# best way to light up a portable



## Norm70

I want to try something different this yr. i would like to get away from the propane lantern that always gets in the way. Provides awesome light but in a 2 man flipover it takes up alot of room

How are the led string lights?? I heard they are ok but don't plan on tying knots in the fish house? true or not true?

What has everyone else used. I am heading to fargo this weekend and want to have a plan.


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## woodpecker

I bought a 12 volt light that has a spring loaded clamp from Sportsman's warehouse last year. I also bought a 12 volt battery for yard tractors. This combo gives off a lot of light and runs for a long time!


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## willythekid

I use a couple of the HT shelter lights... one usually isnt enough but if you put a couple in the corners it works well. they are very good on batteries as well. as far as tying knots I don't do fishing of any kind at night without a headlamp... the new ones are light and cheap and you only use them when you need to.


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## Norm70

good idea with the headlamp i bought one for bowhunting this i will have to put it to use


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## drjongy

Headlamp for sure, but the only way to light a portable these days is with L.E.D.'s as they last forever and take very little power.


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## goosehunternd

I have a fish trap X4 and the strings of LED lights are ok but they dont put off as much light as I thought they would. I run two of those little single mantle laterns that screw on top of a little propane tank and I am amazed how bright and how long they can burn on those little bottles.


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## drjongy

The L.E.D. strings are useless in my opinion, they just don't put out enough light. There are lots of L.E.D. options these days...you would probably find the most selection at a home improvement store rather than a sporting goods store.


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## drjongy

By the way, use the Palomar knot....has been shown to be one of the best and you can tie it with your eyes closed.


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## Ron Gilmore

I will second the light strings as not being a good choice. In our flip over we put two pieces of Velcro on the inside and bought the LED lights for hallways and such at one of the home improvement stores. We put them over the hole area and they will give you all the light you need with less setup time or hassle. One suggestion in buying them is to get the type that take the AA batteries vs the lithium watch style. For some reason we went through the lithium batterers very quickly when exposed to cold temps like tear down.

For up close work I have headlamps and will not venture onto the ice without them. They work great for tear down and if for some reason you need light up close.

I forgot to grab my bag with the headlamps in on our way to LOW last year. Stopped at Wally World in GF and bought a cheap $12.00 headlamp with two LED spotlights and four other LED lights. It can be run with the spots, or other lights or all of them. This thing is the best light I have seen ! If I run all the lights I get about 25 hours of run time on 3 AAA batteries.


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## ringneckhnter

I also use a head lamp, but i also run the LED strings in my fish trap guide. one string doesn't work too well, but i got another one (each costing about 4 bucks) and spliced the two power cords into a single set of alligator clips to run off my vex battery. they hardley use any power. i attached them with zip-ties to the bars of my portable. i guess it works for me.


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## JBB

Go to a auto parts house and buy 2 50 watt 12 volt drop light bulbs (same type of bulb you use in the house). Go to Menards and buy 2 cheap light fixtures. Then mount the fixtures in the ice house. Get a deep cycle battery and plastic boat case for it. Get a cig lighter plug in, male and female ends. When you wire the ice house put the female end of the cig lighter in the ice house. Wire the male end with about 10 feet of wire and wire it to the battery. When you travel to go fishing plug the battery into the cig lighter in your vehicle to charge it. When you get to the house just move the battery inside and plug it into your lights. I use this in my 8/12 hunting cabin.I put 4 lights and only use 1. Just remeber to charge the battery at home before going. My battery will last about 2-3 weekends before charging.


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## drjongy

That would be a good option for a permanent house, JBB, but not so much for portable. Even with a permanent house these days L.E.D.'s would probably be the best option. I bet with a 12V deep cycle you could run all winter long on a single charge using L.E.D.'s rather than 2-3 weeks.

Speaking on power usage, how many have switched to compact fluorescent fixtures in their house? 5 fluorescent bulbs use about the same power as 1 regular bulb. With a 10,000 hour average life span as well, you are saving significant money over the life of the bulb. If we want to keep gas prices down in the future we need to trim power usage wherever we can!


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## Ron Gilmore

drongy moving from a 60 watt bulb to a 120 watt to get the same light and the added upfront costs it is still a wash. We have been trying different brands and makes seeking ones that are equivalent in light output and all have failed.

I realize it is a different type of light, but for us bifocal wearing people it is a must to have good light. Be damn if I am going to wear a headlamp simply to read the paper or do some minor repair work!


