What kind of lights for a portable

[forest2482]

Just wondering what kind of lights you guys use in your portables. Would like to just run them off normal batteries like AA or AAA. Thanks

[Jim Almquist]

PrincetonTec Aurora headlamp runs off 3 AAA batteries and they are guaranteed for life. They have a couple of setting for brightness and it will blink.It is a 3 LED setup but is plenty bright to tie up your line with.

[Neiko]

Go to Northern Tool and pick up there 48 led round light for $11.99. You will not be dissapointed. They run on 3 AA and are suppose to last for 30 hours. I got 2 for my portable as a lot of my buddies did. No wires to deal with and really bright.

[JigginIsLife]

well for starters you can do a search for lights, or portable lighting under the search bar and it will give you plenty of options there. but i guess the number one reccomended light there is the BestHonLED lights. they are a 12V light that can run off of a vex battery. suppose to be nice, ordered 2 strips couple days ago, waiting for them to come in.

[jwhjr]

BestHonLED, plenty of posts regarding them if you're looking for more information.

[harvey lee]

If you purchase the Best honLED ones, make sure you buy the plastic coated flexible type and not the flat type. The flat non flexing ones will give you trouble if you bend them to much and some of the lights will not light up.

You can purchase the ones that are totally enclosed in clear plastic and are very flexible.

[Rivernut]

What kind of mounting options are there. How/where did you mount them, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks

[JigginIsLife]

harvey which ones arnt flexable, the ones i got say flexable in the name, wouldthose be the correct type.

[Tom7227]

How about going to a junk yard and buying a headlight and then hooking it up to the battery from your lawn tractor or motorcycle? You can also get a 12 volt screw in bulb, put it in an old trouble light, cut off the plug and put two alligator clips on the wires and you're in business. The 12 volt battery from the lawn tractor will last a long time and can be recharged easily enough.

[zamboni]

I finally got out last night with the ones I posted on a different post, they worked great, the AAs held up good, and it was by far the brightest house on the lake.

[harvey lee]

Quote:

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harvey which ones arnt flexable, the ones i got say flexable in the name, wouldthose be the correct type.

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I have seen two types on their site. One comes on a flat base and doesnt bend to well and those are the ones that can give one headaches as if you bend to much, you will break some contacts.

Now, they also have a LED light from 12 led's to 96 led's. These are in a plastic coating and are very flexible and I have never had an issue with these.

I use small tie straps to hold them to the support poles for the house cover by the roof. If you place one on the front pole, remember to leave some slack in the wire for the pole when you put up and take down your house so you dont rip or pinch the wires. You could also attach a coiled cord like a phone wire so you will have some extra flex in the wire and it looks neater and will probably be a little less likely to break on you.

[Neiko]

There are a couple of different options. There is a triangle loop in the back that you could use a velcro strap to secure it to the pole or there are 3 magnets on the back. What I did was JB weld a Spring clamp to a piece of metal so it sticks to the magnets and clamp it to the pole.

[old_school]

I use the Sylvania (Contact Us Please) It lights in my portable. They run off of 3 AAA batteries and last for about 100 hours per set of batteries. I use 3 of them in my house and I can see just fine. Just use some velcro to hold them in place where you need them. They are the size of a can of chewing tobacco.

[aanderud]

Many LED options available. Make your own, buy yours, whatever. Here's some sample bulbs:

120 leds - uses 4 watts at 12 volts, so a 7 amp hour gel cell battery would last approximately 20 hours per charge:

24 LED light that runs on 4 AA batteries for about 30 hours:

39 LED wide angle bulb, 12 volts and less than 1 watt (80 hours on the gel cell battery):

60 LED 12 volt bulb that uses 2-3 watts:

Tons of places to buy these types of things. No matter what you end up with, LED is the only way to go, standard incandescent just isn't battery friendly.

[hoggs222]

Thanks, I was also wondering about some lighting/mounting ideas for my new X2.

[JigginIsLife]

Cuz we all wanted to see this post brought up again i know, kicking a dead horse. For those of you who ordered BHK lights after you recieved the email telling you that they have been shipped how long did it take to get to your house??

[jwhjr]

About 2 weeks.

[nofish]

I used the 24 led light that I put a peice of velcro to the pole in the house and one to the light. It lites up great, and only really need 1 lite. The lite also has 3 settings for whatever rate of lite you prefer. I got mine at fleet farm for about 7.99 on sale.

when you are ready to leave at nite just pull it off the pole and use it for a lite when you pack up.

[TroutAngler]

I purchased the BHK flexible strands, and I ended up coiling up one strand and mounting it to the ceiling pole with velcro (I coiled up the strand and glued it to a peice of 1/4 inch plywood). It is a 48 LED strand and it gives off plenty of light for my 2 person flip over, plus it runs off the vex battery, so I don't need to worry about AA's. I found this was the best method to light up the entire area. Same cost as the battery operated ones at Northern Tool. Also, I put several pieces of velcro on the pole so that I can position the light wherever I want to and the velcro allows easy repositioning and angling of the light. I take it off every time I use it so that it is not damaged, nor is the power cord.