No lighting at stable - any advice on generators?

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Horseymum13

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Hi there, our new horse needs stabled at night but our stable and tack room does not have electricity - it's pretty dangerous. We're struggling along with head torches but I wonder if there's a better way? Does anyone have a generator? What' the best make to go for? Thanks
 
Put solar panels on the roof to charge two battery's running 12v LED lights it will work very very well.
You need to get good quality panels that will work In ambient light as well as bright sunlight .
 
I haven't had electricity for 22 years at my yard!! I actually prefer it, no chance of electrical faults. Head torches are the way forward, and I have a LED lantern for the tackroom too. Only downside is no hot water but I make do with flasks.
 
Thank you Goldenstar - do you have any advice where to buy these from and is DIY installation possible? Our issue is that we are on a livery yard and we may get moved to a different field so we don't want to spend too much. Or, if we do, we'd want to be able to take it with us.
 
lhotse said:
I haven't had electricity for 22 years at my yard!! I actually prefer it, no chance of electrical faults. Head torches are the way forward, and I have a LED lantern for the tackroom too. Only downside is no hot water but I make do with flasks.
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Gas powered water heater for outside shower will sort the no hot water issue you just need a tap and hose for them to run .you get them for just over £100 on eBay .
 
Horseymum13 said:
Thank you Goldenstar - do you have any advice where to buy these from and is DIY installation possible? Our issue is that we are on a livery yard and we may get moved to a different field so we don't want to spend too much. Or, if we do, we'd want to be able to take it with us.
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My groom who is super handy fitted them to our static caravan that we use as our beachside getaway .
If you might need to move you might be better to fit 12v lights ( very low power use ) and buy two top quality leisure battery's and bring one home for charging .
I am pretty sure that would be cheaper than a generator .
 
I use a honda generator and have done for the last 10 years. Tried a torch, but in an emergency when the vet is out, Im afraid you need more light than a torch can provide.
 
Honda Generators are brilliant but they can be very pricey. There is a Chinese generator called 'Kipor' that is a replica of the Honda & is a fraction of the price. Honda have been taking legal action against Kipor for years but China doesn't really care about copyrite law so they continue to make them.

To keep the size of any generator down & that invariably will keep the cost of buying it down, use energy saving bulbs. That way you'll only be using i.e. 11w bulb to give the equivalent of 50w of light. A small generator, i.e. 650w could power up to around 50 of these bulbs, not that you'd need that many. You can pick up generators cheaply off ebay.

If you want hot water then you would need a much more powerful generator or you could use bottled gas & a gas ring? :)
 
Hi - sorry don't want to hijack thread Toby_Zaphod I have just had a quick look at these generators on eBay as mine is very loud - I have always thought the quieter ones were much more expensive but these arent too bad price wise - when it says that are quiet does that mean you can actually hear yourself & you don't think you are in a fairground
 
I have a Honda generator and its completely changed my winter routine - before i used to do the bare minimum by torch or battery light. Now i happily spend till 10pm at my field some nights giving the pony a groom and handling the youngster.

The generator has a fuel tank which when filled with £10 of unleaded lasts probably around 15 hours. There is a lead that runs in to an empty stable with a gang of sockets on and the lights and a kettle are plugged in there. There are a few leads to be cable clipped in place but it couldnt be permenant as the place is rented.

The generator has a power switch and also a fuel cut off switch so is safe. You would need a long hose as an exhaust pipe if you wanted the generator under cover but i keep mine away from the buildings for maximum safety and ventilation

To run light you could get away with a cheap £80 generator. A bigger one gives you more flexibility though, they can run clippers and floodlights etc

The biggest drawback is that they are at risk of getting stolen especially if you are in a built up area and the noise travels!

The best cheapest option i had previously were those battery operated lightbulbs, at under a fiver they give a surprising amount of light, ive mucked out by the light, changed rugs etc.. So they are an acceptable 'dont want to start up the generator for a quick hay and water check' option

Having proper light is a great luxury though and ideal for vet checks etc as someone has said above.

The solar option sounds good if done properly too :)
 
Properly quiet generators are expensive, these are the sort on a lot of big horse lorries at shows. I guess there will be others that are quieter than others though.

As mine is set away from the building i cannot hear it at all when in the stables even when the radio is switched off. Most cables are long enough for you not to need the generator very close

Something i forgot to mention above, if looking for a non permenant lighting system and need lots of light look at festoon lights (the type with guards) and a cheap generator
 
Ive used a geny for 10 years for lighting at my yard, iys a medusa make cost around 150 - 180 (oringinal one replaced last winter- now used as spare) i have low energy lights and plenty of them, its also powered two spot ligts into the field for fetching in:) works a treat and cheap to run at around 15/month in fuel maximum. I can even use my clippers with it. I also find it will boil a kettle but it has to be a low wattage travel kettle. Its all set up to work off one plug into the genny so easy and safe to use, the genny even has an inbuilt trip switch. You will need to store securely though as said above they are easy targets , mine is hidden behind locked doors when not in use, as is anything else thats portable !!!!
 
