# cheapest way to light up a small field?



## 60ndown (Oct 4, 2008)

me and some local dog owners meet at a small field for dog socializing. with winter darkness approaching id like to get a light that can run for a good 1-1.5 hours and light up a good sized chunk of field (fetch with dogs etc) and not blind everyone.....

and cheap-ish?

i can use my lightweight camera tripod to get the light off the ground 4 feet


any suggestions?

and a link, 

when you quote a model number i have no idea what your talking bout


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## jake25 (Oct 4, 2008)

I don't know of a light that can light up a large area and not be blinding?

Isn't that like saying you want a big steak that isn't meat?


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 4, 2008)

:welcome:

The Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight is exactly what you are looking for. It is rechargeable, runs for 2.5 hours on a full charge, and is small and lightweight. I own it and many other spotlights, and it is very nice & bright and lights up objects up to 1/4 of a mile away. It has a perfect round white beam and very bright spill, but wouldn't be too bright for your application. Another great thing is that it is water proof! I have used mine out in heavy downpours, and it got soaked but not one drop of water got in it at all. It is very rugged and durable too.

I own two 3000 lumen HID ("High Intensity Discharge") spotlights, which are much brighter than the Coleman but do not run nearly as long, are not water proof, and would be way too bright for what you need and would blind everyone, so I recommend against HID. I also recommend against standard halogen spotlights as they have short 20 minute runtimes and dim very quickly.

I bought my Coleman LED spotlight from Sears for $60.


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## RobertM (Oct 4, 2008)

BlueBeam22 said:


> :welcome:
> 
> The Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight is exactly what you are looking for. It is rechargeable, runs for 2.5 hours on a full charge, and is small and lightweight. I own it and many other spotlights, and it is very nice & bright and lights up objects up to 1/4 of a mile away. It has a perfect round white beam and very bright spill, but wouldn't be too bright for your application. Another great thing is that it is water proof! I have used mine out in heavy downpours, and it got soaked but not one drop of water got in it at all. It is very rugged and durable too.
> 
> ...



Depending on the size of the field, I'm not so sure 530 lumens in going to cut it. I have a homemade P7 Mag making close to 800 or 900 lumens and I don't think it would light up a field enough for multiple people to comfortably play fetch with their dogs. I'm thinking he will need around 3000 lumens and up! Something like my Power On Board HID with some sort of homemade diffuser would probably work.

I'm really thinking that HID with some sort of method to diffuse the beam is going to have be the way to go. LEDs just aren't going to cut unless there a tons of them  and high power incandescents just won't have the runtime unless you have a lot of batteries.

Just my 0.02

Robert


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 4, 2008)

> *RobertM*
> Depending on the size of the field, I'm not so sure 530 lumens in going to cut it. I have a homemade P7 Mag making close to 800 or 900 lumens and I don't think it would light up a field enough for multiple people to comfortably play fetch with their dogs. I'm thinking he will need around 3000 lumens and up! Something like my Power On Board HID with some sort of homemade diffuser would probably work.
> 
> I'm really thinking that HID with some sort of method to diffuse the beam is going to have be the way to go. LEDs just aren't going to cut unless there a tons of them  and high power incandescents just won't have the runtime unless you have a lot of batteries.
> ...


 
RobertM:

The Power On Board HID is an amazing light isn't it? It is the best light and has the highest output for the price out of all the lights I own. It is one of my all-time favorites.:thumbsup:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

60ndown:

I have the Power On Board HID spotlight and agree that it is an AMAZING light, but it is HUGE and twice as heavy as the Coleman 530 lumen LED spotlight. The Coleman might only put out 530 lumens but it has a super tight beam and throws 1/4 of a mile easily, and will nicely illuminate a large swath of a field up to 300 yards long.

I would recommend against HID for 3 reasons:
1. Because an HID light will have to be left on for 1 minute, as turning it off sooner is bad for it.
2. Because once turned off, you have to wait a few minutes for the bulb to cool before turning it back on or else you will damage it.
3. Because HID takes 30 seconds to reach full brightness.
4. If you will need to be turning the light on and off intermittently a few times per minute, this will damage an HID light.

