Emergency lighting on the cheap.

Sweet and inspirational I must say

 

Black outs a regular issue in the US?

 

This thread made me think of this one ;D
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rA-zhTJuFU

 

Power was out for a few hours yesterday (2ish I guess). They thought it take 8 hours, so Id say they did relatively well. A pole just fell right apart, and was across the road. No car hit the pole or anything, it just sorta fell.

 

get one of this instead~
not only you can light up you can also cook on it too apparently~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIHyRyETKg

not sure what will happen if you point it to the back of your enemy... - -;

 

Hello ASSEMbler!

People living outside the New York City area may not realize that the infrastructure here is quite old. For example, the steam pipe that burst on Manhattan's Lexington Avenue in July of 2007 was installed in 1924. After the explosion, streets in the area closed for several blocks in all directions. Moreover, subway service in the area was suspended. I wasn't in Manhattan on that day but I rescheduled a trip to go to J & L Games on Elizabeth Street. and Book Off on E. 41st Street because of it. I was afraid that Penn Station would be a conjestion nightmare. Sometimes I really do thank god my employment is in Levittown and that I don't have to schlep into NYC every day.

Millions of pounds of steam are pumped beneath New York City streets every hour, heating and cooling thousands of buildings, including the Empire State Building. Some of the pipes carrying steam through New York City are still wrapped in asbestos. As ABC News reported: It was later found that the explosion was caused by a condition known as a "water hammer". This is the result of condensation of water inside a steam pipe. The sudden mix of hot steam and cool water can cause pressure to skyrocket, bursting the pipe.

In addition to all of that, as of this writing, Monday, 30-JUN-08. Many parts of NYC are still getting their clean (pottable) water from clay pipes that were installed in the 19th century. Also, there are still some parts of Manhattan where the streets are still Cobblestone, from the 19th century. Let's not even get get into the discussion about some of the worst sewage problems in NYC being in a part of Queens that's named Flushing.

Best wishes and warmest regards,
Bill "The Colonel" N.
Your humble cinema maintenance man from Hicksville, NY

 

One thing to keep in mind with the lead-acid batteries from go-karts- NEVER leave them charging when you aren't around... Or at least definitely install a smoke detector near them.

They can start fires occasionally. Probably not the most common thing they can do, but still not a risk you probably want to take...

http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=136

 

Because NiCad is rechargeable, whereas you're not supposed to recharge Alkalines. Yes, I know you can, but you're advised against it!

Don't you guys have emergency lighting?

http://www.scldirect.co.uk/emergency-lighting/8w-bulkhead-luminaires.html

http://www.theexitstore.com/EMERGENCY.htm

I would recommend keeping a couple of rechargeable lanterns. I have this one and it works well:

http://flashlightsunlimited.com/relanternarea.htm

I have used that in a power cut. Was good!

Also have one like this:

http://www.watsonscaravans.com.au/site.cfm?p=SparesDetail&SparesID=133

Saves having to piss about building anything, and you'll get the same results... well, better!

You could probably modify a UPS to run a 12V bulb for quite a while... be careful, though!

 

Or just plug a lamp into it, lol.

 

:lol:

 

the thing about those gokart/moped wet cells is they give off hydrogen when you charge them, s'why they have the drain tubes.. so not so much the heat problems as, catch a spark and KABOOM