Extended Hurricane Outage (1 Week)

[Poppy]

One thing few have mentioned is USB based LED lighting and power banks. <BIGSNIP>

I've tried some of those USB LEDs on a chip, and while they are great, and draw so little current that some of the power-banks that I plugged them into turned OFF. Same brand, same model, so ... no rhyme or reason. some worked well, others just turned off.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Just go to Costco and get the 800 lumen Enbrighten lantern. It's only $20, takes 8Ds (long runtime on lower settings), and has a built in USB port for charging cell phone batteries. 8 D batteries x 1.5 volts x 18 amps per cell= 216 watt hours. Try to find a USB battery pack cell phone charger with that much reserve power. That would be over 50 amps for a li-ion battery pack.

 

[Poppy]

Just go to Costco and get the 800 lumen Enbrighten lantern. It's only $20, takes 8Ds (long runtime on lower settings), and has a built in USB port for charging cell phone batteries. 8 D batteries x 1.5 volts x 18 amps per cell= 216 watt hours. Try to find a USB battery pack cell phone charger with that much reserve power. That would be over 50 amps for a li-ion battery pack.

Good point HOK.
I think that if that lantern was used as a phone charger @ one amp, each cell would be approximately equal to a 18650. They'd be 4Sx2P setup, so each P set would pull half duty, keeping the demand low enough to equate them to the 18650. It is at the higher demands, (greater than one amp) that the LiIon outperforms the D cells (by double or triple).

My Ryobi 18V One+ bluetooth speaker has a USB output, and the larger battery has 8 18650 cells in it. One thing about battery powered tools is that they charge up pretty quickly.

During an outage a member here was able to bring a charger and cells to the public library where for a limited amount of time, he was permitted to use an electric outlet. My 3 cell power banks may take 6 hours to charge, but my 4 cell tool battery less than an hour. I think on my Father's Day shopping list will be a 12V car charger for my Ryobi tool batteries.

 

[StarHalo]

One thing about battery powered tools is that they charge up pretty quickly.

My 3 cell power banks may take 6 hours to charge, but my 4 cell tool battery less than an hour.

This sounds promising; so is there some way to set up a simple phone charging rig with their stuff without having to buy a sawzall?

 

[markr6]

My 2018 Ford vehicle will only power
the USB ports, or cigarette lighter,
if the engine is Running !


Is this the norm with ALL vehicles now ? ? ?

Yeah I don't like that. My 2005 Jeep had two right by the shifter: one with ignition (key logo) and one live all times (lightning bolt logo). That was nice to be able to choose. Now on my 2015 they buried the "always-live" plug at the bottom of the center console. HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE!!?!?! There's also one in the back cargo bay which is only on with ignition by default. But I moved one of the fuses to the side in the fusebox and it makes it live all the time now. Check your manual to see if you have something like this.

 

[mickeyfinn]

I bought a UST 60 Day Duro months ago.

I just checked. Right now it has108 reviews on Amazon. 90% of the reviews are 5 or 4 stars.

I got it from an outdoors supplier in Texas. They had it mispriced on their website. I asked them if it was a misprint on the price. They said it was, but they would honor the incorrect pricing. I paid $48 and change for it, shipping included.

Lots of people said 1200 lumens is overkill.

But who says it has to run on high all the time?

I tested it out for a few weeks after I got it.

The thing runs forever on one set of batteries on lesser illumination settings. Hell, it should. It takes 6 Ds.

It's a long lasting, very bright lantern. I figure this gives me one less thing to worry about if and when the power goes out.

Hurricane season started a few days ago here in Florida. And it runs to November. I'm glad I have it.

I figure too much lantern is better than too little lantern. And as I said, there's no need or reason to keep it cranked to the max.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Good point HOK.
I think that if that lantern was used as a phone charger @ one amp, each cell would be approximately equal to a 18650. They'd be 4Sx2P setup, so each P set would pull half duty, keeping the demand low enough to equate them to the 18650. It is at the higher demands, (greater than one amp) that the LiIon outperforms the D cells (by double or triple).

My Ryobi 18V One+ bluetooth speaker has a USB output, and the larger battery has 8 18650 cells in it. One thing about battery powered tools is that they charge up pretty quickly.

During an outage a member here was able to bring a charger and cells to the public library where for a limited amount of time, he was permitted to use an electric outlet. My 3 cell power banks may take 6 hours to charge, but my 4 cell tool battery less than an hour. I think on my Father's Day shopping list will be a 12V car charger for my Ryobi tool batteries.

I believe 18 & 20v lithium batteries have the same amount of 18650s in them 5 per layer.
I bought a fast charging car adapter and wired it to a 20v black & decker battery and fast charged my phone with it.

 

[Poppy]

This sounds promising; so is there some way to set up a simple phone charging rig with their stuff without having to buy a sawzall?

Sure StarHalo, it is VERY easy.
Those cheap dollar store car cigar lighter/powerport USB adapters can handle 12-24 volts.
With a pair of alligator clips jumper wires, and a rubber band, you can connect it to the battery.