Just be wary that having a generator makes your yard much more attractive to thieves, we had five stolen in total all were kept in a metal shipping container and the thieves put a lot of time and effort into breaking in!

In the old days we used Tilly lamps and gas lamps which aren't really safe at all. We moved onto using car batteries to power lights,these just had to be taken home and charged up every few weeks. Every day in winter I thankful for the year we put in electric!! The luxury of boiling a kettle for poultices/washing etc :)
 
Stencilface said:
Just be wary that having a generator makes your yard much more attractive to thieves, we had five stolen in total all were kept in a metal shipping container and the thieves put a lot of time and effort into breaking in!

In the old days we used Tilly lamps and gas lamps which aren't really safe at all. We moved onto using car batteries to power lights,these just had to be taken home and charged up every few weeks. Every day in winter I thankful for the year we put in electric!! The luxury of boiling a kettle for poultices/washing etc :)
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I agree with this round here generators are thief magnets as are quads.
 
I have a cheap Chinese geni that I bought off e-bay, it puts out a big voltage as I needed it run a fridge/freezer and it runs on bottled gas which is cheaper than petrol. I have not had any problems with it and it can run for hours without having to do anything to it. Its not particularly noisy and if you put at the back of the stable the noise is baffled
Unless you really need a lot of light I would go down the LED, 12 volt route. There is now far more choice for lights and the only knickable part would be the battery, a good leisure battery costs £80 where as a geni is about £300+, portable suitcase generators that you could put in the back of your car are expensive.
 
We had a generator for about two weeks before it got stolen. Don't bother with one, makes you a target for theft.
Head torches, LED pit inspection lights (rechargeable ones) and 12v lights run off a leisure battery are what we have.
Cordless clippers and gas camping stove for brewing up....jobs a good un :)
 
Our genny is the size of a suitcase. We take it home with us when we are finished up. It's a 1KW and powers 6 x 5ft striplights and 2 bulkheads. As good as mains power. It runs on unleaded and gives about 8 hours power. We chose this sort because we had one stolen. Can't for the life of me remember which make it is, OH got it off the internet. In order for a genny to run efficiently you need it to run at least half it's capacity.
 
You can get 12v lights with 3 meter wire for £15
The bulbs are a designed 12v CF so they throw light in all directions ( led can be very directional ) and use very little power
I have just used a pair this week in our kitchen while we had no power 3 days so much better than a torch.
 
I have a little Honda geny - a two stroke rather than 4 so it is nice and portable and can be taken home. It's a bit smelly, but not too bad for noise. Used to have a four stroke but it was a bit temperamental at times and then broke, have still got it, just need to get it mended. Also have a head torch and a hanging battery lantern that I use in areas where it's not feasible to run a cable too. (All cables are up high and away from rodent teeth.)

Before that I used to use a car battery and caravan lights - still have them as a back up, or for short periods when it's not worth firing up the geny. Have found though that it can be awkward getting new tubes for them at times - my local caravan shop closed and the car spares place doesn't stock them anymore.

Would strongly recommend a little portable geny that you can take home to anyone who can afford one - so much better light than when the battery ones are running.

I've not tried running a kettle from the geny, but have a camping stove for kettle boiling. Can also do a mean bacon buttie on it as well!!!
 
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I don't have any experience of using a generator but I have yard with no electricity and have been using stable lights provided by Bedazzled Lighting (see website) for past three years. I cannot recommend highly enough if all you require is some light during the winter months.
 
I also have a honda generator -love it and have used it for 4 yrs now.
I have this hooked up to a set of 12 site lights from ARCO - enough for 3 stables, a store and 2 external lights - its pretty much a long cord with 12 outdoor fittings and bulbs and cages to clip aroubd the bulbs.
http://www.arco.co.uk/products/3715925/48726/Festoon+Site+Lighting+Kit

So easy to fit too.
hope this helps.
Teresa
 
Sparow thank you so much, just talked to the man at Bedazzled and he talked me through their kit. Sounds ideal for us and all for under £90. I'm going to give it a go and I'll let you all know how I get on.
 
I have 3w led lights in a fitting and wired to a plug, the wiring coming out of the plug has crocodile clips and attaches to a leisure battery.

These are the bulbs , they are a very clean wide bright light and being such low wattage you can run a lot without draining the battery.
 
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