Burgess "Safari Lite" fluorescent lantern

Burgess \"Safari Lite\" fluorescent lantern

I have a Gould Burgess "Safari Lite" fluorescent lantern, but can't find the 69V batteries it needs - or if 69V lantern batteries are even made anymore. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

The lantern was some kind of gift to someone in September 1975 (as scrawled in part of the metal with an electric inscribing tool of some kind), so it's definitely got a few years under its belt. I picked it up in a flea market last year for almost nothing, and want to see it work.

Inside, there's a GE brand F8T5-CW fluorescent tube. It's around 11.5" from end to end, including the caps & pins.

Any idea where I can find 69V batteries (2 needed) for it, that doesn't require the buyer to have a credit card?
If so, how much do they cost?

TIA for any help anyone has to offer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: Burgess

Can you post a picture of it?

Re: Burgess

69 V not 67 1/2 V?

Hmmmmm ... On the Radio Shack site there used to be an e-mail address (or possibly a mail form) to send them info on a battery you were trying to replace and they would answer back within a day or two with weather not they could do it, and for how much.

If nothing else pops up it might be a place to try. (They helped my out a couple of times - once for a 67 1/2 volt and two 1 1/2 volt "F" cells for a Motorola portable radio ... )

Re: Burgess

[ QUOTE ]
Larry1582 said:
Can you post a picture of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a quicky picture I took and uploaded...



The lantern is just a tick over 12" tall, 4" wide at its widest point (the reflector), and just under 8" deep.

A label inside the battery compartment says it uses two Gould Burgess Z46HD batteries.

(The green circle on the side is a $1 price sticker from the flea market).

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

[ QUOTE ]
Tomas said:
69 V not 67 1/2 V?
...
If nothing else pops up it might be a place to try. (They helped my out a couple of times - once for a 67 1/2 volt and two 1 1/2 volt "F" cells for a Motorola portable radio ... )

[/ QUOTE ]

They're 69 volts even, have a metal case, two flat round "buttons" on top, colored white, red, & black (painted on, not anodized or printed), and are pretty tall. They're also pretty heavy f***ers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Not like the much smaller paper-enclosed 67.5V radio "B" batteries I used to see in Juneau, or the 90V radio "B" batteries made out of 10 9V batteries connected in series (yes, I really took one apart once back in the late 1970s to see what made it tick!)

I'll have to see what Radio Shack has...I honestly don't know where else to go.

(Edit)
I went to the Rat Shack website, used their "battery finder", and did not find it. However, it did present me with a form to fill out, which I did. So I guess I'll know (from them anyway) soon enough.

A label inside the lantern says you can send $11.50 to Gould-Burgess and they'd send you a pair. But that was in 1975. I'll probably poop myself when I find out what they cost today. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Burgess no longer makes batteries. When they were in operation they made many unique OEM batteries that weren't available by any other manufacturer. They made batteries to fit the product manufacturer's needs, according to manufacturer's specs without regard to standard size. Unless another battery manufacturer has found additional use for it, it's probably not available.

I've heard that it's possible to get a replacement special made, but I can't remember through who, nor the minimum order required.

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Just did some prowling around myself, and it doesn't look good, Craig ...

Battery Forum

Your only chance may be to have one of the wizards here at CPF whip up a DC-DC converter that you can pop some NiMH's into and would fit into the cavity ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Craig,
Check out www.energizer.com , the carbon-zinc industrial section. They have 2 versions of the 67.5 volt battery, # 416 and # 467. You'll have to rig the terminal connections. Neither seem to have any amp-hour capacity, but maybe this lantern doesn't need capacity as much as high voltage? You could also use three 22.5 volt batteries if you could get them to fit. Good luck!
Kirk

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

what does this thing use for a ballast?
you could also disasemble the batts and pack them with aa cells.or whatever you can fit inside that gives good capacity.

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Our Boy Scout Troop had one of those lights. On our camp outs the fathers would stay up late playing poker and drinking beer under the flood of the safari lantern, while us "kids" would sneak out of camp and cause trouble. Thanks for a trip down memory lane.

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

i calculated 46 cells.
or 55 nicd/nimh
did you tear one apart yet?
bet it is a stack of flat cells like an old 9v

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

I've neither torn apart the lantern nor a 69V battery.
So I honestly don't know what's inside either one.

I can plug the lantern into a 110VAC outlet, but I have not yet tried that. The thing is old enough that I might let the magic smoke out of something inside, and set off the building's fire alarm and **** off the manager. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
Ahh, the joys of apartment living...

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

[ QUOTE ]
snakebite said:
what does this thing use for a ballast?

[/ QUOTE ]
I honestly haven't had the lantern apart, so I don't know what's in there. Probably one or more stinky things like resistors, but I just don't know.

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Good luck gooing here and reading this but I wonder if the "other" guys bought the battery packs already

http://www.darnell.com/forum_bat/messages/896.stm

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

[ QUOTE ]
The LED Museum said:
I've neither torn apart the lantern nor a 69V battery.
So I honestly don't know what's inside either one.

I can plug the lantern into a 110VAC outlet, but I have not yet tried that. The thing is old enough that I might let the magic smoke out of something inside, and set off the building's fire alarm and **** off the manager. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
Ahh, the joys of apartment living...

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, Is there an AC adapter or cord for the light?

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

[ QUOTE ]
yuandrew said:
Hmm, Is there an AC adapter or cord for the light?

[/ QUOTE ]

The light connects directly to a 110VAC outlet with a cord, but why would I want to be tethered to a 5' cord when I could take the Safari Lite anywhere? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The cord did not come with the light, but I could probably chop up the end of a ghetto blaster cord to make it fit the receptacle on the lantern, or just use a suicide cord.

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

I had one of those lights over 30 years ago, bought it at the PX at Long Binh base in Viet Nam, don't remember the price, but it must have been fairly cheap, else I wouldn't have bought it. The 2 batteies were heavy, and expensive, these were also used as B batteries in old portable tube radios.

The batteries became scarce a few years later, it eventually ended up at the local Goodwill collection box.

I suppose one way out would be to try a simple inverter to kick up 6-12 VDC to the 135 VDC (or AC) , or cannibalize one out of those low cost lanterns from China. Those drive the same size Fluorescent bulb from 6 or 8 D-cells.

/ed B in NH

Re: Burgess \'\'Safari Lite\'\' fluorescent lantern

Of course, if one were to take the true spirit of LED modding to heart, gut out all the old fluorescent stuff, put in a row of Luxeon emitters of choice, and fill that big empty cavernous battery compartment with a 12V SLA battery, and take this classic into the 21st century. Perhaps 6 or 9, 1 watt "stars",
no optics, a resistor in series with each series string of 3, which should match up to 12Volts nicely. There is probably enough metal in the lantern to act as a decent heatsink.

/ed B in NH