Lighting set up for camping

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  mskeggs on 24/05/2017 - 11:20

  These are great:
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Outdoor-Portable-LED-Bulb-La…
  I saw Bigw has an equivalent product for $5 each.

  The 360 degree light is very good. They aren't super bright, so we hang up a few. Run off aaa and will do a few hours every night for a week on alkalines (I don't take eneloops camping due to loss/weather damage).
  I also have a few 12v LED globes I made up leads and 12v plugs for that throw of light similar to a normal 60w globe in a house. I plug these into a 12v jump starter battery pack that was $60 at Kmart. If runs all week too.

  Handheld flashlights and table standing lanterns are much less practical than an overhead light, in my experience, so I recommend you hang something off the gazebo.

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    patthecat on 24/05/2017 - 16:58

    They are cheap so will order a couple and give them a go. Thanks.

    Never heard about hooking things up to a jump starter battery pack so will look further into this as hubby has one in the shed.

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  [Deactivated] on 24/05/2017 - 13:15

  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-Rechargeble-4-Modes-30cm-LED-…

  You could get a couple of these light strips, zip tie them to your gazebo legs or roof supports (less shadow but more inconvenient access).

  Power/recharge them with a couple of USB powerbanks.

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    patthecat on 24/05/2017 - 17:10

    I would never have thought of using a power bank, from a search on ozbargain they seem to be around the $25 mark and would also come in handy at other times. Thanks

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  ilikeradiohead on 24/05/2017 - 14:57

  I got one of these and it's been pretty good so far, although I don't go camping very often, but it has lasted the whole weekend when I have.

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    patthecat on 24/05/2017 - 17:12

    Thanks for the recommendation I will look into it. Actually that post seems to have a few other recommendations to look into as well. Cheers

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  Euphemistic on 25/05/2017 - 12:22

  Thinking a little outside the box, do you have any cordless power tools? Could you use the battery from those for a light?

  Last couple of trips I've taken my Ryobi one+ batteries and lights. One torch and one flouro light. Worked a treat, plenty of light over Easter and they are very portable. If you've got a tool with a range of things that use the same battery it might be worth investing in a light or two. I also bought a fan that came in handy in summer, runs off the same batteries. Ryobi have a couple of different styles of light.

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    patthecat on 26/05/2017 - 09:05

    Thanks I like thinking outside the box! We don't own a Ryobi or anything similar but it's definitely something we would consider buying.

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      Euphemistic on 26/05/2017 - 10:00

      It is worth considering, especially if you are contemplating buying a drill or similar. The most cost effective way to buy the batteries for that style of gear is usually buying the drill kit. It's how I started, needing a new drill. Some might say it got a bit out of hand as I now have over 15 items running off the same batteries including handyman tools and gardening tools. The available range of tools running off one battery type is amazing and when you step it up to extra stuff like camping lights makes a big difference.

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        patthecat on 26/05/2017 - 10:25

        Lol 15 items! I reckon my hubby has an aversion to power tools and the house pretty much has an aversion to his diy

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  [Deactivated] on 26/05/2017 - 08:09

  Ryobi 1 offer a variety of lights and fans that run off the same battery. They also have a 12V battery charger, as well as 240v charging capability. I used to use a proper deep cycle battery but have subsequently restricted that to fridge use only. for lights I now use 12V leds (Strips) that connnect to those pocket car start batteries. I realise they are not technically the correct battery as they are not deep cycle, but they work for a few days camping and have far less leads running over the ground, and if needed I can recharge by plugging them into the car. For cable I have a modular set up. 12V cable + inline switch + lights. This allows me to change things as I want as 12V switch just plugs in to the cable and then the light plugs into the switch. This is the concept, although mine is home made.

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    patthecat on 26/05/2017 - 09:11

    I like the idea of the led strip lights running around the insdie of the gazebo, I can see that they are about $10 for 5m, the switches are cheap so now have to price up a jump start pack. There seem to be a few theads on here regarding them so will have a look at those for more info. When you start looking at batteries and all the different measurements of power it gets really complicated so will have to educate myself a bit. cheers

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      Euphemistic on 26/05/2017 - 09:56

      Workout the power draw of your lights and get an appropriate sized battery. You might find that a jump start pack is too large.

      It's also worth considering that when camping you don't need to light up the whole area and a portable solution often works well. Too much lighting starts to lose some of the camping feel about it too.

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        patthecat on 26/05/2017 - 10:20

        Yes I agree not too much light maybe a brighter one if I want to cook (or find something) and then we need just enough so that we can play a game of cards or a board game - we have a 5 year old.

        I am not really sure how much light a 5 metre length of LCD's would throw out but I am thinking enough for the above.

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        Euphemistic on 26/05/2017 - 10:59

        @patthecat: 5m would be heaps, you could cut it down to suitable sections. We had two sections of about 1m of old school led (not as bright as current) in our camper and it was sufficient. I've now got about 60cm in one of our caravan lights after converting it from flouro and it is enough for that area.

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  [Deactivated] on 26/05/2017 - 08:10

  1 more thing - I put a strip of grease proof paper inside my strip lights to reduce the glare. They are little less bright, but much nicer to work around.