Homestead lighting

[cubcadet]

What kinds of lighting do you folks have out there on your places? I live way out there on a mountain slope with no light provided by the township. I have only those lights that are on my porches at night. I personally like that. But, when this area is developed, primarily in natural gas wells and pipelines, I may have to go for outside lighting. There is quite a choice in outdoor lighting out there. What is the cheapest to run? What will hold up in extreme conditions?

Joe

[otterbob]

I picked up one of these from an old scraped out camper but have not had the time to install it yet.
http://www.paulinproducts.com/gas_lights/gas_lights.htm

Otter Bob

[LeatherneckPA]

otterbob, when I was growing up, my aunt's cabin on the lake had those lights in every room. They were a little noisy, but sure did light things up well. They are exactly what I had in mind for my cabin.

Thanks for the link!

[otterbob]

otterbob, when I was growing up, my aunt's cabin on the lake had those lights in every room. *They were a little noisy, but sure did light things up well. *They are exactly what I had in mind for my cabin.

Thanks for the link!

Whoaaaa,

Shop around !
I just grabbed the first link with pictures to show what I was talking about.

I have always wanted some of those lights. The one I got looks to be in great condition, I cant wait to try it out.
If it works half as much as everyone claims I will be happy and get more for the little retreat I am planning. I also picked up two 100 lb propane cylinders last summer for free, I have them filled and ready, that brings my total for 100 lb cylinders to 5 now.
Yes, propane can be noisy but I like it because there is no shelf life problems.
As long as the cylinder is not leaking it is good.

Otter Bob

[LeatherneckPA]

Well, sure, I'll shop around now that I know they are still made.

At my aunt's cabin there were two of them, on the same wall and with no reflectors, in the great room. They would light the entire 16' x 24' great room all by themselves. I believe you will be very happy with them.

[cubcadet]

I was wondering about outdoor lighting, as I have indoor lights covered. I`m fishing around for practical info on outdoor electric lights, the kind that have the sodium, mercury vapor and other kinds of bulbs. Which kinds are recommended? I have read the literature out there, and I kind of like to rely on folks` advice and try to find a happy medium. I use an Aladdin mantle lamp when the lights go out, as well as oil lamps and candles to light the shed and cellar if I need to. You talk about noise, my main light is a Vietnam era Coleman lantern. It is just the best lantern going. It will warm a small room in a pinch.

Joe

[otterbob]

I was wondering about outdoor lighting, as I have indoor lights covered. I`m fishing around for practical info on outdoor electric lights, the kind that have the sodium, mercury vapor and other kinds of bulbs. Which kinds are recommended? I have read the literature out there, and I kind of like to rely on folks` advice and try to find a happy medium. I use an Aladdin mantle lamp when the lights go out, as well as oil lamps and candles to light the shed and cellar if I need to. You talk about noise, my main light is a Vietnam era Coleman lantern. It is just the best lantern going. It will warm a small room in a pinch.

Joe

I understand , I was offering this suggestion for an off grid cabin, retreat, Ect.
I was thinking that if this was installed with a little protection It might be a good outdoor option .

Otter Bob

[GoodDaughter]

Well, I know this isn't going to be helpful, but after Hurricane Ike a few months back, I had a bunch of spare oil lamps on brackets and I screwed them to the porch posts, making sure there was plenty of room for heat dissipation, and that the lamps were overhanging the edge of the porch in case they leaked or something, then the porch wouldn't burn down. Kinda red-necky, but it worked and gave lots of light on the porch, where I spent a lot of time after the hurricane.

[cookiecache]

I'd go with solar powered LEDs. They will last for many years, and you will never have to re-fuel them.

[DavidOH]

I'd go with solar powered LEDs. They will last for many years, and you will never have to re-fuel them.

...and how do they work at night??? ?

[Anon001]

...and how do they work at night??? ?


The LED's that you could use outside have an enclosed battery that the sun charges.... it is very rare that you would or could ever run anything direct from a solar panel.... almost ALL items run off a battery of some type that is charged by the solar.... even the wind up flashlights have a very tiny battery in them and when you wind, the batter is being charged.. same principle with solar whether it be a house utilizing lights, tv, stereos, etc or just one bulb or an LED the power comes from a battery....
PaulNKS

[cubcadet]

Hey all, thanks for the input. I recently saw on youtube a guy who has a channel there-link below-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWbINwur6P8&feature=fvsr

cub

[Prairie]

I have an LED light bulb for an outdoor light. It uses 3 watts and is quite bright. I wouldn't want it for ambience or reading, but you can see where you are going and can probably be seen for miles. It coat about $10, but theoretically should last forever. I said on the box that it was good for -20, but was still going a couple of nights ago in the -35 range.

