I Can See The Light,

[woodsman]

I’m always looking for better solutions to light my off grid cabin without using the original antique wall sconce oil lanterns. Over the years I have purchased many lanterns from the basic Colman fuel lantern to LED models. Last year I upgraded to a Goal Zero Yeti 150 solar generator with four lights. The little generator works flawlessly but can’t be stored over the winter or left out for sticky fingers.( meaning I have an issue with family members going into my cabin to forever borrow things)

The technology is coming of age with portable lighting for hiking,camping and off grid cabin use. Gone are the days of packs of D batteries and large solar panels. You can now achieve the same lumens using USB powered LED lighting powered by a portable power charger for phones and tablets. My suggested products are not an endorsement in anyway but I have done my homework.

My wish list:

The system needs to be portable and light weight. The power supply needs to be USB. The system needs to be expandable/daisy chain. Lumens for each light need to be 110 or better. Power supply needs to be packable each in and out. In past years, I would be asking the impossible. As I said the Goal Zero works flawlessly but It’s clunky and heavy, not packable and not storable in a cold climate.

My solution is this: See Videos. Note: I can keep this lighting system running for weeks without recharge. The videos are tedious unless your into this sort of thing and battery one is very geeky, I watch them, read the specs and reviews because when things go wrong many miles away from civilization having junk that doesn’t work is not an excuse.

 

[woodsman]

BTW: If your into Lumens for a cabin or camping application.

Lantern- 200 Lumens
Pucks- 150 lumens each x four daisy chained, total 600 lumens on high setting.

The on board battery is 4400mAh that will last approximately 20 hours with continuous use with four lights. I’m powering this rig with a 26800mAh battery so weeks of lights.

 

[beerftw]

I’m always looking for better solutions to light my off grid cabin without using the original antique wall sconce oil lanterns. Over the years I have purchased many lanterns from the basic Colman fuel lantern to LED models. Last year I upgraded to a Goal Zero Yeti 150 solar generator with four lights. The little generator works flawlessly but can’t be stored over the winter or left out for sticky fingers.( meaning I have an issue with family members going into my cabin to forever borrow things)

The technology is coming of age with portable lighting for hiking,camping and off grid cabin use. Gone are the days of packs of D batteries and large solar panels. You can now achieve the same lumens using USB powered LED lighting powered by a portable power charger for phones and tablets. My suggested products are not an endorsement in anyway but I have done my homework.

My wish list:

The system needs to be portable and light weight. The power supply needs to be USB. The system needs to be expandable/daisy chain. Lumens for each light need to be 110 or better. Power supply needs to be packable each in and out. In past years, I would be asking the impossible. As I said the Goal Zero works flawlessly but It’s clunky and heavy, not packable and not storable in a cold climate.

My solution is this: See Videos. Note: I can keep this lighting system running for weeks without recharge. The videos are tedious unless your into this sort of thing and battery one is very geeky, I watch them, read the specs and reviews because when things go wrong many miles away from civilization having junk that doesn’t work is not an excuse.

Lighting an off grid cabin is fairly easy. Solar power with led lights, a battery bank and a controller system to handle charging so they do not swell and blow up. A generator which most off grid systems use as backup, if you have decent solar charging capability your generator would be run 2-3 times a month at best, when cloud coverage was consistant enough to hamper solar charging.


Last bet is candles, I prefer candlelight over everything. It is calm and soothing, keeps me from going ballistic on people, plus women think it is romantic. Problem with candlelight is it is hard to read anything. I think this is why scholars in the middle ages rarely left their dark areas, because candle light was so dim their eyes needed to adjust to the darkness.

 

[woodsman]

Lighting an off grid cabin is fairly easy. Solar power with led lights, a battery bank and a controller system to handle charging so they do not swell and blow up. A generator which most off grid systems use as backup, if you have decent solar charging capability your generator would be run 2-3 times a month at best, when cloud coverage was consistant enough to hamper solar charging.


Last bet is candles, I prefer candlelight over everything. It is calm and soothing, keeps me from going ballistic on people, plus women think it is romantic. Problem with candlelight is it is hard to read anything. I think this is why scholars in the middle ages rarely left their dark areas, because candle light was so dim their eyes needed to adjust to the darkness.

At one time I did have a complete solar system in the cabin. As I got older and didn’t make It up there enough during winter months and battery maintenance got to be an issue. The nail in the coffin for that system was when a storm took out the 6’x8’ panel mounted on a pole.

Even with that system I didn't want to change the character of the interior of the cabin, It was built in the late 1800s and I want It to stay as It is. Along the wall I do have original oil lantern sconces with polished nickel reflectors X-4 so the ambient flame flicker can always be achieved. There is also two propane lights that were installed in the 1950s and still work with a tank of fuel If I chose to use them.

I do take advantage of solar power but not for lighting. It’s my fishing and relaxation place. I use a 100watt Renogy panel to top off the Marine batteries for my fishing trolling motor. If I chose I could hookup those batterie to my sine wave digital inverter and light the place up like Time Square but that takes away from the experience.

So, my lighting solution, packable and portable, Is not only the best solution for me but could be the best solution for campers. The whole system fits in a toiletry size bag and will light my cabin up for a month without recharging.