Alternative lighting

[scotsman]

Ok so i just got myself a nice gas powered lantern with four gas canisters of course i had a little play with it and it provides ample light BUT

one thing i overlooked untill now was carbon monoxide (CO) i was planning on buying some more and also getting some hurricane lamps but for saftey reasons ( kids knocking them over ect ) also the silent killer (CO) im having a change of heart and have been looking into solar chargers for batteries but come up against a brick wall!.

So dose anyone here know of a system i can buy that will charge batteries ? i have a large charger that runs off the mains it charges almost every one even 9V what kind of system would i need to run a single unit such as the charger ? i dont intend to use it for anything else other than charging batteries if SHTF

[tigs]

do you mean something like this ? http://www.solargadgetstore.co.uk/solar ... arger.html

[jansman]

Maplins do solar chargers too.
On the subject of lighting, we have had serious wiring problems here at Chez Jansman. We are in a 110 yr old cottage and the wiring( lights)upstairs and down is old. Very, very old. Sooo... We have had a staged/phased rewire. Last bit Wednesday
This means we have been using LED lanterns on the stairs. They do the job-and well. I have battery and wind-up dynamo type. I prefer the wind up tbh. However, battery drain is slow, making them ideal shtf lighting. It is also safe. No fire risk, especially if there are children or pets about.
Couple these lights with a small solar charging system you are sorted IMHO.

[scotsman]

Yep something like that would be great i did look at maplins but was not sure what would be best suited to charging batteries
Again on the issue of lighting i was looking at wind up torches for GHB but again i faced the massive selection and most looked rather naff
i like the sound of wind up lanterns can anyone advise on a good make? also battery ones?
some of the ones i have seen has been really poor

[jansman]

Mine are no -name ones from a seaside tat-shop!

[hobo]

I use iSun Battpack http://www.selectsolargadgets.co.uk/pro ... ry-charger battpack
Picked mine up from eBay, along with iSun solar panels. You can daisy chain the panels for more input.
http://www.electricfence-online.co.uk/s ... 62123.html

[icrcc]

Without spending a small fortune for long term alternate lighting by far the best way to go Is LED lights using NiMH pre-charged rechargeable batteries which are charged with a solar battery charger. This is not the cheapest approach but it is not the most expensive either. Should you need to use them for an extended period of time you do not have to worry about running out of fuel for more convention sources of lighting. Also no worries from CO2 or accidental fires.

[scotsman]

I love the idea of being able to charge batteries while i have others in use and rotate them its almost endless really,i`d rather spend a little bit more and have peace of mind might sound daft to some i know lol

thanks for the links maplin had some good looking stuff but i was not sure if needed inverters/controllers ect thats why i was hoping for something specific to what i was looking for


as allways gents/ladys thank you

[Cougar]

been using the uni-com wind up torch below and lantern for a couple of years now and they are great.
http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/product.php ... ce=froogle
http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cf ... ium=google

[scotsman]

Thank you cougar

Mrs scotsman got me a wind up torch, an RAC one at first i thought this might work out ok was the biggest waste of £10 ever even after winding it for the best part of 5 minutes the LED's barely lit up not to mention i charged it via the mains and it made no change so word of advice avoid it all costs

After finding out how useless it was i took it appon myself to take it appart and see if i could replace the battery with a better one, after taking it apart to my shock i found nothing more than a little button battery how they expect that to last 7 hours i dont know.

So if anyone else has good wind up lamps they can post i`d be verry gratefull