[Sage0925]

I was intrigued by kev's video on emergency solar lighting. Our power usually goes off here when we get, oh, say, one or two snowflakes or a couple drops of rain.

I would like something with a little more 'umph'. A solar lantern with enough LED's to read by, that isn't going to require that I sell my firstborn into slavery to buy it (them). And if I'm not being outrageous here, like 4 hrs of power?

And can anyone tell me, do you still get at least a trickle charge when it's cloudy outside?

Thanks!

 

[Ammo]

I'm not sure about the "best buy," but sometime back, I picked up one at Wally World for under $20.00, if I remember correctly.

It uses rechareable, replaceable batteries for the solar part, has an adapter to use in a cigar lighter (vehicle). and an AC plug in adapter.

The AC and DC adapters store in the base and can also be used to recharge the batteries.

It is bright enough to read by, but never tried it for an extended period of time.

It is a good item to have around.

 

[Sage0925]

I'm not sure about the "best buy," but sometime back, I picked up one at Wally World for under $20.00, if I remember correctly.

It uses rechareable, replaceable batteries for the solar part, has an adapter to use in a cigar lighter (vehicle). and an AC plug in adapter.

The AC and DC adapters store in the base and can also be used to recharge the batteries.

It is bright enough to read by, but never tried it for an extended period of time.

It is a good item to have around.

What department was it in?

 

[Swampwood]

I'v been tempted to try this one for my chicken coop, I'm hoping they start using leds soon.
http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-shed-light-95573.html

 

[MikeK]

You might be better off splitting the lantern part and the solar part. That lets you get the exact lantern you want, and the charger that works best for your needs. The charger can be used to charge batteries for other devices also. That's how I've been doing it, and it works well for me. I have several types of lanterns and flashlights, and I use solar chargers to keep their batteries up. Also for radios, gunsights, etc.

 

[Sage0925]

You might be better off splitting the lantern part and the solar part. That lets you get the exact lantern you want, and the charger that works best for your needs. The charger can be used to charge batteries for other devices also. That's how I've been doing it, and it works well for me. I have several types of lanterns and flashlights, and I use solar chargers to keep their batteries up. Also for radios, gunsights, etc.

More detail about the solar chargers, please?

 

[sarge912]

I'v been tempted to try this one for my chicken coop, I'm hoping they start using leds soon.
http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-shed-light-95573.html

I see that they have it on sale for $20. I have a 20% off coupon for any one item (including sale items) I am guessing that the battery and charging circuit is in the light. It shouldn't be to hard to convert it to LED's. I have a 9 led cluster laying around that might just do the trick. For $18 I may just have to give it a shot. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Ammo]

What department was it in?

It was in sporting goods, but as I said it was awhile back.
Won't hurt to check, if interested.
Forgot to mention, ican be used to charge AA type batteries, I believe.

 

[MikeK]

More detail about the solar chargers, please?

There are a bunch of different portable solar chargers on the market now. I have a bunch of small ones with a scale. They charge every type of battery from AAA to D and 9V, even batteries types that I have never heard of before. The ones I have are similar to these:

http://www.depoteco.com/SPD/solar-powered-battery-charger--80000007-1218519664.jsp

I also have a couple small panel chargers. They're great for camping, where the smaller units are great for packs or to have in the glove compartment. I believe mine are 3 watt. They have several taps for 3, 6, 9 and 12 volt, along with different connectors that let you charge regular batteries or connect to a car battery. I can't find my exact model, but this one is similar, minus the voltage taps.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200422045_200422045

Like I said, there are many models out there, from small to large, cheap to pricey. It's a great way to keep a bunch of batteries charges for lights and small devices. The good part about seperate chargers is that if the panel on a lantern goes out, it pretty much ruins the usefulness of it. With a seperate charger you have redundancy, plus the ability to use it for other devices.

 

[Swampwood]

I see that they have it on sale for $20. I have a 20% off coupon for any one item (including sale items) I am guessing that the battery and charging circuit is in the light. It shouldn't be to hard to convert it to LED's. I have a 9 led cluster laying around that might just do the trick. For $18 I may just have to give it a shot. Thanks for the tip.

If your able to convert to led..please PM or email me with results:thumb:
I need to look around for some"clusters"

 

[Sage0925]

There are a bunch of different portable solar chargers on the market now. I have a bunch of small ones with a scale. They charge every type of battery from AAA to D and 9V, even batteries types that I have never heard of before. The ones I have are similar to these:

http://www.depoteco.com/SPD/solar-powered-battery-charger--80000007-1218519664.jsp

Wow...hey, thanks muchly for that tip and link! My husband was just talking about getting a charger, but he was looking at a 110V one. *******.

 

[MikeK]

Wow...hey, thanks muchly for that tip and link! My husband was just talking about getting a charger, but he was looking at a 110V one. *******.

I'm sure they make better units now than when I bought mine in the mid 90s, but I've put a lot of use on them and since they've proven themselves reliable, I've just stuck with them.

It's always good to have 110V ones also, to keep everything charged all the time. I do that too.

Definately look into a small panel charger. If you look around, you'll find them that have multiple voltages and attachments to charge anything. Mine has a cradle for charging anything from AAA to D, two at a time. It has battery clips for 6 and 12 volt car type batteries. And it has an assortment of charging plugs that will plug into most rechargeable devices. I think they ran me about $20 each at the time. The larger ones can charge a laptop.

The small box type chargers can be found cheap too. I think I paid $6.95 each for mine. I bought 20 from a liquidator for below wholesale. I was going to sell them at the gun shows, but I liked them so much that I kept most of them.