I wanted to buy emergency lantern but seeing it using 3 or 4 D type batteries is off-putting because I don’t have those. I was thinking about using AA’s I have in D adapters in this lantern but after learning that D cells have 8,000-10,000 mAh capacities I gather it would require 1 AA to be recharged 4-5 times in D adapter in a contrast to doing that once with rechargeable D cell battery.
Aforementioned, coupled with running time which would now be 4 times less seems too much of a trouble. Maybe I should consider AA emergency lantern because buying D cells would require special charger which I don’t have?
I want to use it almost as regularly, say a few times during electricity blackouts lasting from 30 minutes to several hours.
Are you referring to singular units of 18650 and 21700 or products with built-in battery of such type?
Primary batteries are the least preferred due to feasibility of them leaking in their new condition even during appropriate storage. I read some experiences of people with them. At least of current alkalines than alkalines that we made years ago that didn’t leak as often.
I happen to have Camelion Ultra from 10 years ago partly used, still holding charge that I bought locally. They just don’t make them anymore like that do they?
Yeah, primaries can leak, that’s a disadvantage. But they are still the only way for long term storage because of very, very low self-discharge. Have to store them separately to avoid ruining the device if they do leak…
But if you are going to use (and recharge) it at least once every few month IMO li-ion batteries would make the most sense. I am talking about lanterns like sofirn LT1/LT1S, fenix CL26R, etc with replaceable 18650/21700 batteries. This would give you the convenience of recharging the battery internally without buying extra charger, but will also allow you to easily replace it once the battery degrades or even have spares for the case of longer blackout or something.
Not sure about sofirn, but CL26R can also run on a pair of CR123A, which can be stored for “emergency” while rechargeable 18650 is used for normal use.
I think it’s better a quite good lantern with external battery-ies 18650 or 21700 ! Plus with some extra battery as a backup you will be just fine ! Just my opinion… !
You can get 3xAA to D adapters, that will give you c.5400mah to 6300mAh per adapter, depending if you use 1800 or 2100mah cells.
I read somewhere here the cells should be charged individually, outside of the adapter. So the downside of this solution is you’d need the ability to recharge 9-12AA cells.
Alternatively, you could get some rechargable D cells and a good NiMh charger.
Go for it. If you already have the adapters & plenty of AA Rechargables you have nothing to loose. Unless the power is off for days you should be good to go.
Sure a 18650 or 21700 lantern might be less “trouble” IF you want to spend the money to get set up.
Otherwise, use what you have.
The key word is emergency. I still keep several 9v and D cell lantern lights in my earthquake supplies just in case the big one hits and I need an extra lantern or 2 to use or lend out. I store them with D cell adapters and a bunch of Eneloops. I also store a LT and mini-LT in the supplies but I figure it doesn’t hurt to have the other ones just in case.
I have plenty of Eneloops and storage space so those 2 things aren’t an issue.
My casual thoughts on a variety of related aspects, which may or may not fit in to how you want to handle your preparedness.
For seldom-if-ever-used devices, disposable batteries are cost effective. While alkalines can leak, I would say I’ve had fewer problems with D cells than with AA or AAA cells.
While I have a lantern for camping (Sofirn BLF LT1), which I also use for power outages, my main indoor emergency lighting source is flashlights standing on their tail, bouncing off the ceiling, which distributes the light very well (works best if you have white ceilings). When I use my LT1, I try to get it as high as possible to minimize glare in the eyes. I might actually put a hook somewhere in my kitchen specifically for this.
If you have enough lights and batteries for other purposes, you might not need a dedicated emergency light.
Compared to alkaline D cells, AA-size NiMH cells in adapters are a surprisingly good alternative. It seems to be fairly common to design D-cell lights to draw around 500 mA on high. This is an easy load for a single AA NiMH battery, and an Eneloop can deliver 1800 mAh or so before dropping below 1.1V, which means 5400 mAh if you have 3xAA adapters. While an alkaline D-cell might stay above 1.1V for 13,000+ mAh at lower loads (eg - 100mA), the internal resistance is such that they only deliver around 7,000 mAh at 500 mA (source: HKJ’s tests). Note that 1.1V is not a hard cutoff. Many devices continue to function with significantly declining performance below that level. Overall, I consider a 3xAA adapter with Eneloops a solid alternative to a D-cell.
