Lighting without electricity - is it possible?

Ravenwood

Ravenwood

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 November 2005
Messages
11,196
Location
Devon
Visit site
I just wondered if anyone had any ideas on how I can illuminate a barn where the electricity is not connected?

Can you get battery powered lamps? I think you can get solar powered lights but I doubt they would work inside a barn!

If not can anyone suggest a very powerful torch? :rolleyes:

I am moving my horse at the weekend to a fabulous set up really close to me. She will be with one other horse and they have huge fields and access to a lovely big barn that is bedded down so they can come and go as they please. But the electricity in the barn isn't connected (I don't know why as there are lights in there!) So in the winter it will be a bit tricky feeding them!

Any suggestions gratefully received :)
 
I run a whole stableyard worth of fluorescent strip lights from car batteries. Lights from Ebay or Screwfix and batteries from scrap yds although i have got 1 leisure battery as well which was around £30 and well worth the money. Lights are on around 2 hrs a day and one battery per light lasts around 2-3 wks in mid winter. Always have a spare on charge so never run out of light. It looks like i have electricity when everything is turned on at night.
 
Solar lamps are very good these days and you can put the panel outside the barn. I have a LED solar spotlight that has a PIR and is very bright. For general use I have some of these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-Battery-P...Lighting_SM&hash=item43a24dbaad#ht_500wt_1156
They are battery powered with a hook and mine are magnetic so you can even put them on a gate at night!!! Or on your wheelbarrow as headlights!!

These are good as well
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/8-LED-wall-de...Lighting_SM&hash=item4cf2578476#ht_500wt_1156

In my field shelter I have something like this, but mine were much cheaper!! They have four adjustable spots on them and are ideal.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BATTERY-CUPBO...ighting_SM&hash=item4a9dd58eca#ht_1572wt_1139

I am lucky here as I have several cheapie hardware shops around and they often have some really good products, so if you get stuck I can have a look for you.
 
Honey08 said:
No they're rubbush. They fall off in about two days. Suit cupboards inside the house etc, but thats all.

We're another one that run strip lights off car batteries to power our portable stables. They only have hay and straw in, so don't have the lights on for long, but a large battery did three months last year...
Click to expand...

Oh right, sod that idea:o i've not used them myself, so don't know how crap they are, just thought they were a good idea:)
 
I have a couple of these - not the cheapest but very good

010814024.jpg


http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p...ble-rechargeable/path/work-lights-floodlights
 
Oh Wow - thank you all so much :D

I didn't realise that there were so many options!

I am off to investigate all the links and suggestions :D

Thank you
 
Boysy said:
I run a whole stableyard worth of fluorescent strip lights from car batteries. Lights from Ebay or Screwfix and batteries from scrap yds although i have got 1 leisure battery as well which was around £30 and well worth the money. Lights are on around 2 hrs a day and one battery per light lasts around 2-3 wks in mid winter. Always have a spare on charge so never run out of light. It looks like i have electricity when everything is turned on at night.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to sound so dim.... but, how do you connect the flourescent lights to a car battery? :o
 
Ravenwood said:
I am sorry to sound so dim.... but, how do you connect the flourescent lights to a car battery? :o
Click to expand...

The ones we use are for a caravan awning (is that how you spell it) and they have leads that clip onto the battery terminals... Obviously they would have to be away from the horses. You could put them in a box outside the stables and feed the wire through the wall..
 
Ravenwood said:
I just wondered if anyone had any ideas on how I can illuminate a barn where the electricity is not connected?

Can you get battery powered lamps? I think you can get solar powered lights but I doubt they would work inside a barn!

If not can anyone suggest a very powerful torch? :rolleyes:

I am moving my horse at the weekend to a fabulous set up really close to me. She will be with one other horse and they have huge fields and access to a lovely big barn that is bedded down so they can come and go as they please. But the electricity in the barn isn't connected (I don't know why as there are lights in there!) So in the winter it will be a bit tricky feeding them!

Any suggestions gratefully received :)
Click to expand...
you say there are lights but no power ??? was it origianaly conected to the mains or a genarator... how many lights do you need if its just one or two then you can get a leisure battery from a caravan place and some 12v lights take the battery home and charge it.. however if you want outside lights and lots of light for a big area then best to get a small genarator or see if it could be conected/reconected to the mains an electrician should be able to help...
 
Ravenwood I run my whole yard off of a leisure battery and no one can believe its not mains. Granted that's two stables, a tack room and the yard area so not a huge amount, but no reason at all it wouldn't light a larger area - the battery would just need charging more often. Shame you are not closer as I love showing people my lights!!

If you want info on how I did it, what I used and where from drop me a pm as I'm away until tomo night, and I will send through info. In total I think it cost me just over £200 to set mine up including battery, but I went for the best quality in everything so it would last longer. Have tried cheaper lights available and they are not as good.
 
Thanks perfects11s - the stable yard, stables, tack/feed room etc all have electric lights its just the very large barn that is divided into three for the two horses that have open access to it that is not and that is behind the stable yard so no light from there will filter through.

I don't know why the electric to the barn is not connected, I didn't like to ask and as the owner is going away for four months, I don't want to make a nuisance of myself!

But the ideas of battery powered lights if brilliant - at least I will be able to see both of them to feed them in the dark winter mornings!

alsxx - I am PM'ing you!

Thanks
 
Musto also do those hats with the light in the peak!

For years we used gas and tilly lamps - not the safest! Then we used car batteries to power the lights which were perfectly adequate.

Then we used generators. I use the plural as having those made our stables a magnet for thieves :mad: Think we had about 3 nicked (chained to a bolt in the floor, inside a metal shipping container - there's no stopping them!)

Now, after spending about 5k we now have eletricity, which for the first time means we can boil a kettle - woo! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top