Tap lights

krisman
krisman Solar Expert Posts: 57 ✭✭✭✭
in Energy Use & Conservation #1
needing some advice on tap lights. and how long the battery life is good for in them, the best ones, any experiences?
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: Tap lights

    What, exactly is a "tap light"?
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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Tap lights

    I think it is a AA battery operated closet light, that you tap the globe to turn it on and off.

    Most have 2 AA batteries, and a small incandescent bulb,, ~$3 at your local hardware store.

    Tony
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  • krisman
    krisman Solar Expert Posts: 57 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Tap lights

    a tap light is a light that is round, uses aa batteries, you can stick anywhere, and you just push it to turn it on and off. i also want to know who has had experience with these, http://heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?product=miracle-led-bulb-recessed-light---pair&PIN=83617&GUID=013A5EEB-B021-4D12-B029-44BF0E8F87D1&BC=S&DL=SEH3, and what kind of light they put out. they are led bulbs. the only down side i see is there is no way to recycle them. any opinions?
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Tap lights
    krisman wrote: »
    a tap light is a light that is round, uses aa batteries, you can stick anywhere, and you just push it to turn it on and off. i also want to know who has had experience with these,

    http://heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?product=miracle-led-bulb-recessed-light---pair&PIN=83617&GUID=013A5EEB-B021-4D12-B029-44BF0E8F87D1&BC=S&DL=SEH3, and what kind of light they put out. they are led bulbs. the only down side i see is there is no way to recycle them. any opinions?

    That link is not for tap lights. Looks like a replacement bulb for standard light fixtures.

    LED lights need to be kept cool, even cooler than CFL's. Their phosphor can burn out from excess heat, in just a couple hundred hours, if not kept cool enough. Costco found out about this problem with a large batch of LED's they had to refund.
    Keep the sales receipt , and find out ahead of time, the store warranty.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

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  • krisman
    krisman Solar Expert Posts: 57 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Tap lights

    i was thinking of replacing a few lights in my bedroom, bathroom, etc. would these led bulbs or tap lights be more effective and economical?

    if tap light batteries would make it through 100 hours at 2 hours a night before recharging, using rechargeable batteries. it sounds like they would be a good choice
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #7
    Re: Tap lights

    Realistically, depending on the circuitry and the brightness of the bulb, you would probably get from 2-10 hours of sort of able to read a newspaper from a couple feet away per AA rechargeable battery.

    Way more efficient than a filament or probably even a CFL--but still not a lot of light if you want to do more than avoid tripping over things.

    You can buy/build/etc. brighter lights, but they need more battery power to operate longer.

    Really depends on your needs.

    The lights and batteries+chargers are pretty cheap. You can afford to get a few different types and see if any of them meet your needs.

    Lights with efficient ballast circuits (switch mode power supplies) are going to cost quite a bit more--but the quality of the light can make it very worth while (stable output from full charge to near dead, efficient variable output, etc.).

    A light that can run for a 100 hours on two AA batteries is possible--but it would really only be useful if your eyes are dark adapted... Think, at best, a full moon worth of lighting for a portion of a room.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: Tap lights

    20 hours is about the max useable light from a pari of AA's and 3 small LED's.

    see ad for Nite Ize Model: LUC-07 3 bulb mini-mag light replacement
    http://www.niteize.com/productdetail.php?category_id=28&product_id=108

    Less LED would hardly be usefull.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • kc8adu
    kc8adu Solar Expert Posts: 50 ✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: Tap lights

    remember that any led light bulbs using 5mm led's will have a very short life.poor quality led's overdriven with no thermal management.
    that heartland site reminds me of harbor freight.
    dont expect anything of quality from them.
    i did put an osram "golden dragon" ir sensing tap light in an outbuilding with nimh batteries and a tiny solar panel to keep it topped off.that works well.
    but these lights are not cheap.you get what you pay for though.they do give a useful amount of light.1 hour timer and 2 levels.
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  • MisterB
    MisterB Solar Expert Posts: 156 ✭✭
    #10
    Re: Tap lights

    Here's my experience with LED tap lights. I bought a bunch of 4 LED tap lights from Wal-Mart a few years ago dirt cheap--like 4 for $6. They came with cheap batteries and had a 6 volt plug on them. I used the batteries for flashlights and hooked 4 to a low ceiling on a 6 volt DC power supply. They lasted around 2 months and every one of them died a slow flickering death. I took them apart and the ciruit was dead simple with one resister and 4 LEDs wired in parallel. I bought some good 5mm LEDs and pulled the burnt LEDs from the circuit board, cut the traces and wired them in series instead of parallel, did some math for the current, and put the good LEDs in series with a 10 ohm resistor and turned the defective 6 volt 2 watt tap lights into good 12 volt 1/4 watt lights and am using 3 of them to this day with no problems and I have lots of LEDs and corpses of dead tap lights if I want more.

    The other thing I gained from the experience is that 4 LEDs in series is just about the maximum you can do at 12 volts so if the battery voltage gets low, they start to flicker and dim and they funtion as a low battery warning light in addition to ultra low power ambient lighting.
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  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    #11
    Re: Tap lights

    I've got a pile of these:

    http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-809-3042-1-GO-LED/dp/B002ZG7WKI/ref=pd_sbs_auto_5

    My local Radio Shack used to carry them at 5 bucks for a 4-pack. I opened one up (simple snap-open) and they have 3 watch batteries in series. I've had them a couple of years and have used them quite a lot and they are still working. I leave them laying around everywhere - in drawers, toolbox, in the camper.

    A couple of them are getting quite dim and I've thought about maybe wiring up a couple 3 or 4 in series for a 12v configuration.

    One puts out a decent amount of light - 3 or 4 would be pretty bright.


    EDIT: The 7 hours thing is wrong - it's 7 days.
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