Looking for a buy it for life option for a lantern. Will mostly be used during power outages and only occasionally otherwise. Ideally it would hold a charge well and be bright enough to allow reading/puzzles/games/etc.
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Not to go all old school on you, but have your considered getting a kerosene lamp?
They can be run off of all sorts of fuels/oils in an emergency, so you don’t have to worry about not having enough lantern fuel if you keep vegetable oil around.
I like this idea, unfortunately I don’t think I can trust everyone in the house with it quite yet!
@[email protected] Technology Connections has a great video on these. They’re neat, but not great at turning energy into light, and not great for one’s health when used indoors.
hold a charge well
I don’t think that there’s any battery using current battery technologies that I’d aim to buy for life.
You could maybe get a lantern with removable cells.
NiMH AA cells are replaceable and hold a charge for a relatively long time when not being used relative to other rechargeable cells, so I’d probably favor those over something like lithium 18650s, though their energy density isn’t as high.
EDIT: Note that I’m talking about modern, low-self-discharge NiMH batteries.
For that use case, I’d invest in a USB power bank instead.
Use it to keep your phone charged, and use the phone’s light.
My preferred solution: an USB power bank with an integrated LED light. The power bank is a DIY version which is sold empty and can be filled with second-hand 18650 cells pulled out of broken power tools or laptop batteries (6 cells in parallel).
They’re sold from China for about 6 € and provide light for tens of hours when filled with 6 x 1700 mAh cells. I think the brand was “Haweel”.
Based on plenty of reading I did lately, the Sofirn LT1 might fit the bill for you. I was just looking for a lantern, but my use case was more as a small light I could take backpacking, so I went for a flashlight with a diffuser.
The LT1 is aluminum, waterproof, has replaceable batteries, can run on 1-4 batteries, runs on open source firmware, and it can be used as a power bank. It runs on 18650 lithium batteries, which are widely available. I’m no battery chemist, but lots of 18650 powered devices can run on cr123 batteries (which arent rechargeable), and those supposedly can hold a charge longer than the rechargeable batteries.
If you want to avoid electronics altogether, the Coleman powerhouse might be the move. Obviously, you need to be careful with anything flammable indoors, and it generates a lot of heat, but it should last a lifetime (minus the mantles which are a wear item). A lantern that uses mantles is going to be an order of magnitude brighter than a lantern that uses a wick (which is still a wear item). Propane lanterns are similar if you prefer that to liquid gas.
I got a Sofirn LT1, it’s a great lamp but my only problem is that my 3 years old keeps stealing it to read in bed so now I have to get another one.
It is never a bad thing to have an excuse to buy another flashlight. Sincerely all of [email protected] And the LT1 os an awesome Lantern. 10/10 would recommend.
Not a specific recommendation so much as a tip to get the most out of whatever you end up choosing:
No battery will last forever, but one important thing you can do to extend the shelf life of rarely used rechargeable electronics is to make sure they aren’t always plugged in. Lithium batteries in particular degrade much faster if they’re left continually charging for weeks or months at a time. I’ve got my battery powered emergency lights plugged in to a smart outlet which my home automation system turns on for one hour every 14 days. That’s enough to keep the charge between 99% and 100%, and I’m hopeful that it will help maximize the useful life of the device. If you want a standalone solution you could try one of these, although I’ve never personally used one so I can’t vouch for quality.
I really like this idea! Will definitely use this!
Define ‘hold a charge well’. There is a lot of conflicting information about NiMH v Li-ion regarding self discharge rates and not much in the way of hard facts. Probably depends a lot on brand/construction of the cell. But even a good one will be (almost) flat if not charged for a few years, and possibly dead (as in cannot be charged anymore). Single use lithium cells last longer (10 years or more) but are expensive and not rechargeable.
I have an older model of Quechua lantern from Decathlon. One year it has not been used from autumn to summer and it held charge well. It also has crank charging that never came useful but to me, but is reassuring. Bright enough to read a book comfortably, and has a few brightness levels.
