Power went out, Suggestions for "emergency lighting?

[JasperFrank]

LEDS are just amazing. I however, like tea candles. They are almost free if you buy them in bulk and last just long enough, and give off just enough light to get about for a night. And once the candle burns off, the AL cup is recyclable.

 

[Oaktree]

I found simple success with the lanterns.
I have 3X rechargeable AA batteries in each one.
Other places offer them with the smaller AAA batteries that only last 1/2 as long.

With a full charged set of batteries, this will shine for over 2 weeks non-stop.

View attachment 4618600

We didn't get them at HF, but those are the same lanterns we have. Man, those things are BRIGHT!
Haven't had very good experiences over the years with rechargeable batteries though...I'll just use lithium AAs.

 

[LouNY]

Oil lamps are an easily maintained and reliable lighting source. A couple of bottles of lamp oil will last a long time and keep almost forever.
No concern about dead batteries.

 

[dodge man]

My F150 has an inverter built in, 450 watts I think, it’s just a regular 3 prong plug in on the dash. There is nothing to turn on or do but the truck has to be running. I hardly ever use it but have.

 

[bdhsfz6]

My F150 has an inverter built in, 450 watts I think, it’s just a regular 3 prong plug in on the dash. There is nothing to turn on or do but the truck has to be running. I hardly ever use it but have.

My GMC Sierra has an inverter as well. I've used it a few times during an outage to power lights in my out buildings. Saves me the trouble of firing up the generator for short term jobs.

 

[gstrom99]

San Fran people could've used some of this advice.

San Francisco power outage puts 130,000 in the dark, as self-driving car service stops vehicles in the street

Massive power outage hits San Francisco, leaving 130,000 without electricity and self-driving cars stalled in streets across the city on Saturday.

www.foxnews.com

 

[CalG]

Oil lamps are an easily maintained and reliable lighting source. A couple of bottles of lamp oil will last a long time and keep almost forever.
No concern about dead batteries.

I need to put in a "lifetime supply" of mantles for the two Alladin oil lamps that we keep in the front room. They are getting harder to find every year. The hardware store in town, where the lamps were purchased no longer carry any parts at all. Most of the staff doesn't even know what I'm talking about.

 

[LouNY]

I need to put in a "lifetime supply" of mantles for the two Alladin oil lamps that we keep in the front room. They are getting harder to find every year. The hardware store in town, where the lamps were purchased no longer carry any parts at all. Most of the staff doesn't even know what I'm talking about.

I suppose I should do the same, I expect the "Amish" stores would have them.

 

[bmaverick]

We didn't get them at HF, but those are the same lanterns we have. Man, those things are BRIGHT!
Haven't had very good experiences over the years with rechargeable batteries though...I'll just use lithium AAs.

For the rechargeables, the NiMH or Ni–MH work well if charged between ambient and down to 35F.
Often the small sized NiMH are used in solar lighting. These are a variation of the old school Edison battery, but sealed with a unique modern structure.

NiMH batteries typically have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with significantly higher energy density, although only about half that of lithium-ion batteries. NiMH batteries have almost entirely replaced NiCd. That stated, the NiMH do last longer over plenty of the cheap, leaky Alkalines people tend to use today. The Lithium-ion will give you almost a full month of runtime, however there are limited chargers for these and the charge temperature window is much narrower of ambient down to 50F. There are trade-offs no matter what is chosen. The perfect scenario is to choose what battery technology works for you.

I use both NiMH and Lithium-ion due to various applications or cost effectiveness.

Let's say, you need lighting and to charge your cell phone and/or laptop. You own some power tools like Ryobi, Ridgid, Dewalt, Bosch, etc. You actually have stored power right there at your fingertips as a power block cell.

Skill is taking the lead by directly putting the battery as a power block cell for direct use.

Milwaukee has the power block cell adapter,

For your vehicle, the jump-starter boxes are plenty too.

There are several options out there. All in compact packages to meet all sorts of needs.

 

[Torvy]

My GMC Sierra has an inverter as well. I've used it a few times during an outage to power lights in my out buildings. Saves me the trouble of firing up the generator for short term jobs.

We bought a separate inverter when the kids were young. It plus a 13" TV/VCR were less than $300. An entertainment system was at least $2500. We'd pull out one of the mid-row captain's chairs and the kids could watch videos and/play games. The TV then became the 'kitchen' TV so I could watch something while cooking. Still have the inverter, but it rarely gets used.