# Running camp lights off a battery...



## JUSTIN37HUNT (Aug 17, 2009)

I was wondering how practical (how long) running a couple of standard (60-100 watt) light bulbs off a standard vehicle or deep cycle marine battery would be.  

We don't have electricity at camp but would like to have a good light source at the cleaning shed instead of headlights from atvs/trucks.

How many hours of use off a charged battery do you think we could get before recharging?  Thanks for the help.


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## rjcruiser (Aug 17, 2009)

I'd run the compact flourescent.  They use much less electricity and would probably allow you to run the bulbs for more than just a couple of hours.


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## hwy22 (Aug 17, 2009)

We use to use the battery in our trucks to run the lights for the evening. We switched vehicles every day to insure that we did not run the battery dead. Think we used lowest wattage bulbs and did not leave them on for long periods of time.


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## bat (Aug 17, 2009)

You can run quite a bit on them if only using say two bulbs.  I have a camper set up to use either 12v or 110v and use the 12v system when off at a management area.  I actually was thinking about buying a couple of bulb holders and using them at camp like you are doing cleaning the deer.  If the battery get low just hook up your truck with jumper cables the next day to recharge it.  Will cost you a little gas but it should work.


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## bigfatboy (Aug 17, 2009)

you might look in to using led's


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## saltysenior (Aug 17, 2009)

go to a r.v. store and get a couple of  those new spiral shaped bulbs in 12v.--60watts....i use one for 4 nites w/ and old reg.size car batt. .... never had to re-charge till getting home.....


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## jimbo4116 (Aug 17, 2009)

saltysenior said:


> go to a r.v. store and get a couple of  those new spiral shaped bulbs in 12v.--60watts....i use one for 4 nites w/ and old reg.size car batt. .... never had to re-charge till getting home.....



Walmart did carry them, put them in a drop light fixture.  We run them when fishing at night off the boat battery. You can run them for 3 or 4 hours with no effect on a good 12v battery.  And they are relatively cheap.


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## Cornelia_Hiker (Aug 17, 2009)

12 volt florescent or LEDs. Will last a very long time off a big battery. 

look around here: Great low prices and always free shipping

http://www.ledshoppe.com


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## Milkman (Aug 17, 2009)

you may also want to consider using jumper cables to charge your camp battery with your vehicle as needed


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## the r.o.c. (Aug 17, 2009)

go to an rv store, you can buy a small solar panel that will charge a car battery during the day.  then you can use it at night.  there under 50 $ and work great. i dont know if bass pro has them, but most camping places do.


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## JUSTIN37HUNT (Aug 17, 2009)

You guys are awesome...thought it would work but thank you for confirming!!!


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## hawgrider1200 (Aug 17, 2009)

Give the man with the plan a star for a good idea. If u run two marine batts in parrallel you can probably run them all nihgt and charge the batt when the sun comes up.


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## win280 (Aug 18, 2009)

You can buy the solar battery chargers at northern tool.


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## elfiii (Aug 19, 2009)

You can also buy a power invertor at Lowe's, HD, or the local hardware store. It is basically a "step up" transformer that hooks up straight to your car battery and converts 12v to 110v.

Most of them have a sensor that detects low battery amperage and shuts the invertor down automatically to save the vehicle battery.

Depending on the wattage output and where you buy them, they cost between $50-$100. A marine battery will run similar in price.


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## Workin2Hunt (Aug 19, 2009)

win280 said:


> You can buy the solar battery chargers at northern tool.



That's what I did on my camper, get a battery box at wal mart put a deep cycle in and hook up the solar charger. Solar charger is mounted on one of the 4x4 posts on the shed over the camper.


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## Jasper (Aug 19, 2009)

Some great ideas on this thread for deer camp or primitive camping. Thanks!


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## Milkman (Aug 19, 2009)

For a quick easy light you can get 12 volt work lights that have alligator clips for quick connection to your battery. Some automotive supply houses have them.


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## ChiefOsceola (Aug 19, 2009)

rjcruiser said:


> I'd run the compact flourescent.  They use much less electricity and would probably allow you to run the bulbs for more than just a couple of hours.



x2

You can even buy the night night fishing flourescent kit that clips on the boat (16" bulb I think).  If it comes with a blacklight flourescent, just replace it with a standard.  They usually have 10-15' of cable already ready to clamp to the battery.  Will provide hours of light without killing the battery.


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## Eddy M. (Aug 19, 2009)

rodney carpenter said:


> go to an rv store, you can buy a small solar panel that will charge a car battery during the day.  then you can use it at night.  there under 50 $ and work great. i dont know if bass pro has them, but most camping places do.



Buy them on line- or the sportsman guide has them


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## miles58 (Aug 20, 2009)

At my camp we use both AC and 12 VDC.  We built it before we could get power in and set it up with solar and a couple of deep cycle batteries.  If we use a lot of lights now and there is very little or no sun after a couple of days on battery we need to use the AC to charge the batteries.  There are LED lights that will put out a lot of light for very little drain, but we mostly use fluorescent lights.

Harbor Freight is on the net and is a good place to look for solar panels.  I bought one there for <$50 and it's all I use to charge the deep cycle I use to run my trolling motor in the boat.


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## shortround1 (Aug 25, 2009)

rjcruiser said:


> I'd run the compact flourescent.  They use much less electricity and would probably allow you to run the bulbs for more than just a couple of hours.


yes but make sure they are 12 volts, u can get them at the camper stores. i tried it for a while, bout the time the campfire got roaring the lights went dim, solved the whole problem with a 5500 watt generator. it has enough juice to run our cabin, a/c, lights and even a electric heater.we built a small insulated and fireproof doghouse for it and from the cabin you cant hear it at all.


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## Hogtown (Aug 25, 2009)

A combination of LED's, a Solar Panel and a couple of deep cycle batteries and you got all the lights you want with no need for jumpers, switching batteries etc... The technology is available and reasonably priced.


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## BIGABOW (Aug 26, 2009)

on sale this week!
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200263124_200263124


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## MudDucker (Aug 27, 2009)

Why not just get some propane lanterns and be done with it?  I personally would not risk running my vehicle battery down and being stranded.


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## thomasr (Aug 27, 2009)

If you really want to impress the guys at camp you can use any of the outstanding ideas listed above, and then top it off with a DC generator to charge everything back up.  Here's a link to a sight that gives detailed instructions on how to turn a lawnmower motor into a DC generator using a GM styled alternator with an internal voltage regulator.  There's another variation on the net that uses the whole lawnmower frame for added mobility.  I could also see this type of thing used to rescue an electric golf cart that ran out juice. 

http://www.theepicenter.com/tow082099.html


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## redneckcamo (Aug 27, 2009)

thomasr said:


> If you really want to impress the guys at camp you can use any of the outstanding ideas listed above, and then top it off with a DC generator to charge everything back up.  Here's a link to a sight that gives detailed instructions on how to turn a lawnmower motor into a DC generator using a GM styled alternator with an internal voltage regulator.  There's another variation on the net that uses the whole lawnmower frame for added mobility.  I could also see this type of thing used to rescue an electric golf cart that ran out juice.
> 
> http://www.theepicenter.com/tow082099.html



seen many a redneck do this exact thing too charge batteries , run lights for camp,fishing ,etc  ....works great with horiz. or vert shaft engines !!  

BUT THERE IS ALOT OF GOOD INFO IN THIS THREAD FOR A VARIETY OF FOLKS TOO GLEAN IDEAS FROM .....KUDOS TOO ALL YALL WOODYITES !!!

GREAT THREAD !!


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