Area lights

I need some recommendations on area lights.

I had the power go out recently and I used a bunch of maglites in candle mode and a couple aimed at the ceiling so I could continue reading the book I was immersed in. This was when I realized that a good fluorescent light might be handy (as well as a good headlight, but thats a diff topic).

So, can anyone recommend some good ones? I'd like some large and some small recommendations. Also, how often do you guys end up replacing the fluorescent lamps? Thanks.

Mark

Partially off topic:

For reading I use a $35 LightWedge (acrylic lens rests on the page). Not the perfect solution but it uses white LEDs and lights up the page well without excessive side spill or undesirable hot spots on the page.

Back on topic... Sorry don't have any fluorescent or CCFL lights so can't recommend any. Oh the tragedy!

Sorry for the off-topic continuation, but that is a very interesting booklight...

Light-Wedge
Thanks for mentioning it!

I was at Wally World today and bought a cute little 4AA Energizer light that used 2 white LEDs and two plastic rods to look like pocket-sized fluorescent. I would love to tell you how it worked but I immediately gave it to a friend. Has anybody used one of these? It was the size of deck of playing cards.---Marc

MicroE, those little lights just have a couple of resistors in series with the LEDs (through the switch, of course). Very simple and actually very effective lamp. Very good battery life, too.

I only have one, but it always goes with me while traveling - makes a good reading-in-bed light.

I have just a few flourescent lights.
I use a Radio Shack 2AA mini flourescent light as a reading light. It is about the size of a deck of playing cards. It seems to run for about an hour at a time on NiMH AA's. It puts out a nice even beam and is handy to carry.
Another light I have is the Eveready folding flourescent light. It runs on 4 D batteries. You can have it as either a directional floodlight, or a 360 degree floodlight depending on how you open it up. It has 2 flourescent tubes. You can light just one, or light both tubes at once. Most of the time, lighting just 1 tube is sufficient.
The other flourescent I have is my longest lasting flourescent light. Actually, it is my Coleman Powermate emergency jumpstarter that I always keep in my car. It has a single tube flourescent light built into the handle. I dont know exactly how long it will actually run between chargings, but I have actually used it as a camping lantern for a week at a time about 4 -6 hours a night with no problems. It is nice in that it is rechargeable so I dont spend a ton of money on batteries.

I personally use an Energizer Arc White to read by when the power goes out and it works great. It produces a very even light with no hot spots to speak of and using rechargeable NiMh, it will burn for something like 8-9 hours at a very nice to read by light level. There may be a better light out there to read by but personally, this is the best that I've come across so far. The only really annoying thing that I have to say about the Energizer Arc White that I've noticed so far is that it does not stand on end with any great degree of stability but the light quality is very nice and even. Oh, one other thing, this light is not water proof so you do not want to take it out into a rain storm but for inside the house it is very nice.

The Eveready 2 LED Folding Lantern is very good. I have one and it lights up the entire recreation room when there is no other light. Granted, it is not as bright as an incandescant or flourescent. But it works very well.

For a small area light, I keep a 2 AA powered flourescent light I got a Eddie Bauer years ago. I am sure there are other places that have a light like it. It has a black plastic body, semi-clear diffuser for the 1 FL bulb, and red plastic switch on the top. It cost me about $15 as I recall.

From walmart I have a couple of 4AA flourescents. They're about a 4" tube, provide more than enough light to walk around by, usable to cook with or work on things with.

I also have an Eveready arc-white, it has a cold cathode flourescent (really tiny tube), that works great as an area light, too. Just about 4 times more expensive than the walmart special above. (Ok, I have 2 of them.)

Finally, I have a couple of the AA powered Everedy 2 LED lights. These are great because of the extreme run time, but only bright enough to light an area for walking around, not for doing any type of task.

I have never run the 4AA flourescent long enough to require a bulb change. It is a standard bulb, though, and should last for more than 1000 hours, unless it's really poorly driven. The CCF in the Arc should last longer than the mechanical parts of the light itself.

Minjin,
K-Mart has their own brand of a real cool 2 U-tube fluorescent lantern. It's waterproof, runs on 8 D cells, and has a remote for nightlight (small low-amperage incandescent), 1 tube, or both tubes. I got mine on sale for $19.99 and the regular cost is $24.99 I believe.
Kirk

Well, I finally picked up an Arc White today at Sears. Like people have said in the past, its construction is shoddy at best. It looks like they put 99% of the materials cost into the ccfl and molded a super cheap, super cheesy body with the rest of the money. However, main light is half decent and the ccfl light is very impressive. Almost to the point that I'm tempted to take the ccfl tube out and put it in something more durable.

Has anyone used the large 8D two fluorescent bulb lantern that Walmart is carrying now? I'll have to go back and get more info on it...

Mark

For book reading, I would recommend the Phorm Light Voyager. I purchased one about 4 years ago from Borders Books, and use it on a regular basis.It uses a 10,000 hour ccfl, runs on 4aa batteries(there is an optional AC adapter available), and costs about $29.95.

http://www.sharperimagebest.com/dp601.html

Did find the Light Wedge interesting ...
might be getting myself an early X-mas present...

[ QUOTE ]
arioch said:
Did find the Light Wedge interesting ...

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I just heard the doorbell, and it was the Federal Express guy with a LightWedge. They sent it Fed Ex, so I assume they want it on my site quickly.

The device itself uses 2 white LEDs and a big acrylic panel you're supposed to lay on the page you're reading.

The package says "Light on the page, not in your eyes" and I think it ought to live up to that promise. Guess I'd better wait till it's dark around here, and then break out the books! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

For area lighting I have an Osram Dulux Mini, smaller than an average size pack of cigarettes. It uses a U shaped CCFT (3W IIRC), and runs for ~1.5-2 hours on two AA batteries, and quite happily on NiMH rechargables. Pretty bright for its size, and a nice colour balance (more like mains flourescents, rather than the blueish hue many battery powered ones seem to have).

In the pic below, that's the ODM (which is nigh on impossible to photograph it seems), next to a flashlight identical in size to a 2AA MiniMag.

Minjin-
You mentioned removing the CCFL from the Arcwhite and transplanting it into something more durable. I have done this and it works great.

My mod involved cutting the Arcwhite CCFL from the Archwhite body and transplanting it into the Rayovac Lantern body which is available at Waldoworld for about $8.00. Not a hard mod, I just roughed out a hole in the Rayovac base and glued the CCFL into the hole.

For reading I use one of these from CCrane



I used to use a Light Voyager, but it ate batteries pretty fast, and as they got weaker the fluorescent lamp would take longer to come on.

I'm interested in hearing the LED Museum take on the Light Wedge.

I use the CCFL from the following as an area light:

http://www.shoplifestyle.com/store/product.asp?dept%5Fid=39&pf%5Fid=4179&mscssid=UPJL86HX3B3A8HL22DQKU0V6L9BL67M4

Very nice, compact light. 4AA batteries. Also has 3LED, 6LED, and Xenon settings, so sort of covers the whole lighting spectrum. I haven't seen an Arcwhite, so I don't know how it compares, but the build quality seems good to me. I think there is another thread on the Forum about this light somewhere......