LOL... I couldn't find a rubber band.
But you could use tape, or magnets to hold the ends to the battery.
My tool battery's terminals are marked + and - if your's are not, you could determine that with a multi-meter, and mark them in preparation.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Black & Decker sells a 20v battery for their power tools that has a built in USB port and bluetooth and also sells a USB adapter. Dewalt sells a USB adapter (about $20+) also but most of these USB tool adapters won't do more than 1 or 1.5A and aren't fast charging either so you are better off cobbling something together like Poppy did. Most of the 12v adapters will do up to 28v.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

If you want to go the rechargeable power tool battery route, the 18 volt 700 lumen Milwaukee lantern has a 2.1 amp USB outlet built in. So does the 400 lumen 12 volt lantern. They are currently the only brand that has 9 Amp 18 volt batteries (162 watts). Their 3000 lumen Rover Floodlight and 4200-9000 lumen Radius lanterns will make the neighbors think you still have power. Ridgid and Makita sell power source accessories that get you a 1 amp USB outlet for the 18 volt batteries for about $20. Don't get the $50 Milwaukee one. You're better off paying $60 to $80 and getting the lantern that has it built in.

 

[bykfixer]

Definitely plus 1 on the classic Mag 168 lumen LED. But toss the batteries it comes with into a drawer for last resort. They have a leak issue for some reason.

I use Rayovac cells with no issues, but my gosh it seems like Maglites have some kind of alkaline sucking coating inside or something when using copper tops or bunnys.

 

[TheShadowGuy]

Any of the lights mentioned that make good battery vampires are great for long light in an emergency; personally I think anything that runs on "D" cells is ideal, since you could rig in any smaller alkaline or NiMH battery to power it.
Any reasonable quality, multi mode, single 18650 based light is also a good idea for a brighter light; if things get bad it could be used for signaling or searching through debris. I'm a fan of the BLF A6, personally, and for this use case it has a number of useful modes like a battery checker.
Tea lights are a great investment; cheap (a pack of 100 runs only a couple bucks), can provide a bit of area lighting for a few hours each, can be used in conjunction with cotton balls or similar to boil water or cook, add citronella to help with bugs, or other oils to deal with smells.
A small solar panel (even just a 20W portable one) along with a battery pack or 18650 charger/power bank like the Liitokala 100 would help keep your batteries topped up and also give you some charge for other devices. Bonus: the Liitokala I mentioned also charges NiMH.

Some rough cost estimates:
- Basic "D" cell flashlight or similar: <$20
- BLF A6: $22
- 2 18650 batteries: $12
- Liitokala 100: $5
- Solar panel, 20W, reliable vendor: $50
- Battery pack: $5+ depending on size
- Tea lights: $3
- Utility lighters, citronella, cotton balls, etc.: $10

 

[flatline]

I love how over-prepared we are. Seriously, I expect to get 100+ hours of run time out of my 4D maglite with 1/2 watt LED (arguably one of the *least* efficient lights I have simply because it doesn't have a lower mode). That's more than a week of solid use from sun down to sun up (way more than I'd ever actually use it). If I'm ever without power for that long, I will have already pulled out the generator or moved to where there's still power.

Looking at my current stash of batteries, I have enough to go for more than a year without recharging or replacing anything. Throw my solar charger into the mix and I can run indefinitely...and yet here I am thinking about purchasing more lights/batteries/etc even though I've never involuntarily been without power for more than 2 days in my entire life.

This is why the rest of the world thinks we're crazy.

--flatline

 

[markr6]

... I've never involuntarily been without power for more than 2 days in my entire life.

This is why the rest of the world thinks we're crazy.

LOL! Exactly. I think I went for about 2 hours once...in 30+ years. There was one time where the power was out for 2 days, but I was out of town anyway.

 

[bykfixer]

I keep several quart sized jar candles in my home setting on a coaster sized mirror (approx 4"x4" square from dollar stores). If we get a hum-dinger like Isabell or Irene, setting the mirror next to the jar candle gives you.... 2 candle power....

 

[StarHalo]

setting the mirror next to the jar candle gives you.... 2 candle power....

~13 candlepower, but yeah, I like those big triple-wick candles, lots of light and hours there..

 

[Lynx_Arc]

~13 candlepower, but yeah, I like those big triple-wick candles, lots of light and hours there..

I've sort of wondered how the cheap dollar store led tea candles? do in runtime and output I think they run off coin cells. I haven't used candles in over 30 years always had enough batteries and flashlights although a long ago outage I had a coleman unleaded lantern which if one needs a large amount of light could be still an option if batteries become hard to find.

 

[StarHalo]

I've sort of wondered how the cheap dollar store led tea candles? do in runtime and output I think they run off coin cells

My wife got a good set online that run off of 3xAAA each and has a remote; the manufacturer claims 150 hours of runtime, which I'm not sure about, but the upside is that the remote has a 2/4/6/8 hour timer function, so you can just leave them running and get some sleep. Pretty solid family-safe lighting for $25.

My favorite feature of any of these lights is of course the warm tint - I only use warm tint lights for power outage lighting, cool tints are just depressing..

 

[Lynx_Arc]

My wife got a good set online that run off of 3xAAA each and has a remote; the manufacturer claims 150 hours of runtime, which I'm not sure about, but the upside is that the remote has a 2/4/6/8 hour timer function, so you can just leave them running and get some sleep. Pretty solid family-safe lighting for $25.

My favorite feature of any of these lights is of course the warm tint - I only use warm tint lights for power outage lighting, cool tints are just depressing..

Safe lighting is good. I try and steer people away from candles due to the fire hazard associated with them as you can get LED lights with similar output that run ridiculously long times off standard batteries such that unless you leave the light on 24/7 you could easily get a weeks worth of light out of it. 100 hour runtime is 12 days at 8 hours a night. Essentially there is little need to resort to candles other than to avoid buying and storing extra batteries (and recharging even).

 

[xxo]

Yeah a lot of people get into trouble with candles during blackouts/hurricanes and such - remember that the FD and other emergency services have their hands full at these times and they might not have water to fight fires and you might have a hard time even calling them if the phone lines are down and the cell towers have no power.