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## njsimonson

Coleman makes a great smaller one-bulb version of its propane lantern called the Perfect Flow. I have both, the bigger one is good for generating heat, but the little guy is great for when room is a factor.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemanc ... oryid=1010


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## drjongy

Ron, are talking about the CFL's at home or ice house lights, because I haven't had that experience at all. For example, I replaced 4 100W (400 W total) bulbs in my garage with 100W equivalent light (which is 1600 lumens) and they use 23W each (92 W total) and the light is even brighter than the old filament 100W bulbs.

One thing when looking at CFL replacements is to check the lumens of light, that will tell you for sure how much light output your getting. Another thing I've found out...most CFL's seem to come in what is called "natural light", and if you look at the lumens per wattage, they are much lower compared with finding CFL's of the same wattage that are "soft white".

As far as cost, I think I paid just over 3 dollars each for my CFL's...I will cover the cost difference in about 3 months.


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## holmsvc

Has anyone had much experience with the rechargeable LED lanterns? I see they sell some you can pull into your lighter in the truck or the wall. With the high cost of 1 lb bottles I would think it would easily pay for itself in one season if they are bright enough and a couple hours per charge.


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## deacon

woodpecker said:


> I bought a 12 volt light that has a spring loaded clamp from Sportsman's warehouse last year. I also bought a 12 volt battery for yard tractors. This combo gives off a lot of light and runs for a long time!


 This method works great!

I have modified a light so I can hook it up to me vexilar battery, this works fine. Sure hate and am tired of the mantels breaking in lantern.


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## jgat

goosehunternd said:


> I run two of those little single mantle laterns that screw on top of a little propane tank and I am amazed how bright and how long they can burn on those little bottles.


Exactly what I do as well. I just hang them from one of the support bars on the top of the shack, and they light the whole thing up great. They don't use up much propane at all either.


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## celebrationmm

I tryed a 20 bulb led lantern last winter, and it just didn't throw the light I hoped for. I still needed my headlamp for tying knots and by the end of the season I was back to the propane lamp.


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## SilentStalker

I agree that one set of LED string lights will not light the house up real well - BUT i have the Fish Trap X Thermal and I have 3 sets of lights one for each bar above my head and when they are on they light every inch up WELL! They don't suck enough juice to have to worry about your battery going dead anyway!


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## KEN W

Anyone ever use one of these UFO lights?


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## drjongy

Is that made by HT? I just bought one that isn't exact, but looks very similar. Puts out some nice light.


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## KEN W

Don't know who makes them.The run $8-13 in hardware stores or on e-bay, and run on 3-4 AA batteries.


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## MrSafety

I use a DeWalt 14 volt hand-held flourescent light. Comes with an extendable hook that hangs it perfectly.......I use a bungee to pull the bottom back so the light shines directly down.......works really well.


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## deacon

MrSafety said:


> I use a DeWalt 14 volt hand-held flourescent light. Comes with an extendable hook that hangs it perfectly.......I use a bungee to pull the bottom back so the light shines directly down.......works really well.


Hey, I like it, have never used the flashlight that came with my set, but it puts out good light and a rechargable battery. I am going to try. :beer:


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## MallardMayhem21

Ken W - Have you used that style of lights before? I seen them at the store tonight and was wondering how they would work. Read on the package that the batteries last for 30 hours and 100,000 lifetime. They are LED so I would think it would be fairly bright and for the price just run two!!


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## KEN W

Nope,never used them.I intend to try them out.Looks like good light and the price is good.


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## Norm70

they had the those(ufo type lights) in fleet farm for 10 bucks. They also had some complicated contraption for 27 but it had a bulb in it and a spring loaded attachment for the aluminum poles.


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## JIMC_ND

I ran the UFO's in my portables last year using E-Cell rechargeable batteries, and I was really happy with the lights. 2 UFO's in an Otter Lodge is really bright- plenty of light to tie a knot. I used shower curtain clips to hang them from my poles. Cheap and bright...


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## trippersrookieyear

I have a Frabil two man. The old school one that fold up and the floor becomes the case. I use a lantern that has two flourescent tubes in it and runs on flashlight batteries (8 I think). It's about the size of a Coleman lantern but no heat to worry about. It lights the shack well, but I use my headlamp for making knots. Otherwise it's very effective and a set of batteries lasted all season last year fishing 2-3 days a week. I set it on the floor when alone and suspend it with a zip tie if there are two of us in the shack.


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## bowinchester

my dad found a battery powered lantern floating in mille lacs the spring before last. its the best find we have got yet. it has a little hook on it to hang on the poles of the otter and has a dimmer switch to adjust the light. i dont know how much they are but they are pretty slick.


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## HIGH BRASS

http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ogId=10101


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