Mr Fro Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 After fumbling about in the dark last night I've decided some sort of garage lighting is in order.My garage is in a block so I can't run permanent power and an extension isn't really feasible.I was thinking about a small solar panel/battery set up with LED bulbs but I’ve not much experience of LEDs in anything other than torches (Lenser etc).Has anyone got any experience or ideas of things I might try?Also, I don’t want to spend too much cash so a Heath Robinson approach is fine. Cheers,Fro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttled Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I have strung up battery powered white LED christmas lights in my lockup. There is not a huge amount of light, but combined with LED magnetic torches, I can get by. I use rechargeable batteries to help keep the cost down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acting_strange Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 After fumbling about in the dark last night I've decided some sort of garage lighting is in order.My garage is in a block so I can't run permanent power and an extension isn't really feasible.I was thinking about a small solar panel/battery set up with LED bulbs but I’ve not much experience of LEDs in anything other than torches (Lenser etc).Has anyone got any experience or ideas of things I might try?Also, I don’t want to spend too much cash so a Heath Robinson approach is fine. Cheers,Fro It depends on how much you want to spend...there are some good Solar powered lamps out there...I rigged three for my wifes school to light the back path....but they are about £40 each.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk190 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 how bright and how long do you need them on for?a few 12v LED lamps fed from a 12V car battery that is hooked up to a solar trickle charger. that should provide a few hours of usable light.i had a cheapo solar powered "security" light fitted on the outside of my garage that had 3xrechargable AA batteries inside. it was crap. so i wont reccomens them to anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 i had a cheapo solar powered "security" light fitted on the outside of my garage that had 3xrechargable AA batteries inside. it was crap. so i wont reccomens them to anyone.Good to know the stuff to avoid!Thanks guys - think I'm going to go for a couple of 2.4W trickle chargers as they're only £12.49 a pop at the mo from Maplin rigged up to a couple of 12V batteries I've got kicking round. Should be good for keeping the bike batteries topped up over the winter too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_stu Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Look at camping gear? They have wind up lamps and stuff (not very cheap) or go to Aldi and buy some camping lanterns. I think they were 3 or 4 quid a pop, including batteries. When they die get a rechargeable set and kit off ebay, again wont cost the earth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 Look at camping gear? They have wind up lamps and stuff (not very cheap) or go to Aldi and buy some camping lanterns. I think they were 3 or 4 quid a pop, including batteries. When they die get a rechargeable set and kit off ebay, again wont cost the earthThat's not 'alf a bad idea!The dorris gets a bit whingy when I leave stuff on charge all over the kitchen which is why I'm erring towards solar. Having said that though, she's off work at the mo with a snapped arm so I can always ask her to wind it up with the good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggie Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 light a fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullscreenaging Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Wind up lamphttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Wind-12-LED-Cam ... B000QGVQTCYou could get a couple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I have a rechargeable lamp for camping its ok but not really enough useable light for working on a bike but anything has to be better then a headlight these cost about £25 from most camping shops and will last about 8 hours on a charge maybe more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 You could get a coupleNah, she's only got one good arm just now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acting_strange Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 of course you can buy a soler panel and charge your batteries at the garage from that...They do them in many sizes and wattages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 if you feel like making something then try this http://hackaday.com/2013/07/15/fluoresc ... y-battery/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 That's quite natty - don't know I've got the patients to wind the magnet thing. Could be an interesting job for my work experience kid though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Could be an interesting job for my work experience kid though... if he can count Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Is getting a tiny little generator off eBay not an option?I know someone who did that, wired lights and a single low power plug (5amps). Was very quiet, but prob a bit excessive for your needs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissb6 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Hi I think l would take this route if there's no mains power available, this one lamp should run best part of 80hrs on a fully charge battery listed below, a leisure battery is a must for this type of job as they can stand a deep discharge cycle and hold there charge longer than a conventional battery. The trickle solar charger should look after the battery no problem unless your going to live in there, led lights have come on a hell of long way in recent years. keep us posted.http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/produ ... tAodCwIA2whttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-VOLT-DC-LE ... 3f257e6dc7http://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGIFLEX-Solar- ... B004D2QCR6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberwolf Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 try this in the picor do what this guy did http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23536914 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 do what this guy did http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23536914I'd forgotten about this but it's a great idea! I've got quite a steep pitched roof and I've boarded out the "loft" to store all my junk so unfortunately it wouldn't work...Looks like I'll be dragging the other half round Maplin at the weekend. I'll let you know what I cobble together and how it pans out. The budget is going to be quite low and I'm keen to use as much crap that I already have as possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninereeds Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 do what this guy did http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23536914I'd forgotten about this but it's a great idea! I've got quite a steep pitched roof and I've boarded out the "loft" to store all my junk so unfortunately it wouldn't work...Looks like I'll be dragging the other half round Maplin at the weekend. I'll let you know what I cobble together and how it pans out. The budget is going to be quite low and I'm keen to use as much crap that I already have as possible! a word of warning - wind up lamps never state how long you actually have to wind the damn things for. your missus will be there for the best part of 15 minutes winding the lamp up to get any decent amount of time out of it. I was staying at a camping place this weekend that provided wind up lanterns as a backup to candles. after winding furiously for 3 minutes to have the light die out in about 20 seconds i figured id just eat extra carrots for dinner to improve my night vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 after winding furiously for 3 minutes to have the light die out in about 20 seconds i figured id just eat extra carrots for dinner to improve my night vision.Ha - quality! I've invested in some small solar panels - just got to get my arse up on the roof to get them fixed in place then it'll be trial and error as to what kind of bulbs I can get away with. I'm going to try some LED spot lights to start with (ddin't realise how expensive the 12v ones are ) - I reckon 2-3 hours work time will be enough.I have 2 x 7.2Ah batteries so by my calcs that equals ~50W for 3 hours burn time from a full charge and ~20 hours to charge them fully with the panels. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted October 9, 2013 Author Share Posted October 9, 2013 So project dim-wit is all but complete!I got some wide angle LED spotlights from amazon - 2 x 5.5W, a 4W and a 3.5W to see which would work best. In reality, when I've got one in each corner I can't tell any difference between them!The four bulbs light up the garage a treat but I'm going to get a couple more bulbs for the centre front and back to eliminate shadows.Time will tell how the solar charging works out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttled Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I went with one of these, 160w at maximum power.http://www.a2zcamping.co.uk/user/products/large/coleman-campingaz-stellia-cv-lantern.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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