A somewhat new-comer lantern is one that I picked up September 2014 at Walmart for $14.97.
Ozark trail 300 lumen lantern with 300 high / 65 low outputs.
Advertised run-times 57 hours high... 191 hours low.
Runs a Cree XB-D emitter on 3 D cells.
The battery cover is keyed (similar to the Siege, and UST lanterns)
It has an inner frosted diffuser, and a clear plastic globe.
The clear globe is held to the battery compartment by three small screws, and once removed, it reveals a bare Cree XB-D emitter mounted to a heat sink, and metal backing plate. The backing plate, and perhaps some other internal components are held in place by plastic posts going through a hole in the metal, and then melted. I wouldn't put it through "Indestructible" tests, but it will be more durable than the glass globed mantle lanterns. The lantern is made of hard plastic, similar to a plastic "Thermos bottle" and thick enough to be able to take some abuse.
There are two O-rings, one between the globe and battery case, and one between the battery case cover and the battery case.
Within the globe, is a glued in place, internal diffuser. This differs from its 3-D cell competitors, the Siege, and UST 30 lanterns. So if you remove the globe, the diffuser comes with it, so you have a bare emitter... mule.
It has a mechanical clicky switch... High, Low, and OFF.
It uses two resistors, and is not regulated with a driver.
Measured Ohms through switch to LED. 1.0 Ohm high, 2.6 Ohms low.
On HIGH with FRESH (1.65 volt) batteries, it emits a bit of glare.
The tint is a cool white, but NOT a terrible blue cool white.
The bottom half of a 1/2 gallon milk container slides perfectly over the top of it to make a second diffuser (similar to the UST and Seige - their outer globe is also frosted). This works out very well for reducing the glare. A slit can be cut in the bottom of the container so that the handle may protrude.
The container may also be used to store used, but not depleted batteries, outside the lantern, for its next use. Just place the batteries in the container, and then the lantern on top.
Based on the Cree XB-D data sheet, and the ma the lantern pulled, I calculated, and estimated the emitter lumens for each of 40 hours. Of course... out the front, or rather out all sides numbers will be less.
The batteries were Ever-ready Gold Alkalines.
As expected in an un-regulated alkaline based lantern, the lumens drop off somewhat rapidly initially, but the three Ds surprised me at how well they held up in the long run.
Initially the lantern pulled 700 ma high, and 390 ma low. ~210 lumens, and 130 lumens.
At the end of the first hour it was down to about 175 lumens
And at the end of the fifth hour it was just above 120 lumens.
For the seventh through seventeenth hours it was between 100 and 110 lumens.
Hours 18-28 it was between 80-95 lumens.
Hours 29-40 were between 70-80 lumens.
Hours 40-55 were between 40-63 Lumens
It appears that the advertised run-times for this lantern are accurate.
I estimate that it will run for another 70 hours down to 1 Lumen.
Honestly I was very surprised at how long a set of three D cells lasted.
I imagine that the Siege, UST, and Rayovac lanterns will perform similarly on high.
Start out at about 200-250 emitter lumens, and within an hour or so drop down to 150-175 lumens or less. This is due to the fact that alkaline batteries drop in output drastically initially, and then begin a more gradual taper.
Comments:
In the Power outage thread, we pretty much agreed that MOST people will be happy with 100 ceiling bounced lumens, we didn't cover lanterns much. This lantern, and I am sure the others will deliver between 70 and 110 lumens after the first six for 30 hours or more. IMO to maximize comfort, it would be good to have TWO of these lanterns so that even 30 hours into an outage, the combined output of two lanterns would still be over 140 lumens. Very... comfortable.
Ozark trail 300 lumen lantern with 300 high / 65 low outputs.
Advertised run-times 57 hours high... 191 hours low.
Runs a Cree XB-D emitter on 3 D cells.
The battery cover is keyed (similar to the Siege, and UST lanterns)
It has an inner frosted diffuser, and a clear plastic globe.
The clear globe is held to the battery compartment by three small screws, and once removed, it reveals a bare Cree XB-D emitter mounted to a heat sink, and metal backing plate. The backing plate, and perhaps some other internal components are held in place by plastic posts going through a hole in the metal, and then melted. I wouldn't put it through "Indestructible" tests, but it will be more durable than the glass globed mantle lanterns. The lantern is made of hard plastic, similar to a plastic "Thermos bottle" and thick enough to be able to take some abuse.
There are two O-rings, one between the globe and battery case, and one between the battery case cover and the battery case.
Within the globe, is a glued in place, internal diffuser. This differs from its 3-D cell competitors, the Siege, and UST 30 lanterns. So if you remove the globe, the diffuser comes with it, so you have a bare emitter... mule.
It has a mechanical clicky switch... High, Low, and OFF.
It uses two resistors, and is not regulated with a driver.
Measured Ohms through switch to LED. 1.0 Ohm high, 2.6 Ohms low.
On HIGH with FRESH (1.65 volt) batteries, it emits a bit of glare.
The tint is a cool white, but NOT a terrible blue cool white.
The bottom half of a 1/2 gallon milk container slides perfectly over the top of it to make a second diffuser (similar to the UST and Seige - their outer globe is also frosted). This works out very well for reducing the glare. A slit can be cut in the bottom of the container so that the handle may protrude.
The container may also be used to store used, but not depleted batteries, outside the lantern, for its next use. Just place the batteries in the container, and then the lantern on top.
Based on the Cree XB-D data sheet, and the ma the lantern pulled, I calculated, and estimated the emitter lumens for each of 40 hours. Of course... out the front, or rather out all sides numbers will be less.
The batteries were Ever-ready Gold Alkalines.
As expected in an un-regulated alkaline based lantern, the lumens drop off somewhat rapidly initially, but the three Ds surprised me at how well they held up in the long run.
Initially the lantern pulled 700 ma high, and 390 ma low. ~210 lumens, and 130 lumens.
At the end of the first hour it was down to about 175 lumens
And at the end of the fifth hour it was just above 120 lumens.
For the seventh through seventeenth hours it was between 100 and 110 lumens.
Hours 18-28 it was between 80-95 lumens.
Hours 29-40 were between 70-80 lumens.
Hours 40-55 were between 40-63 Lumens
It appears that the advertised run-times for this lantern are accurate.
I estimate that it will run for another 70 hours down to 1 Lumen.
Honestly I was very surprised at how long a set of three D cells lasted.
I imagine that the Siege, UST, and Rayovac lanterns will perform similarly on high.
Start out at about 200-250 emitter lumens, and within an hour or so drop down to 150-175 lumens or less. This is due to the fact that alkaline batteries drop in output drastically initially, and then begin a more gradual taper.
Comments:
In the Power outage thread, we pretty much agreed that MOST people will be happy with 100 ceiling bounced lumens, we didn't cover lanterns much. This lantern, and I am sure the others will deliver between 70 and 110 lumens after the first six for 30 hours or more. IMO to maximize comfort, it would be good to have TWO of these lanterns so that even 30 hours into an outage, the combined output of two lanterns would still be over 140 lumens. Very... comfortable.
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