If you don’t mind the drawbacks of HID that I stated and you need to light up a large portion of a field over 500 yards long then the Power On Board HID is clearly a much better choice than the Coleman LED spotlight and I highly recommend it. It runs for over 70 minutes on a full charge. With the Power On Board HID you could easily give people enough light to play fetch up to 1/2 a mile away, it is that powerful. Since you state it is a small field it would be helpful to know a rough estimate of how long it is.

You can get the “*Vector Power On Board HID spotlight*” on eBay for around $50, it is red and black.

The Power On Board HID with some sort of a filter to diffuse the beam so it doesn't blind people would be very effective close up as it would illuminate an area 3 times larger than the Coleman LED spotlight and much more brightly.

I highly recommend either light, it just depends on how big of a field it is, and what your needs and preferences are.


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## RobertM (Oct 4, 2008)

Yeah, the POB HID is bright to say the least 

60ndown, I don't know if you are a Sam's Club member or not, but I just checked and they have them on their Sam's Club online Auction section right now (it's where I originally bought mine for ~$33 shipped). They look to be $20-30 plus shipping right now with one auction ending in the next few hours and two more ending tomorrow. Just thought I'd let you know.

Also, I definitley agree with BlueBeam22 in that if you could post more info about the field in question, we would be better able to recommend a light for you.

Robert


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## 60ndown (Oct 4, 2008)

its just a school playing field, grass etc :duh2:

but no lights anywhere close.

maybe 3-6 people 3-8 dogs, some balls/frisbees etc,


nothing 'tactical' about the event.

im guessing the coleman will be fine, and a lot better than pitch dark


700 billion lumens from a hid might be overkill


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## Illum (Oct 4, 2008)

If you can get your hands on 1kw HIDs mounted high it might just do the trick....but nothing handheld will ever come close...

I took my N30 [30W 4200K HID] out to a non-lighted squash court to practice yesterday...3000 Lumens is nothing but a spot of light and some useable spill

I think what you need is this or something like this
*http://tinyurl.com/489lql*
a high power HID mounted high, using a diffuser

not a cheap option at all....but thats all I can think of...

back when it was $0.87/gallon for premium I'd just pool the cars into a loop and idle with the lights on, now that alone is a premium


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 4, 2008)

60ndown said:


> its just a school playing field, grass etc :duh2:
> 
> but no lights anywhere close.
> 
> ...


 
Then the Coleman would probably be the best choice if you don't need it light up a huge area.:thumbsup: It has an extremely large and bright ring of spill which is very usable out to 100 feet.
Like I said it has an effective beam out to 1/4 of a mile, so in that field it would probably do just great, plus the super long 2.5 hour runtime!

The Power On Board HID might still be useful with a diffuser or if you bounced it off of a white wall or surface to light up a large area, but it doesn't run as long.


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## Patriot (Oct 4, 2008)

Just consider that tens of thousands of dollars are spent just trying to illuminate a small public tennis court or playground. Lighting on a large scale is specialized and expensive.

There isn't really a light that exists that will do what you need it to do and be "cheap" say for under $150 Also, it's not just a matter of lumens but how those lumens are scattered over a wide area. You really need a diffuser to get the best performance in that type of application. An HID in the 3000 lumen range would light things up reasonably well in a small area and the POB might work as a minimum but it won't give you 90 minutes of run-time either... more like an hour. The main problem that your left with is the angle of light. Frankly, four feet is just going to generally suck and glare in you face in its direction. If you have any good tree in the field you could put the light in a sling at the proper angle and hoist it over a tree limb or something. The higher you can get it the better. Two lights coming from 90 to 180 from each other would be much better than a single light and help to reduce harsh shadows. 

I once used a small piece of white diffuser plastic like the kind covering cheap fluorescent office lights as a diffuser for the POB. We hoisted it in a tree during an elk hunt after one of the guys had a successful evening. It worked reasonable well for an area of 25x40 feet which isn't much. We still had to wear headlamps because that set-up wasn't bright enough on its own for cleaning and dressing and the light was never exactly where is was needed.


