mini-usb as their default pin/plug.

today there is a solar cell product that charges mobile phones. if by 2012 rechargeable battery brands will research and manufacture a charger that uses mini-usb then it will an exciting development for us all flashaholic.

saves mother earth (less lithium and other chemical pollutions and waste).

Why not have 2 different lights?

One light that takes two CR123 or a single 18650 (could be Fenix TK11) and another light that takes AA batteries, more simple to work with and includes redundancy.

Your post is very timely for me. I just bought a G3, put a Dereelight 1S WC Q5 module in it and am running it on 2AAs. In a pinch I can put 3 CR123a cells in it and the P90 incan reflector assembly or the TLS TX-3 setup on it for some bright light.

I had thought about buying a FM 3P clone body and a 2 cell extension. Combined with a Malkoff M30 you end up with a light that can take one CR123a cell or 2AA cells.

This is one reason I own an Energizer Quick Switch with an LED upgrade installed. It will run on any 2xAA, 2xC, 2xD cells I can scrounge up.

With the proper adapters and 2-6 cell dropin, it will also run on 2xAAA, or 2xLi-Ion

CdBoy said:

there is a new development to the mobile phone charger situation. by 2012 (if i am not wrong) most of the mobile phone brands will be using mini-usb as their default pin/plug.

today there is a solar cell product that charges mobile phones. if by 2012 rechargeable battery brands will research and manufacture a charger that uses mini-usb then it will an exciting development for us all flashaholic.

saves mother earth (less lithium and other chemical pollutions and waste).

Click to expand...

Sabrewolf is currently designing a custom light - flat, that will charge via mini-usb.

Currently has a list started in his thread

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/212213



Myself - I just have a whole lot of batteries. I generally use AW 18650s and rcr123s in lights that will accept them - and have primaries for emergency.

There is always more than one workable solution to any practical problem and having two lights would be valid. In fact I do own a pair of low output 2x AA LED lights.

I prefer 1 light + SC1 w/ ~3v drop in over two lights because it is one less thing to have to find space for and one less thing to have to keep track of. If you're in your house then you can be among all your worldly possessions but if you have to evacuate you may have to do so with little notice or you may be limited in how much you can bring with you.

Redundancy is also built into this system as many ~9v drop ins can be powered by 2x AA in direct drive if you lost the SC1. If you lost the light then you could build an improvised light with the contents of the SC1.

On the other hand if you lost your 1x 18650 light you most likely wouldn't be able to run CR123 primaries in your AA light because the battery tube will be too narrow to fit them. If you lost your AA light you'd at least have to come up with a spacer to run a single AA and the output on 1x AA at 1.5v probably won't be very impressive. No matter if you get stuck with only the 50mm cells, CR123's or AA's the 3x CR123 body can use them.

USB charging adapters can be very useful. I remember one time my wife and I were on a trip and we needed directions to a location we were trying to find. She had a Blackberry with a net connection but no charge. She also had a laptop with a full charge but no net connection. She was able to charge her Blackberry off her laptop with a USB charging adapter and we were able to pull up the directions. Pretty cool!

The Energizer Quick Switch looks neat. It's not quite the same thing as a C3 Centurion but I may have to pick one up anyway. :twothumbs

While I didn't previously make any recommendations as to which drop ins to use because lighting needs will vary with the user I did have the Malkoff M60LL and M30 in mind when I posted this. An M30LL could be really handy in this kind of light.

DX has some modules that could also be interesting for this kind of setup, like their 3.6-8.4v 0-100% module. I'm just not quite sure how disaster worthy DX modules are, though on the plus side you could put a spare in the SC1 at least. I do have one of these on order for evaluation.

One plus of a second light is being able to put it in your BOB in it's entirety. No need to scrounge for several components if it's half in storage, half your EDC. I keep a 2-6 cell NiteIze dropin installed, so it works on anything 1-9v.

Gerber Infinity Ultra takes care of 1xAAA or 1xAA in the same host in a smaller form factor. A homemade 2x5mm LED attachment for 9v batteries allows for scrounging from smoke detectors also, so all possible consumers batteries are covered.

That's why I like the new U2 with extra low low. Primaries or 18650's (with the proper body) high output if needed, I have 5 18650's a 12 volt charger that works off my car too, 2 U2's. I'm pretty set should I need it.

Oh yeah. I wasn't trying to say you should only have one light... this is CPF after all!

BOB lights are a whole subject unto themselves but there is also nothing preventing you from putting an extra SC1 component in your BOB regardless of what you do with the light itself. I envision this setup in three potential primary roles.

One would be as a "house light." You keep it in the same place every day for general utility use. Next to the fire extinguisher, phone and your chosen means of home defense is good. If something comes up it is a "go to" light. Come to think of it this would also make a good car light, especially since you can have a car charging adapter and now matter how you end up you should be able to find some way to make it work. Not every gas station has CR123's but the great majority do have AA's.

Another would be as an adventure light. One you'd bring along if you're going on a trip somewhere because you can't always bring everything.

Finally this could be an EDC. I don't mind carrying a 3 cell light at all and an SC1 wouldn't take up much more room than a Blackberry, cell phone or other commonly holstered/pocketed device.

YMMV.

On the other hand if you did have only one light for financial or other reasons I would argue this would be a very useful and adaptable setup to own.

65535 said:

That's why I like the new U2 with extra low low. Primaries or 18650's (with the proper body) high output if needed, I have 5 18650's a 12 volt charger that works off my car too, 2 U2's. I'm pretty set should I need it.

Click to expand...

The U2 should also be compatible with a 1 cell extender, right? If it will run off 1x 18650 then it should be able to do ok on 2x AA and an extender.

Instead of having 2 circuits, you can try to find a good buck-boost circuit with a wide enough voltage range for your uses. Though 2 circuits would probably be more reliable overall.

I'm not sure if the U2 is compatible with the extender.

Or, you could get one of those crank-charger flashlights and mod it to use better LEDs.

When we have blackouts (usually they're short, 2hr max), I usually break out one of the POB HIDs, and ceiling bounce that to light the general living area.
I use a 700W inverter running off a 75Ah deep cycle in my car (for my stereo) to power a couple small fluroescent "trouble" lamps. If needed, I could use the 12V input on my AW-139 charger to charge up cells for my 120P. I also have a Photon Freedom Fusion headlamp that comes in handy for navigating hands-free. I could always use the C9000 to charge up Ni-Mh cells. I think I need to buy more Eneloops!