Alternative Lighting Options for Portables?

[mr_jman]

I currently use a small one mantle lantern running on the 1 lb. tanks. I have just a small suitcase style portable (Shappell 2000). I was wondering if there are some other alternatives to light it up?

I have read about LED lighting and possibly ropes of lights?!?. I also have an extra Vexilar battery for power, but I'm not sure what type of lights I could put (AND LEAVE) in there when I fold it down. The house has poles that pull apart and bend in half on the ends, and one main beam pole that also comes in 2 pieces.

I'm very interested to see if I can save a little space and still have a good sufficient light source.

[Sandmannd]

Browse these postings and you will find a lot. The best out there are the Best Hong Kong lights. I run my off of a spare vex battery and it's like daylight in my otter. Leave them attatched for collapsing and such.

[Schloogs]

I have heard that the BHK lights that sandmannd mentioned are the best. Another option is the LED puck style from Northern Tool. That is what I have and work well.

[jwhjr]

You won't be disappointed with the BHK lights.

[shooter_mcgavin]

Lots of options for LED lighting. I've got some 120cm rope lights that are just like the BHK lights, only better.

[SSSTaxidermy]

What I use is a work / shop light. I believe the name of it is: Bayco Rite Lite, with clamp. I run it off a battery, and get plenty of light Recharge the battery on low trickle periodically, but can get 3 nights of fishing with it, before I have to think about charging.. I'm able to tuck the battery in the corner, and I don't have any cords in my way either, as I have them strung up over the top poles and clamp it from the ceiling. Always have my trusty Coleman, just in case. The light was maybe $10 and had an extra battery I wasn't using. Works real good for me...

[hotrod1]

Shooter, can i get some info in the lights you use?

I use the BHK lights ind love them but would like to get a set or two that are longer.

[tisosy11]

I have two rope lights in my flipover house as well as a couple round AA battery LED lights from Wal Mart. I can have it as bright as I want or as dim as i want depending on need.

Also bring my head lamp in case of emergencies...

[shooter_mcgavin]

I'd post the link but it's against forum policy I think i've got my email on here somewhere.

I honestly don't know if they're any better than BHK lights......but sometimes i wonder if people have stock in BHK on here.

[wishing for walleyes]

I put 2-48cm BHK lights and 1-96cm BHK lights in my portable and hooked them up on toggle switches.They are awesome.Very bright.

[cupcake1]

what i used and am very happy with is I found at menards it was a stick or bar with 4 individual led lites on it. The nice thing about it is all 4 lites are free moving so you can point them in any direction they work great for me. They come with velcro so i have them mounted above me. runs on aaa batteries.

Darrin

[Thunder]

I use an LED light tat can be found at Norther Tool - kit has 48 LEDs and runs off 3 AA batteries. It lights up my Yukon MORE than enough...just get yourself a good set of rechargeable batteries and remember to bring it in the house when you're done, because the cold kills those alkalines. I'm extrememly happy with this set-up.

[ec30_06]

I usually use a coleman 2 mantle dual fuel lantern. One gallon of non-oxygenated gas last a long time, and the lantern doubles as a heat source. Most nights I don't even need the heater.

[Phred52]

Hey thunder, If you aren't concerned too much about weight and want longer burn time. You could get a voltage reducer (12v DC to 4.5vDC) Much like the cell phone charger for in the car that plugs into the cig lighter socket. Then you could run that light off of a Vex battery for a LONG LONG time. Phred52

[Bobb-o]

For light in my portable i use two 1157 Bases from a car's brake lights. i then ordered some LED bulbs for them for like $11 on hsolist. Rigged up some speaker wire and a switch to the set up and epoxied some pipe flange to it to protect the bulbs and disperse the light a little. i also screwed some pipe clamps to the back of them so they clip into place. this set up will run for over 4 days without the vex inidicator going below full charge. my next step is gonna be to rig a three way switch so i can use only one of the lights at a time as they are very bright!

[Bryman084]

I'm a fan of the Northern Hydraulics puck lights. Cheap and light. I put Velcro on to 2 of the removable poles in my otter and put a strip of Velcro on to the back of the lights. I have 2 going at night but 1 light will work fine. You can take them off easily and use them for packing up.

They each take 3 AA batteries. ((you can get a package of 24 for $4))

[mr_jman]

"what i used and am very happy with is I found at menards it was a stick or bar with 4 individual led lites on it. The nice thing about it is all 4 lites are free moving so you can point them in any direction they work great for me. They come with velcro so i have them mounted above me. runs on aaa batteries."

Cupcake

Any idea what it's called? This sounds like a good system for the type of portable I have! How much did it cost?

I'm also interested in any other lighting systems that would run on AA or AAA batteries. (I know some others were mentioned, any specific name or brand to look for?)

[BoxMN]

 Originally Posted By: wishing for walleyes

I put 2-48cm BHK lights and 1-96cm BHK lights in my portable and hooked them up on toggle switches.They are awesome.Very bright.

They have 96cm version now? Cool! I have two 48cm ones connected and tie wrapped to 12 ga romex. Works great, and the nice thing is I can leave it attached to cross bar, or I can take it out and use it in truck or wherever. I have even used it several times to help buddies take down their shacks and pack up when their lights didn't work, or their lantern mantles busted. Lights up great with a simple toggle switch.

We will be using this in duck boat this fall too! But instead of using the spare vex battery, I will just use a 12v lighter plug.

