I was over at a friend’s flat (apartment) yesterday, and he has a problem that I would like to resolve. He has a bathroom that has no windows, so the (mains) light switch is connected to an extractor fan. Fine, except that in the middle of the night if he and his wife have guests needing to use the bathroom, the noise not only wakes them up, it wakes the rest of the building too.
His wife told me that she has a little battery light that she leaves on at night. I offered some rechargeable AA cells, but the thing is AAA, needs to be unscrewed to replace the batteries, and runs for maybe just one night.
So, I already have a spare NiMh charger, and some Contour batteries (eneloopish). Now I’d like to get them a light that takes up to 4 AA’s, has a low mode that can run for a reasonable time. A lantern of some description might be best, but not one with SOS like this or this .
My reputation is at stake here - he often makes comments about my flashlight “obsession” (I don’t know what he’s talking about), so it would be nice to present them with a solution to their nighttime problem.
How about a completely different approach? My bathroom is the same. You could install a programmable timer for the fan fuse (mains) so during the night the fan will not be turned on with the light. B&Q or Amazon might have something like this:
I would recommend a LED light with a IR motion sensor. That way it only comes on when someone is within detection range.
search amazon for “motion led night light” for a start.
I’d probably go with this. Its a ceiling light, 4C batteries for great longevity. Warm White cree.
@Stereodude - I don’t think there will be a 240v socket in the bathroom for a plug in night light
@Haterade - that’s the sort of thing I was looking at, but they all seem to have a flashing mode, and the low might be too bright.
@Chloe - the timer looks too complicated. I mean, that the best solution would be to split the fan from the extractor, but that’s probably a job for an electrician. As it is, there is a switch outside the bathroom that they turn off at night, killing the power to the fan/light.
@wolf359 - I have some of the cheap stick on things on my boat, but they aren’t great.
@Carpentryhero - I don’t like the look of that (5 years old - wonder what the LED’s are)?
@gadabout - hmmm, think I might have to go this route.
Those things are great - I grabbed three or four of them in Winners a while back for $7 apiece. Run forever on 4xAAs. Not the latest & greatest LEDs, but plenty of light to get around with indoors or in a tent.
Hi, how about giving these a try, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/130678834397?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
I have several, they take 3 AAA Cells, small but very bright, you can adjust the light output by turning the Dial till it reaches the desired brightness, more than enough brightness to light up a Bathroom. I left one of mine running on cheap AAA’s for 4 Day’s & Nights to see how long it would last, it was still quite bright even after 4 Days on high. Last but not least the price is right.
Hope this is helpful
Cheers Chris.
how is the flash mode accessed woody? hopefully like my rayovac where you have to hold the button for a second or two.
hate flashies. especially on lanterns.
edit: OK according to this thread, which was mentioned in a very good amazon customer review, you hold for three secs for the flashing mode. Thats fine by me.
There are four or five generations of the energizer lantern. Led’s don’t need to be current to do the job. A Nitecore EA4 uses four AA batteries and tail stands but you won’t get 130 hours of light
The motion sensor may be the way to go so that no one is fumbling for an on switch at night. It all depends on budget, I figured under $10 would be wiser. There are some touch lights that only give 30 lumens or so. And depending on the size you buy run on aaa or AA batteries
Where does anyone plug in their electric razor, hair dryer, curling iron, etc? In the US there’s always an outlet in the bathroom. Its required by the building code.
Woody is in London, building code is different there. There’s also the Water closet style of room where the toilet is in a small room separate from the Sink and Vanity that’d have the outlet.