My thoughts on prepper light and illumination methods per the 2/18/15 NNPG Amateur Radio net meeting
Vic did a great job with the subject. And it was a bit uncanny when he mentioned some of the lights that he used. Several are the same ones I depend on. I mentioned a few things during the meeting, but I have quite a few other thoughts on the subject, so here goes.
Early on, the only light sources for humans were the sun, moon, and stars. If the sun was down and the skies filled with clouds, humans could not see very effectively, or very far, at night. And pretty much not at all inside areas such as caves or very deep forests where the natural light did not penetrate, even in the daytime.
There were a few natural sources of light that early humans probably used, such as bioluminescence, but those circumstances would have been very limited. However, once fire became used on a regular basis, humans found means to use the open flame to provide light at night and inside places where natural light did not penetrate. Stationary fires, torches, lamps, and candles of several sorts were created and are still in use today by many people. That includes many preppers.
Torches are pretty much the same as always. Using either naturally long burning wood and fiber materials, or less flammable materials coated with flammable substances such as oils, pitches, fats, and refined liquids, the head of the torch burns, with the handle either wood or man-made material. These open flame torches do not have much place in prepping, except as field expedients.
Lamps have evolved somewhat more. Some forms are rather more sophisticated than the crude animal fat in a seashell with a fiber wick lamp, but work essentially the same way. Better containers, better wicks, and more refined oils and waxes continue to be the bases of oil lamps.
Candles, like torches, are about the same. Some form of solid or liquid fuel source, either free standing if solid, or within a container if semi- or full liquid, use a wick to create a controlled spot for the flame to burn.
When using lamps and candles, be extremely careful. They are definite fire hazards. If one is tipped or dropped, the flame can spread, sometimes extremely quickly. Using globes of one type or another can help reduce this possibility, but great care must be taken anyway to keep them away from flammable material.
Besides the basic taper and pillar candles, there are votive and tea light candles that can be used for light. Each type has some form of stand and protective globe for safe use. I highly recommend using them to reduce the risk of fires.
Waxes for candle can be petroleum based such as kerosene and lamp oil; or come from organic materials such as beeswax or waxes produced by various plants such as bayberry and wax myrtle; and natural oils such as olive oil. The same goes for lamps.
Torches, classic lamps, and candle provide limited amounts of usable light, with the modern wick type kerosene and lamp oil lamps producing the most light.
Next up for prepper light sources are various pressurized fuel lamps such as the ubiquitous Coleman lantern using Coleman fuel, white gas, and similar liquid fuels. These generally use some form of rather fragile mantle, so stock plenty of them in addition to fuel. Like other open flame lighting products, great care must be taken to prevent uncontrolled fires.
There are propane and butane versions of the Coleman mantle type lanterns, too. The same fire precautions are recommended. These types of lanterns, like the Coleman lantern can produce much more light.
Another open flame light source uses carbide as the fuel source, with a particular style lamp needed to use it. A fuel container holds the carbide, a water container with a drip mechanism is above, and a nozzle leads from the fuel container through which the acetylene gas that is produced when water touches the carbide is conducted. Often a striker is incorporated in the lamp, or an open flame is used to ignite the escaping gas. A reflector is behind the nozzle and directs the bright light forward. These carbide miner’s lamps were used with great success in underground mining and cave exploration.
Carbide is harder to find now, and often has some expensive shipping charges to get it, so carbide lamps are less appealing than they used to be. But if you happen to have one, and can keep a supply of carbide, they are quite useful and give a good light.
The safest, easiest to use, and most versatile lighting sources for preppers are modern electric lighting devices using single use or rechargeable batteries of one sort or another. And offshoot of these are devices using manual power to charge either batteries or capacitors to provide light.
A word on batteries to start. There are a myriad of types, from the tiny button battery, to large automotive type batteries. Some types are rechargeable, many others are not. Rechargeable batteries can be a fairly large investment, but can be cheaper overall compared to single use batteries. Consider carefully which types you decide to use. Chances are you will want to use a combination of some single use (known as primary batteries) and some rechargeable ones.
Primary batteries can be of various formulations. Carbon-Zinc, the old batteries of the 50s and 60s are still available, but they have short life spans and low power densities. Alkaline batteries have supplanted them for the primary battery use for the most part. Decent power density, decent power flow, very good storage life, and moderate cost give the Alkaline a major edge now.
Lithium batteries in a few sizes have good power density, good current flow, and good storage life, but tend to be more expensive.
There are some mercury and silver based batteries, but they have very limited applications for the prepper. And there are many more specialized formulations that do not have much usefulness for the prepper, either.