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## Rossymeister (Oct 4, 2008)

I Wonder If One Of These Paired With A Car Power Inverter Would Do The Job.

Of Course The Car Using It Would Have To Be Left Idling, To Prevent Complete Battery Drainage.


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## Gunner12 (Oct 4, 2008)

I'd say get a HID like the Vector Power On Board 35w or a N30. Those should work pretty well.

Do you want to light up the whole field or more of a spotlight thing?

If you have a Maglite, maybe something from here would work.

:welcome:


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## Timothybil (Oct 4, 2008)

~Deicide~ said:


> I Wonder If One Of These Paired With A Car Power Inverter Would Do The Job.
> 
> Of Course The Car Using It Would Have To Be Left Idling, To Prevent Complete Battery Drainage.




I doubt that even with the car running at full throttle that would work. 1200w @ 12v equals 100A, give or take a few. I don't think there is any production passenger vehicle in the US that has an alternator capable of producing that kind of output.

There are one or two other solutions: One, buy one of those cheap 1k or 2k portable generators and invest in one or more worklamps similiar to the one mentioned. I believe there are LED versions that might allow more heads for the same generator capacity. Probablyl talking up to around US$1,000.00. Two, look into something like the Pelican 94nn series of portable lighting systems. Again, into the US$1,000 to $1500 range, but a lot more portable than a generator, et. al. The 9430s would be nice in that one could be placed at each end of the area to produce more even lighting.


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## Dr Jekell (Oct 4, 2008)

60ndown said:


> 700 billion lumens from a hid might be overkill


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## 60ndown (Oct 5, 2008)

Dr Jekell said:


>



im glad it wasnt wasted


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 5, 2008)

I used my Coleman LED spotlight tonight to light up large stretches of property in my neighborhood, and it was amazing! It easily sends a super bright beam that could light up a swath of a large field for hundreds of feet. The spill is very usable too. I can almost guarantee that if you get it, that it will more than meet your needs as it is extremely powerful.

I own the N30, and it is much brighter than the Coleman and it has a very wide beam with the brightest spill I have ever seen from any spotlight. Its sidespill is extremely blinding so you would for sure need a diffuser for it. It is even brighter than my Power On Board HID, and would easily illuminate a large field perceivably like daylight. It is the same size and weight as the Coleman LED spotlight, but still doesn't have as long a runtime.

I still recommend the Coleman as in some ways it is a lot more versatile than the N30 and Power On Board HID. It can be run directly from its 12 volt car adaptor as well as its standard AC charger, so you can have it plugged into an extension cord to give it infinite runtime and not use any battery power at all! It is the only spotlight I have that runs directly from its AC charger, which makes it a perfect worklight.

Like I said, it will easily light up the whole field as it is powerful enough to light objects over 1/4 of a mile away, and its perfect round white beam will give superior illumination when you are using it to light the field so people can play fetch with there dogs, without being so bright like an HID that it blinds everyone (or is uncomfortable).

The N30 and Power On Board HID are WONDERFUL lights and are better than the Coleman in many ways, but I think for your needs the Coleman is the best choice and would be perfect.:thumbsup:


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## hyperloop (Oct 5, 2008)

cheapest way to light up a small field?? 

easy, meet in the day, go home when its getting dark. But seriously i would have to +1 on the Coleman LED spotlight, if anyone drives it can simply be plugged into the 12v socket to charge up.


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## SureAddicted (Oct 5, 2008)

Here's your solution.
http://www.skylighters.org/introduction/slcomlg.jpg

EDIT You mite need to wear some kind of sunscreen and welding mask while it's on.


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## bridgman (Oct 5, 2008)

I think I understand what you are trying to do, but you might find two lights give you a more practical solution. One "floody" light would be left on all the time to make a "bright area" where everyone could hang out, then a second "spot" light could be used to sweep the edges of the field looking for dogs and unfetched toys. The second light could be really bright because it wouldn't have to be on all the time, ie a 30 minute runtime would probably be more than enough. 

