Camp Lighting

[b j p]

As mentioned in some of the other threads, I'm heading to NW in October for two weeks and thinking about some of the details at the moment.

What do people do for "long term" camp lighting. I have a generator but obviously they're "not allowed" on the island (even though I'm told there always is).

I'm thinking a solar panel to charge a deep cycle battery during the day to run 12v LED's at night, with some battery powered lights as backup.

Thoughts?

[thedeckie]

bjp,
Mate, that is the way to go, deep cycle battery with solar panels, I run a set of 80w panels that charge my 100 amp hour battery.
LED’s draw bugger all power so just a tickle up of the battery during each day should get you through.
I run 50/50 LED’s, these are very bright and clean.
If you want to purchase panels or LED lights, contact the bloke below:
Theo
Mandrakes Solar Power (based at Ningi, near Bribie Island)
0400 650 219
Theo is well priced on all that he sells and is happy to give you advice without any BS!
I purchased some LED’s off him recently, they were all set into an aluminium channel and have a built in switch, you can purchase the leads from him also that are all made up and just ready to plug into a ciggie outlet, they are all very neat and look professional.
Cheers
Paul

[EdBerg]

x2 what Paul said. LED and Solar is definitely the way to go. LED lighting is brilliant for it's ability to provide the most Lumens/watt. There are new lights coming out all the time ranging from very bright to "why is the sun up this time of night? So depending on how much light you want around your camp site will depend on how much it drains your battery, but it won't be much and the solar panels will recharge the battery daily.

Cheers

Ed.

[block]

b j p
I get all my LED lights from JGM Direct at a good price. Also has solar and all 12v accessories that you may need.
I use the 150mm LED strip and it only draws 0.3 of a amp. I can run 2 of these lights off a 60ah battery for 50 hrs with out making the battery go flat. Have a look at http://www.jgmdirect.com/
Regards
Dwane