Rechargeable battery formulations suitable for prepper use include lead-acid, nickel-iron, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, and lithium ion polymer. There are several other types, but they are experimental, or have very specific and limited applications and are not particularly good choices for general prepper use.
Lead acid automotive and deep cycle batteries are good choices for fixed lighting systems, but do not lend themselves to portable devices.
Nickel-iron batteries are a ‘new old’ technology. Also known as the Edison battery, they fell out of favor a variety of reasons, with lead acid taking the lead in automotive battery use. But despite a couple of drawbacks, they are making a comeback for off-grid electrical power storage banks. Also not suitable for portable devices.
Lithium ion polymer batteries are showing great promise, but they are limited at the moment, and rather expensive.
That leaves alkaline primary batteries; and nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, and lithium ion rechargeable batteries for practical prepper use in portable lighting devices.
Besides those choices, there is the choice on which sizes you will want. Some of that will be determined by the choice of rechargeable or not, as not all sizes have a rechargeable version.
Just like keeping the number of firearms calibers down to a reasonable number, keeping the number of battery types used and stored to just a few is a good idea. Some people only want to have a couple of sizes. I do not feel this is practical as it does limit significantly the devices you can use.
With the advent of much better 1.5 volt AAA and AA batteries, C and D batteries are not as popular as before, and fewer devices are being made to use them. The 123 size 3 volt batteries are becoming increasingly popular, especially now that there are rechargeable version as there are for the AAA, AA, C, D, and 9-volt rectangular battery.
There are a few applications, such as keychain lights, and some battery tea light and votive size lamps, and some battery chemical light type stick type lamps that use button batteries. If you plan on using any of these devices, try to keep it to just one or two of the button battery sizes. Of course, this does not preclude the stocking of some button batteries for non-lighting devices such as hearing aids, remote key fobs and such, for which there are not many other effective options.
For some specific applications there are also the larger square 6-volt (908 size) lantern batteries with spring contacts or binding post contacts. Similar is the larger oblong 6-volt lantern battery (918 size) with binding post contacts. Both types are available in alkaline formulation. There is the similar 12-volt oblong battery (926 size) but I have not found anything except Carbon-Zinc formulation. Unless you need one of these for a specific application I would pass on them.
There are many additional sizes of batteries that you might need for specific applications, but try to keep them to a minimum. But also be sure and take into consideration the batteries you need for devices other than lighting. Try to incorporate the same batteries you use in those devices in lighting products, as well as the other way around.
There are several good brands of batteries. For alkaline primary batteries I have standardized on Duracell Quantum batteries in AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt. Duracell Coppertop for button batteries that do not have a Quantum version. For 123 lithium primary batteries I have a stock of Surefire brand, but will probably switch to Duracell Ultra Coppertop.
While there are some good nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, I have gone to nickel metal hydride and lithium ion for my use. Of the nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries I have researched or tested, I think eneloop are some of the best, but they are expensive. I have personal experience with Tenergy and find them a good compromise of quality and price.
Be sure to check compatibility between rechargeable batteries and lighting devices. Some simply are not compatible with certain flashlights. Many will have warnings about usage with Surefire incandescent flashlights, as well as some Maglite flashlights. I am not sure what the problem is, but be aware. Not only can the incompatibility damage the batteries and the devices, they can generate a great deal of heat and even start fires. For Surefire products I would stick with only Surefire recommended batteries. Check the literature for all flashlights for incompatibility with rechargeable batteries.
In the same vein, check the literature for all flashlights about the use of lithium primary batteries, as well. Not all flashlights are compatible.
Now about bulbs. There are more choices now than ever. Standard, Halogen, and Xenon being the most common incandescent bulbs. HID bulbs are not common, but are available in some battery operated handheld spotlights. There are fluorescent bulbs for some lanterns. LED bulbs are making a strong showing now as the technology has progressed. They are available for all types of lighting devices.
LEDs can be almost as bright as all but the most powerful of the Xenon and HID bulbs. The incandescent bulbs, even the high quality ones, are far more susceptible to failure than LEDs. And have relatively short life spans compared to LEDs. So I would recommend that unless you need the extreme brightness of some of the Xenon and HID bulbs, you standardize on LEDs. Most manufacturers are now making LED versions of most of their standard flashlights, with similar or even greatly enhanced capability, bulb life, and battery life.
There are even quite a few LED upgrade options for older flashlights to give you the advantages of LED technology for your current flashlights. Though some of these are inexpensive, those for the best quality flashlights are still a bit pricy.
On to the battery powered lighting devices themselves.