Is there a bench, tree or swing set that the floody light could sit on or hang from ? You wouldn't want to actually *carry* both lights all the time or you wouldn't have a hand free to throw things 

If you don't want to deal with two lights, then you probably need a single light with good "medium" and "high" outputs. Maybe something like a Fenix TK11 might be good - 60 lumens on low with long runtime, 200+ on turbo. Don't know if it has enough throw though...


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## Kremer (Oct 5, 2008)

I'd go check out a nice lantern to put on a stand. The coleman pinnacle or northstar are very bright.


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## OceanView (Oct 5, 2008)

60ndown said:


> me and some local dog owners meet at a small field for dog socializing.


An interesting lighting challenge. I'm not a dog guy (I always had cats) so that's why I'm asking, but do the dogs need artificial light to go chasing after these balls? In other words, is the lighting more for the humans or for the dogs? 

Because if the dogs can see well enough without the extra light, then as bridgman points out, maybe you just need to light up a small area where the people are hanging out instead of a big swath of the field. Just wondering.


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## Flashanator (Oct 5, 2008)

How on God's Green polluted Earth could a handheld light even remotely cut it? LOL 

My 1000w thor/w diffuser is like a candle on a big field/oval.

I'm on the same page as the 1.5kw Metal Halide stadium lights. mmmmm If lumens is sex, then thats were its at. 

Some guy here awhile back had one, 170,000 + Lumens 4000K. 

Of course a generator would be required.


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## qwertyydude (Oct 5, 2008)

I've often thought about portable field lighting for night time sports and also for film making for a friend.

If you're on the cheap I'd say get a 1000w inverter or generator, make a stand or two out of 2x4 wood, you can easily make it collapsible by using wing nuts and bolts, and on each stand clamp on several of these lights which you can get at a Home Depot on the cheap. Put 45 watt cfls which each output about 3000 lumens. With 1000 watts you can easily put up 20 lights for a total of 60,000 lumens which I think would easily light up a whole field. The stands are really easy to make and I'd say two of them would spread the light out well, you can choose your color temp with your bulb choice, it'll naturally be floody but directed.

http://www.mrpearl11.com/goodchoiceportableclamponlight.aspx

1000w invertor or generator, $150 new, used you can get even cheaper.
Wood $30
Lamps $5 a piece.
Bulb $15 a piece.
Extension cords $25

Say you went for an 8 light setup total cost would be about $300 a bit pricey but this would equal 24,000 lumens of light output. I don't think anything in the $300 price range can blast out the shear amount of lumens as this. The price of a decent set of HID car lights nearly approaches this and you get at most 6000 lumens from them.


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## Mdinana (Oct 5, 2008)

Cheapest way to light up a field?

Grab the free matchbooks from a bar or restaurant. Go nuts playing pyro :devil:.


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## Flashanator (Oct 5, 2008)

What do you guys think of this: 1500w Stadium Light


I was thinking of making a stand my self out of of course steel & get a gen to run it.

On the topic of *cheapest*. Unless the dogs are nocturnal, just go in day light? The Sun's still got 5 Billion years left in her, might aswell take advantage of the "free lunch"


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## steed77 (Oct 5, 2008)

Mdinana said:


> Cheapest way to light up a field?
> 
> Grab the free matchbooks from a bar or restaurant. Go nuts playing pyro :devil:.



Exactly what I was thinking too. Winter months, Dark area, field, low light not to blind. 

Get that Fire started, run time depends on wood and water. :twothumbs

:candle:


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## bridgman (Oct 5, 2008)

I already gave a serious answer, so...

How about parachute flares ? The good ones are maybe 250,000 lumens but I think you drop them out of a transport plane rather than firing them out of a pistol.