[ArmySGT.]

...and how do they work at night??? ?

Ummm duh? Really, no really?

[cinok]

We have a light on our service pole the Electric Coop has a monthly charge (not much) which inlcude the light electric and maintence.

[Mr.B]

I have electrical power but, before I take the plunge into Homesteading I'm doing my homework...I found this book at a used book store. Lots of into on Non-Electrical lighting.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Book-of-Non-Electric-Lighting/Tim-Matson/e/9780881507942

-B

[Anon001]

Even though I've been 100% off grid since May 1998, I still prefer my "electric" lights even if they are 12v... It is cheaper than using just about any other light sources.

Paul

[NCLee]

I have electrical power but, before I take the plunge into Homesteading I'm doing my homework...I found this book at a used book store. Lots of into on Non-Electrical lighting.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Book-of-Non-Electric-Lighting/Tim-Matson/e/9780881507942

-B

Mr. B, homesteading doesn't mean that you have to go off-grid, unless that's what you want to do. There's a lot more than lighting to consider before you disconnect the meter.

Everyone's circumstances and preferences are different, so what applies to me may not be what you have in mind.

I spend a portion of my life off grid. Lived on a farm before REA brought the power lines to our farm. Mom cooked on a wood stove. Washed clothes with a washboard. Ice was kept in the icebox. Water came from the well a bucket at a time. A "slop jar" stayed under the bed at night. Dad did't own any electric powered tools.

For as long as we can, we'll stay on the grid with our "homestead". We've cut down on our electrical power consumption. Put in a gas stove and a propane furnace to replace the "totally electric" parts of our home. If the cost of electricity materially goes up, we can cut back further.

Stop using the clothes dryer.
Empty the upright freezer and disconnect it.
Disconnect the outside yard light.
And, small things in the house from unplugging the alarm clock to turning off the water heater, if we have to.

Additionally, we're prepared for going without power when storms take out the power. Lived here for a month without it one time due to a contractor foul-up.

It's hard to beat the convenience of turning on a lamp when I come in here to log onto the net the first thing in the morning. Or flipping the switch on the coffee maker when I walk through the kitchen. (I have stove top perculators and oil lamps, but won't have internet access. And instead of news on the TV, it'll be from a handcranked radio.)

In closing, back to lighting for a moment....

In our days before electricity on the farm and afterwards, we used kerosene lanterns for farm work before the sun came up. While we had electricity not every farm building was wired. I remember being in the top of a flue cured tobacco barn, taking out tobacco before the sun rose. We worked with lanterns inside the barn and outside to see how to load the trailer. Then to the packhouse where the dry tobacco was stored. By the time the sun rose, the barn was empty and we were ready for breakfast.

On grid, off grid, it's hard to beat having 110 or 12v to make life a heck of a lot easier.

Just my 2-cents this morning, as I watch the TV weatherfolks talk about our potential for snow accumulation with the storm that's heading our way.

Lee

[Deberosa]

We took down the light that was here when we moved in. It was one of the power company lights that you pay for each month. In my opinion not worth it because you cannot ever turn them off.

For lights we put up motion detector flood lights at two corners. A few solar lights for the path to the house since it's quite a distance from where we can park. Then put LED Christmas lights all along the fence around the yard portion for this time of year. By the time they are out of season the days will be getting longer.

For doing chores and everything else we have a wide array of flashlights from the ones you wear on your hat to LED's and Crank versions. They work fine.

We did try those big hand held spot lights that you find in stores - turns out they burn up within a year of use. THey can light up a forest if you need to see something but not worth replacing so often so quit using them.

I actually like it dark - you can see spectacular night skies that way.

[NCLee]

I like it dark, too!

Hated those utility company lights when we lived in town. The small light in the front yard is just enough to see how to get to the front door.

Reminds me... yesterday morning, I looked out the bathroom window (small one) well before dawn. The air/sky was so clear that the stars looked like Christmas tree lights strung across the tops of the branches of the trees in the backyard.

Told the late risers here about how beautiful that was to see. Far more beautiful than the man-made versions people string up each year.

Lee

[cinok]

I have the light set over by toolshed/workshop. Its more for secutiry then anything else. If someone is over there the dog alerts and it saves me from buying nightvision :). I do have a breaker that I can turn it off.