The base line is your standard flashlight, using alkaline primary batteries, using from one AAA battery to six D-size cells, with either LED or incandescent bulbs, with the LED my by far preferred choice. There are versions made from basic polymers to heavy duty coated aluminum. Some have ‘tactical’ features, such as fluted bezels and pointed tail caps; with switches that can change the light output from low to extremely bright. Some even have a strobe function coupled with the high output light to blind and confuse an adversary.
Tactical flashlights for use on weapons is another subject entirely and will not be addressed here.
One of the most useful lighting portable lighting devices is a headlamp. They range from the simple single bulb, single strength type to multiple bulb, multiple strength versions that have a multitude of features. The hands free nature of headlamps make them extremely useful when you need both hands available.
There are also standing and/or hanging lanterns that use batteries to provide area light. Some of these are tiny, such as the above mentioned tea light and votive candle type lanterns. Others use up to eight D-batteries, or the 6-volt square or oblong batteries. Some of the chemical light battery substitutes have small stands so they can be used for area lighting.
Already mentioned are handheld spotlights and floodlights for long range viewing, or lighting up an area respectively. Some of the newer stick type flashlights can accomplish these functions with the new bulb technology.
Next come the chemical lights. Variously called chem lights, snap lights, glow sticks, and light sticks. One major brand is Cylume, one of the early makers and still one of the best know and highest quality. They come in tiny pellet sized up to industrial size one measuring over a foot long. There are various colors, with various brightness levels and useful times. The 6” versions are most common.
A major advantage of these chemical lights is the fact that there are no batteries or bulbs to mess with, and there is no electrical charge, or anything that will set off explosive fumes, so can be used in some otherwise dangerous area. These are single use items, and like batteries, do have a finite shelf life. They must be rotated on a regular basis.
Another option is a variety of mechanically generated powered and/or solar power generated flashlights that use rechargeable batteries or a capacitor to store the charge created by a crank or by shaking, and in some cases also by a solar panel on the flashlight. The capacitor power storage types have a major advantage that even with excellent internal batteries, those batteries will eventually fail, either through disuse, or after a finite number of charge/discharge cycles.
You will need to analyze your various needs and choose the lighting devices based on those needs, availability of products, and your budget. Always remember to shop around, and consider shipping charges when shopping on-line.
An afterward on chargers for rechargeable batteries. Get the right charger for the type of rechargeable battery you have. Not all chargers can charge all batteries. In fact, not only can using the wrong charger ruin the battery, and the charger, the situation can start fires.
And always use the charger out in the open. Use it near a smoke detector. Do not let it be covered with drapes, or clothing, or anything that can restrict air flow, or provide a burnable surface that can catch fire if the charger or batteries do get hot. Also remember that batteries are made with some harsh chemicals. If they do get hot or burn, there will be toxic gasses generated. Also, with some compositions of batteries, any fire might not be put out with standard fire extinguishers. Keep a D rated fire extinguisher, baking soda, or sand available to control battery fires.
As a prepper, having more than one source of power for charging batteries is a wise decision. Most of the time you will keep your batteries recharged with an AC powered charger. But try to have one that will run off 12 volts, and preferably, one that can be powered with a solar panel. There are many types available.
Some of the items I use, and a few I recommend from research or with talking to satisfied users. There are many other quality brands and types of devices out there. These are just some of my preferences. I repeat: Shop around. Consider your own needs, wants, and budget, and get the best deal for you.
Brunton SolarPort 4.4 & BattJack solar AA/AAA battery charger
AccucManager 20 w/10 watt solar panel solar/ac/dc deluxe battery charger
UCO brass candle lantern
UCO tea light candle lantern
IMO MINEX carbide lamp carbide light w/fuel, cleaning tool, & flints
Brunton Glorb LED tent lantern
Petzl TacTikka Plus RGB headlamp
Mag-Light Solitare LED 1 AAA cell flashlight
Mag-Light Mini-Maglight LED 2 AA cell flashlight
Maglight 6-D cell flashlight
Terra-Lux TLE-31M-EX Maglight 6-D cell flashlight 1,000 lumen 3-LED conversion
Terra-Lux TLE-1F flange 2-cell 50lumen bulb for 2 AAA/AA/C/D 1.5v batteries
Terra-Lux TLE-1S screw 2-cell 50 lumen LED for 2 AAA/AA/C/D 1.5v batteries
Terra-Lux Tle-6EXB 2/3 D-cell led 140 lumen
Streamlight Sidewinder Tactial flashlight
Surefire E2E flashlight
Surefire G2L flashlight
Energizer Weather Ready wind-up flashlight
LightStorm CL-1 capacitor crank up flashlight
Tec-Tite Tekna Trek-LED keychain light
Tec-Tite Tekna SplashLight-LED keychain light
Photon Microlite II white keychain light
Photon Microlite II red keychain light
Just my opinion.
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