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## Illum (Oct 5, 2008)

Timothybil said:


> I doubt that even with the car running at full throttle that would work. 1200w @ 12v equals 100A, give or take a few. I don't think there is any production passenger vehicle in the US that has an alternator capable of producing that kind of output.



there is....http://www.aurasystems.com/index.htm
8.5kW continuous, 10kW max...output: 120VAC @ 50/650Hz or 14/28VDC , no inverter needed
info here

Spec sheet here





I might be a worthwhile investment if your a construction worker that uses a genny more than once a year but otherwise it could be a very very expensive investment with very little return


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## Wattnot (Oct 5, 2008)

If you can figure out how to get a Mag85 up on a 10 foot pole, you'd probably do very well. Is this field a long walk for you? You could bring a small ladder with a piece of emt (light walled conduit) and some tape. Jam the pole in the ladder with the Mag 85 taped to it and presto. Sounds a little goofy but I did somethink like this at an outdoor retirement party and lit up a 4 person band with my M60F.


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## Flashanator (Oct 5, 2008)

how big is the field?
what level of light do you need?
Some HID lights with a diffuser might be enough to see a person running (depends on your eye sight).

example.





My Mini HID [4000lumens pure flood] can light up a whole big oval all at once, JUST enough to see ppl standing anywhere on it. I could make out moving ppl figures as far as 150-170m away.


With my 1000w its only about 4-5x better, to get real power, you need stadium lights. :devil:


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## 60ndown (Oct 5, 2008)

some of you guys crack me up

your sooooooo deep into the flashlight obsession you cant see that a simple light might actually satisfy a novice like me.

have you ever stood in a pitch dark field and tried to play fetch with a dog and talk to some friends?


its a lot like sitting round a camp fire with your homies in camo gear with $12000 in flashlights talking modds and lumens and guns while drinking beer:drunk:

except theres no campfire, beer guns or light :lolsign:

all i want to do is avoid repeatedly throwing a tennis ball into the face of my neighbour (because i didnt see her because it was pitch dark) and help my dog find it.


try here

www.12steprecoveryforflashlightaddiction.com


seriously, some of you are nutz for teh lumenz.


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 5, 2008)

60ndown said:


> some of you guys crack me up
> 
> your sooooooo deep into the flashlight obsession you cant see that a simple light might actually satisfy a novice like me.
> 
> ...


 
Then the Coleman will more than meet your needs, as it will put out enough light allow a dog to easily find a ball 500 feet away from where the light is positioned.:thumbsup:

Sorry, but your link is not working. I do want to see the "flashlight addiction recovery" website though!:laughing:


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## 60ndown (Oct 5, 2008)

BlueBeam22 said:


> Then the Coleman will more than meet your needs, as it will put out enough light allow a dog to easily find a ball 500 feet away from where the light is positioned.:thumbsup:
> 
> Sorry, but your link is not working. I do want to see the "flashlight addiction recovery" website though!:laughing:



i just looked at you light collection:huh:

you have like 50+ flashlights?

why?

sell me 1 please

i wonder how much $$ you got in them all


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## VegasF6 (Oct 5, 2008)

How unflashaholic of me, but perhaps you would be best served by a few propane lanterns. If you don't want to pay for propane, then get a flourescent. It will cost you more in the beginning, but, if you are actually going to use it more than a few times....

If you feel the need for more, pick up a head light.

Don't worry about the dog, they see fine.

And get a led flashing ball.

You initial question of how to light up a small field is kind of vague, and everyone here is trying to help you. What most of us would consider "lighting up a field" would require quite a bit of light. If you want cheap, just leave your headlights on. That won't cost you anything, I assume you have a car.


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 5, 2008)

Lol thanks for asking.:laughing:

I have been collecting them for a long time, and for some reason just love lights! I am a "Flashaholic" and use my lights all the time just for enjoyment. Each one has its own unique qualities.


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## Flashanator (Oct 5, 2008)

> your sooooooo deep into the flashlight obsession you cant see that a simple light might actually satisfy a novice like me.
> 
> have you ever stood in a pitch dark field and tried to play fetch with a dog and talk to some friends?


 :ironic:

dude... just buy a POB or N30


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 5, 2008)

Flashanator 500mW said:


> :ironic:
> 
> dude... just buy a POB or N30


 
The POB (short for Power On Board HID) and N30 would both be great choices.

Out of the two, I recommend the N30 over the POB for several reasons:

1. Brighter than the POB
2. Has a wider and floodier beam which would light up a larger portion of the field more uniformly and brightly
3. The N30 has a small LED flashlight built into the handle for when you just need a little bit of light without draining the battery
4. Because the POB is HUGE and heavy, whereas the N30 is very small and lightweight.