For inexpensive, minimal orientation lighting during power outages, LED candles can be cheap and pleasant. I make sure I get versions with warm white LED’s, not amber (Ikea’s candles are good), and use them as nightlights in my kids’ rooms and the bathroom.
Headlamps are superbly useful for keeping both hands free but delivering plenty of light for up-close tasks. I routinely use my headlamp for cooking when the power is out or when camping. If I had to prioritize, I’d personally choose a headlamp over a lantern, but if you can have both available, even better.
Having at least one light that accepts AA batteries means if needed, you can run overwhelmingly the most common size battery in circulation, so you can buy them at a local store, beg them from neighbors, scrounge them from other gadgets, etc.
So I have ordered Eveready 250-lumen camping lantern for emergencies and to just have light next to the bed to aid during the night when waking up and check what time etc. I also bought 4 eneloop AAs to use in it.
I was disappointed with the level of lantern’s brightness with 4 eneloop AAs. However as soon as I popped in 4 Kodak lithium-ion non-rechargeable AAs the difference was almost like a day and night, if not day and night:
On the photo the feel is not the same as it is when you look at the lantern in real life but on the bottom photo you can see the shadows are less pronounced and more of the bathroom is illuminated. I really hoped to just pop in eneloops and get the level of brightness of almost like of lithium-ion AAs. I have not tested with alkalines but estimate the level will be slightly weaker than with lithum-ions. Alkalines are not the batteries I was intended to use this lantern with.
I don’t have the lantern you mention to verify, but most likely the reason you see such a difference is the Eveready Lantern does not have any kind of current regulation to ensure it can maintain a consistent brightness at different voltages. Decreasing voltage results in decreasing output.
Therefore, because lithium primary batteries (and I’m assuming your Kodak batteries perform similar to the more common Energizer Ultimate Lithium) produce 1.6V when new, fall somewhat quickly to about 1.5V under load, and then very gradually fade to about 1.3 under moderate loads when they are nearly depleted, they maintain the lantern’s brightness well.
Alkaline batteries may actually be as bright as lithium batteries initially, starting around 1.5V under load, but they rapidly fall below 1.3V, and by the time they are nearly empty, will be around 1.0V. On an un-regulated light, the falling output results in lower current draw, so the runtime can be long, but at significantly reduced brightness.
NiMH batteries like Eneloops, start around 1.4V, drop fairly quickly to below 1.3V, but then very slowly drop to around 1.1V when they’re nearly depleted.
So in summary: if you want the highest brightness possible, the lithium primary batteries will give you that, but they are expensive. If you can accept a lower overall output, then the fact the Eneloops are rechargeable will give a much lower long term operating cost.
I generally don’t use alkaline cells due to their expense and proclivity to leak (the only variety I’ve not had leak are 9Vs and coin cells - yet). I’ve found that using 3xAA parallel adapters + low self-discharge NiMH to be satisfactory for my needs. Admittedly my D-cell lights and other appliances are used a tad … infrequently.
What @imlucky13 says is accurate. Either you got a lantern that does not output what you really wanted, or you’re going to have to up your battery game and absorb the cost. The lithium primaries are great batteries, will have a good sustained output, probably not leak, but are expensive.
Another expensive option would be 1.5v Li-on rechargeable. Decent ones will put out 1.5v until “suddenly” dead. They will NOT retain storage voltage as long as alkaline or primary lithium. Don’t know how they compare to Eneloops for long term storage. If you are going to use them somewhat frequently that won’t matter much. Another shortcoming is there is no way to tell what kind of remaining capacity is in them. That can be annoying for an emergency lantern with occasional use.