An ignoramus needs suggestions on lanterns

Hello all,

I need your help and suggestions on lanterns. In our recent mini-storm I would have loved to have a battery operated lantern for area lighting. My requirements are:

1. Money is no object and price is only a minor consideration
2. CCFL is preferable because of efficiency and lamp life (I guess HID is also efficient but more fragile).
3. Rechargeable is OK provided: a. An alkaline backup is also available or b. The same lantern can use alkalines
4. Bright and long lasting (a 75 D cell version is OK by me ). Brightness on the order of 15 Watt Compact Fluorescent or more (that's roughly 1000 lumens).
5. Multiple light levels so that I can balance runtime against brightness.

I am sorry to be a bother and you have my thanks in advance.

Cheers.

monanza,
I'm kind of partial to the K-Mart brand dual "U"-tube fluorescent lantern. It runs on 8 D-cells and has a remote control. You can use one or both tubes or a small wattage incandescent "nightlight". Nice and bright, long-lasting, and waterproof to boot!
Kirk

Thanks Kirk, I plan on trying K-mart, Sears, and Radio Shack. The lines will be very very long unless I wait a few days .

I would have to say my favorite one right now is the Coleman remote control one. It uses 8 D cells and does indeed have a remote. I have run it over 8 hours on NiMH's and it is quite bright. It also have 2 brightness settings, low puts out 16 lumens at 5 feet and high is 18 lumens at 5 feet, low is very comparable to a 13w CF and high is close to a 15w CF. Low uses about 1/2 the power of high, so I stick with low most of the time.

hi there i am posting a link to what i think is a great lantern check it out http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38077
one thing though i have mine 4 years and kept it plugged it all the time it killed the lead acid 6v 4ha in about 2 years because the constant charge was to much it (you can over trickle a lead acid batt.)over all a very good light and a great price

thegreatfixer,

The lantern does look promising. At 20W it should light up an area pretty nicely. I think I'll give it a try alongside my other lanterns.

Cheers.

CHECK THIS OUT


NEW Guide Gear® 20 LED Lantern runs 500 hrs. on 4 D batteries!
20 super-bright
LED bulbs.
Bright (yet efficient) idea! This long-running Guide Gear® Lantern lasts 21 days on 4 Alkaline D batteries, putting other energy-wasting lanterns to shame. Ideal "area light" for camping, hunting or emergencies. It's incredibly bright... it'll light your pathway and your cooking area or keep you from getting cut while filleting a fish. Fully portable, lightweight unit has 20 super-bright LED bulbs.
Long-life bulbs last over 100,000 hrs.
Gasket-sealed, water-tight design
On / off control knob
8 1/2" h. x 4 1/2" diameter base
Uses 4 D alkaline batteries (not included)
Weighs 2 1/2 lbs. with batteries
Built-in hanging handle
AVAILABLE HERE: Guide Gear Lantern

From my experience, the majority of portable lanterns with fluorescent tubes and rechargeable lead-acid battery have two big design flaws.
1. The battery, usually a 6 V 4 Ah, is charged with a transformer and a diode bridge.
This fries the battery after one month (or less) that the lantern is left plugged in the main.
2. The inverter has no cutoff circuit for battery low voltage. This blackens the ends of the fluorescent tube, and kills the battery if you don't charge the lanters soon after use.

This is true for the most of imported lanterns in the price range of 20 - 30 $. I have seen this made also in brand name lanterns.

So, when you buy a lantern, check that the two protection circuits are present. Also, some well-made lanterns have a temperature sensor for outdoor use, because the fluorescent tube needs an increased drive in very cold temperatures.

Anthony

Thanks gents. I appreciate the suggestions and the advisories. I have gotten a Rayovac and the Harbor Freight model. The latter is good for home or yard use if one is willing to remember to charge it every other month and not forget to disconnect from power.

Cheers.

If price is not a big deal and you don't need great portability, then why not get high lumens combined with good runtimes by having a lot of power available? I think SLA is probably the way to go as you can get high capacities with much better self discharge characteristics than NIMH or lithium. Take a look at:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006XMTJ/qid=1056092928/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-3562779-0049612?v=glance&s=home-garden&n=507846

25 hours for the built in 8 watt fluorescent, or about 7 hours for a 23 watt compact fluorescent which would give the light output of a 100 watt incandescent.