IIRC there was mention on this site that you had posted a very useful thread or post on rechargeable small batteries. If so maybe you could repost a link.
Anyway, here’s a lessons learned tip.
We get frequent power outages in our area that have nothing to do with storms. Just outdate equipment and lines designed for 1950’s home, not the power hogs of today.
For just lighting went through candles, kerosene light, propane camping lights. All combustion lights have there drawbacks, fuel storage hazard, smell, CO. & CO2 potential.
Then came the cheap LED puck lights. First generation pretty shoddy. Newer ones much better. Installed several under kitchen cabinets, roughly no mare than 15” apart. It’s very bright at counter level. And the are always there. No panicked rummaging and every one knows exactly where they are. Every bookcase has 2 with light directed upwards.
Thing is that the lose effective working light levels but there’s still juice in those AA’s & D’s. So I worked out a cascading system swapping batteries from high effective power use to medium to low.
Example LED patio light uses 8 D cells, lasts about 3 months with light usage. As light level dims, the slightly used batteries go to 30 year old radio casette player. Five D’s run radio only 10 to 12 hrs a day for more than a week. Used AA’s go to smaller radios
Than the price of solar patio LED lights dropped like a stone, less than $5 each. Usually powered by NiCad AA.
I swapped out Eneloops for longer life. But the really cheap lights were better used indoors as night step lights. With the AA now at the bottom of the food chain, in these cheap fixtures they provide low level amber colred light fot 10 to 12 hrs before they’re completely depleted, that’s non-rechargeable throw aways. Light enough not to step on the home critters and a small soul heartening glow. The same circuit that activates the light at dark works well inside.
When we throw away a battery there’s not enough juice to seduce a firefly.
That’s my strategy for what it’s worth.
Oh, a roll of Visqueen and a few rolls of painters tape work better than tea candles. Apply to inside of window as additional thermal/draft barriers. Then add combustion heat as required. In any casr one will need far less. $30 Coleman camp propane heats a 20x20 room to 58 degrees in zero degree weather. Fourteen hours on 1 lb bottle. Not toasty but it’s winter isn’t.
Here it is:
My Solar Power Set Up:
(Note to anyone who wants to argue about batteries with me – I won’t respond to such posts – I’m not arguing – been there, done that, too many times.)
I researched solar panels and chargers and rechargeable batteries for a month or more to put together something that would work for me and not have to take out a loan at the bank to pay for it. In my mind, I have the best solar panel and best rechargeable batteries to accomplish the task.
Rechargeable Batteries:
I know I have the best rechargeable batteries available. I wrote numerous articles on Survival Podcast about batteries, but you don’t have to read what I wrote as I went through that – it’s the final choice that is important. If you don’t think I have the best, I can direct you to those articles and you can read them, or just take my word about that and get these. I was pissed that Energizer and Duracell and others you would buy at Walmart, grocery store, drug stores, changed their D batteries and put the power of a AA in their D rechargeables. What an absolute rip off, especially when you need high powered Ds as they used to make. Well, I wrote articles about that to alert people to that problem. The D batteries are listed below.
Solar Panel:
There are so many you will get lost trying to find what you need. I wanted a solar panel with a good charger that attaches to the panel and charges all sizes of batteries in a reasonable amount of time and didn’t cost a fortune. I found the right one and you’d have to kill me to take it from me. You can also recharge a low or high end cell phone and a Kindle or an Ipad. You use the cigarette plug you have for your phone (to charge in a car) and it has that mini USB connector on the other end and attach your phone or Ipad or Kindle to that connector and plug the cigarette plug in the cigarette port on the solar panel. You will understand this when you read about the panel/charger.
The panel has a long cord and I’ll put the panel in the sun and run that cord under the roof over my deck so the charger itself can be in the shade. If you can’t find a place to put the charger in the shade, make shade over it with a table or whatever. I don’t want the charger directly out in the Texas sun. It is fast to recharge batteries (charge four AA in three hours). Here is the solar panel/charger:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SFWTMW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here are the Sanyo eneloop batteries. You can get any size on this page (they don’t make a high capacity D):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SB1TD4/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here are high capacity low self-discharge Tenergy Centura Ds I need for my fans and two lanterns: “Provides ultra-long use time per charge with this super high 8000mAh capacity”. There is a 10,000 mAh and maybe one more higher, but the charger using solar power will not charge these to capacity so it’s a waste of money to buy higher than 8000. Note the color of these batteries – it is white. They have these 8000 in another color but that color is NOT the low self-discharge. These white ones are the NEW low self-discharge type. If you buy these elsewhere, make sure they are the white ones.