[Neiko]

I got the Puck lights from NH also and am so happy I don't have to deal with wires or anything like that. I hook them on the hanger above me and 1 is plenty for my X2. They are easy to pack up and plan on using them this summer for camping. I am still on my original batteries.

[cupcake1]

Jman, no clue on what there called just went into menards lighting area and asked for led lites and the gentleman took me to them.cost was 19.99 but they were on sale for 13.99.

[Fishinguy40]

Be careful when using lanterns for lighting in a shelter. earlier this winter I was in a portable shelter with a portable propane heater and a propane lantern. I have used this same equipment for three years. The only thing different was that I recently added Reflectix, a foil coated bubble wrap insulation, to the inside roof of my portable ice shelter. The shelter is a clam style. I did this to help insulate and prevent condensation from forming on the inside roof, which then drips down on you.

It was a warm day. It was in the high 20’s. Because of this I used the propane lantern on a low setting as a heat source instead of the portable heater. As the sun set, it got dark and cold so I fired up the portable heater and turned the lantern up for light. My daughter’s boyfriend, Chris, joined me after he got off work, around 6 pm. After fishing for awhile I began to feel a little light headed. I wasn’t sure if it was from sitting in one spot all afternoon or what but I decided to get up and out of the shelter and walk around on the ice for a few minutes to get some fresh air and to get the blood pumping. I immediately felt better.

I went back into the shelter and resumed fishing. The roof vents on the shelter were open to allow air circulation and had been open all day. As an added precaution I also open the two side windows for added air circulation. About 30 – 40 minutes later I began to feel light headed again. I got up to go outside the shelter again for fresh air. I left the door unzipped for a good exchange of air as I began to suspect carbon monoxide. I took several steps outside the shelter and felt very dizzy. I was at the point where I was stumbling and had trouble keeping my balance. I stopped and lay down on the ice. Chris came out of the shelter and said that he was feeling a little light headed just as I began vomiting, as I was lying on my side. I laid there for several minutes until I began to feel better. I was still a little queasy and Chris felt better so we decided to call it quits. We packed up the gear and went home. I felt a little light headed for awhile but once that wore off I developed a headache. At home, my wife wanted to take me to the hospital but I insisted that I felt better and reassured her that I was ok.

I suspected carbon monoxide poisoning so I did some experimenting the next day. I setup the portable ice shelter in the garage and installed a carbon monoxide detector from the house. It is the kind that has an LED readout as well as an audible alarm. I fired up the portable propane heater and put it inside the shelter. After 20 minutes the carbon monoxide detector still indicated 0 ppm. I then fired up the propane lantern and put it inside the shelter. In less than five minutes the alarm activated and the detector pegged at 999 ppm. I was surprised. I assumed that because the lantern burned so bright and hot that it had to be efficient combustion and therefore little or no carbon monoxide. I installed new mantles and tried it again. Same thing, the CO detector maxed out at 999 ppm. I tried the same thing with another lantern that I have. This one is a duel fuel lantern. It will burn unleaded gasoline or the Coleman lantern fuel. I thought for sure that this would produce carbon monoxide also but was shocked when after 20 minutes the CO detector still indicated 0 ppm.

I don’t know why the propane lantern produced such high CO levels but the heater and dual fuel lantern didn’t. Also, I don’t know if the propane lantern has always produced such high CO and the insulation that I installed helped to keep the CO in the shelter. I do know that I will never use a lantern as a heat or light source inside an enclosed space again. I will instead use battery operated lights such as LED’s. I did buy a battery operated CO detector to use in the shelter as there really aren’t any better options for heat.

I wanted to share this because I know others like to ice fish or know someone who does and many of us use similar equipment. It also brings to light just how dangerous carbon monoxide really is, whether it is at home, recreation, or at work in confined spaces. A portable CO detector is very cheap insurance and costs only $20. I highly recommend one if you are using any type of equipment that uses combustion whether it vents inside or outside the shelter.

[Scott K]

I had a simular experience with a coleman lantern and sunflower heater in a 4x8 box house. Me and a buddy were sitting in there drinking bears, so the light headed thing really never occured to us. We were trying to light a cigarette, our lighters wouldnt light, I lit it off the sunflower heater. Then noticed the lantern getting dim so I pumped that up, it didnt help. Later went outside to take a leak, and tried lighting another cig, lighter worked great, put 2 and 2 together. We burnt all of the o2 out of the air. Just thinking now, if I hadnt a need to go out and take a leak, and tried lighting a ciggarette outside if we would have figured it out. Or if we would have ended up dead?

I guess this is one instance where smoking saved my life!

[mr_jman]

I have found a pretty good alternative light source. I was at Walmart and in the camping section was a circular light that has about 22 LED's on it. (Looks like a UFO with the lights around the perimiter of a circle.) It runs on 4 AA batteries and the thing is VERY bright and just one lights up my Shappelle 2000 very nicely! It only costs about $7 so well worth the money!

All I did was buy a larger key chain holder so it would fit over the center bar of my fish house!

I can't find a link to it anywhere but I'll try to get one!

[PierBridge]

I've seen that a few times Wanderingeyes.......

[wishing for walleyes]

Here`s a few pictures of the BHK lights in my portable.I have 2-48cm strips and 1-96cm strip.

Here`s a pic of a 48cm strip

And here`s a pic of a 96 cm strip.

And here`s a pic of how well they light up the inside of the portable.

These BHK lights are the real deal.