I compared them in my yard the other night, and the N30 was quite a bit brighter than the POB.


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## 60ndown (Oct 5, 2008)

http://www.batteryjunction.com/n30-3161.html

almost 3 times the cost of the coleman and runs 1/3 time?

makes zero sense to me :duh2:


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## BlueBeam22 (Oct 5, 2008)

60ndown said:


> http://www.batteryjunction.com/n30-3161.html
> 
> almost 3 times the cost of the coleman and runs 1/3 time?
> 
> makes zero sense to me :duh2:


 
It just puts out a lot more light than the Coleman. I just meant the N30 is a great light and is a great option, but like I originally said the Coleman would be a much better choice for you than either the N30 or POB.

The N30 might actually be way to bright and blinding to other people and the dogs, plus all of the other reasons I have stated why the Coleman would be so much better than the N30 for your purposes.

You can't go wrong with the Coleman, it is a win/win light and I really hope you decide to get one!:twothumbs


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## Gunner12 (Oct 5, 2008)

If for some reason the Coleman is too much of a spot light, make yourself a diffuser.

The N30 might be too much, but you might end up with one later on down the road if you stay here.


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## Burgess (Oct 5, 2008)

So . . . .


You don't *really* need to

"light up a small field"

*All at Once*. 



Just do it a little "slice" at a time.



Using most any modern, hand-held flashlight,
simply hold it in yer' hand, and point it in the desired direction.

Aim it at the Tennis Ball, fer' instance. 


No need to mess with your camera tripod.

That would simply hinder your aiming process. 



See, we Flashaholics can be as simplistic as the next guy.


Only difference is, we EDC half-a-dozen flashlights.





Oh, and Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:
_


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## tedjanxt (Oct 5, 2008)

This thread has gone on too long, I simply can't take it anymore, therefore, the simplest answer to your question "cheapest way to light up a small field?" is as follows:













*


















































A match!
*


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## Illum (Oct 5, 2008)

60ndown said:


> your sooooooo deep into the flashlight obsession you cant see that a simple light might actually satisfy a novice like me.



lol, if you take a truckload of mechanics to fix a truck...it might take just a couple of hours. But, if you take a truckload of engineers to fix just the drive train that alone could take weeks



60ndown said:


> all i want to do is avoid repeatedly throwing a tennis ball into the face of my neighbour (because i didnt see her because it was pitch dark) and help my dog find it.



ahh, thats why you need the field lit
go buy yourself GITD snap sticks and tape it to the forehead and collar of every men and dog in the field, with some basic LED flashlights they should last easily 12 hours:nana:


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## Ayeaux (Oct 5, 2008)

I'd have to agree on the lantern idea. You can get a nice coleman lantern for pretty cheap. Running it on propane tanks would get you a few hours for only a few dollars. You can even get reflectors for them to at least help direct the light toward the field. Even better if there is a tree or pole to hang it from.
I have a one mantle coleman propane powered lantern that is plenty enough light for a campsite, and runs many hours on a one pound propane tank. About $17 for the lantern and $2.50 for the propane. As was said, there are much brighter than that available. Check out the lantern section on CPF.


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## bridgman (Oct 5, 2008)

Coleman has some decent rechargeable fluorescent lanterns too :

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=2000000867&categoryid=1140

They also have a "retro style" which may be brighter but not sure it would be better for your needs :

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/Cole...uct_id=2000000850&SourcePage=&SubmittingPage=

Anyways, these seem like the "no brainer" answer - lots of run time, lots of light, designed to be placed on the ground, and too big for the dogs to fetch. I don't like compact propane appliances because the disposable tanks don't recycle -- the old "Coleman fuel" (naptha) lanterns are pretty good but people look at you funny when you carry a lantern that sloshes.


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## Patriot (Oct 5, 2008)

LOL....this thread just got crazy with off the wall suggestions. Remember the OP said "cheapest way." I doubt he's going to go for generators or stadium lights.

One great suggestion that I saw was the Coleman propane lanterns. The Northstar produces an incredible amount of light and it's not directional. Perfect for this application. A single propane bottle will run the lantern for 5-6 hours and they only cost $3 on sale. I wish I would have thought of it!


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## Sgt. LED (Oct 5, 2008)

Cheapest thing I can think of is to do it at noon.


Oh wait I know! Move way north and play under the northern lights! Problem solved, well that is if you can get your neighbors to move with you.

Burning 55 gallon drums of stuff homeless style can't be too expensive!

Steal some night vision equipment?

Home surgery where you replace your own eyes with a cat's eyes! YOWZA

Buy or make a light-up ball is the best real idea I have.


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## qwertyydude (Oct 5, 2008)

So how many lumens does a propane or naptha lantern produce. I have one and barely remember the last time it was used. I remember it was kinda bright but 700 lumen led's do spoil you. Kinda like remembering how big everything seemed as a kid and when you go back to visit you're like, geez it's not as big as I remember.


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## MWClint (Oct 5, 2008)

you could always just conjure up a lighting spell.
you'll need to find some sulfurous ash and mandrake root.

then yell out "VAS IN LOR" 

just dont accidentally say "VAS AM LOR"
that will cause the moon to move and block the sun. it might
have some bad side effects.



sorry.. longtime ultima fan :nana:


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## Sgt. LED (Oct 5, 2008)

Good point mentioning spells!

Just cast light on the dog's collar.

Job's done man


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## Patriot (Oct 5, 2008)

qwertyydude said:


> So how many lumens does a propane or naptha lantern produce. I have one and barely remember the last time it was used. I remember it was kinda bright but 700 lumen led's do spoil you. Kinda like remembering how big everything seemed as a kid and when you go back to visit you're like, geez it's not as big as I remember.





A two mantle generic is about 800-1000 lumens and a Northstar is 1600-1800 lumens. That's pretty cheap light....even cheaper if run off of a 25lb tank.


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## 60ndown (Oct 5, 2008)

Patriot36 said:


> I two mantle generic is about 800-1000 lumens and a Northstar is 1600-1800 lumens. That's pretty cheap light....even cheaper if run off of a 25lb tank.



1800 lumens?

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...110944&ci_sku=B0006U9OFG&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001


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## bridgman (Oct 6, 2008)

Alll I know is that a good 2-mantle propane lantern on high is REALLY BRIGHT, certainly brighter than any flashlight I own. Imagine a few Mag85s aimed 120 degrees apart. One of those on a distribution tree attached to a 20-pound cylinder and you have a really good area light.

I guess you could add an Ikea salad bowls if you needed a spot beam


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## Patriot (Oct 6, 2008)

60ndown said:


> 1800 lumens?
> 
> http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-1584141-6395350?ASIN=B0006U9OFG&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B0006U9OFG|Coleman_Northstar_Instastart_Propane_Lantern&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B0006U9OFG&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001




That's correct. Slightly more lumens that a 100W GE light bulb.


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## VegasF6 (Oct 6, 2008)

My step dad has a swiss (I think it is swiss, or some Nordic country) mil surplus propane spotlight. I think it is about 35 years old, probably a 2 ft reflector. It comes with a tripod, all packed in a wooden case, and must weight 65 lbs. It is amazing! I have never been able to find any information about it. Not that it really has much to do with this thread, but I couldn't help but share


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## Kremer (Oct 6, 2008)

Kremer said:


> I'd go check out a nice lantern to put on a stand. The coleman pinnacle or northstar are very bright.



I have the liquid fueled northstar, it's damn bright. the propane is a little more 'convenient' and throttleable, but more expensive to run. I've put several tanks of gas through mine and it is still on the original tubular mantle, despite driving 1000+ miles with it in the trunk of my stiffly sprung car.


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## Shore08 (Oct 7, 2008)

Small cheap wal mart battery powered lantern for the owner's area.:thumbsup:

Drill a hole in the tennis ball that is lightstick sized for the dog. :naughty:

Failing that, use GID frisbees. :twothumbs

Sounds like fun though!


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