Hurricane lamp as anchor light

misterg

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I've got a lamp which stays alight in the wind, and will burn all night on one fill, but do you have any bright ideas about how to store the lamp on board such that:

a) the glass doesn't get broken, and

b) it doesn't spill oil over everything else in the locker?


Andy
 

VicS

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Mine lives in an old washing up bowl along with various other things like the bottle of paraffin, the outboard oil, tub of deck cleaner, small jar of grease, bottle of Milton etc etc. That's where it's always been. Not got broken and does not get tipped over so it does not leak. I do have a space with a flattish bottom where it fits conveniently.

An led camping lantern has now been purchased to replace it. Stays alight in stronger winds and is visible from much further away. Eats AA batteries though so will have to be run on rechargeables.
 

shmoo

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I used to use one, hoisted in the fore triangle, but gave up after nearly running in to a boat so lit just inside Dover anchorage one dark night. It was blowy, rainy and dark. I was still half blinded by the very intense pier head 7.5 s light and mateys oil lamp was obscured by the bulk of his folded up main sail resting on the boom. I finally saw it about 15m away. In those conditions you don't dash about so all was well. Was enough to make me switch to the genuine all round masthead light that night and since.
 

misterg

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It's only a little boat, so I was trying to avoid hanging it in the cabin - there's enough to bang my head on already! It has to share a large locker with all sorts of other stuff - kedge anchor, warps, fenders, etc.

Suggestions for alternative lights noted.

Andy
 

VicS

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[ QUOTE ]
Which did you buy?

[/ QUOTE ] I bought one from Maplin (not the tiddly little one) but I should have read the spec a bit more carefully.
The quoted light output of 20 lumens should be sufficient to give good visible range and the LED is rated at 0.5w BUT in practice the lantern consumes 0.25amps (I measured it) which is 1.5 watts at 6 volts, so it wastes 2/3 of the power it consumes. The spec says it runs for "20hrs (maximum output: 11 hours)" or 38 hours flashing. It does not actually have a reduced output setting, just "on" or "flashing", so I assume that you should get 11 hours at full brightness and another 9 at reduced output. Basically that means that it is a set of 4 AA alkalines every night at anchor.
The solution to that is NiMHs and a chager that can be powered from 12 volts (but see my post elsewhere on the forums about my experiences with one of those). My idea is to be able to charge those during the day and, when required, the ones for my camera during the night. NiMh may give a longer period at full power followed by a shorter period at reduced power partly because they are only 1.2volts not 1.5 and partly because the output is steadier for longer then drops away quickly.

This lantern has the single very bright LED mounted above a conical reflector so that it gives an even distribution of light all round in the horizontal plane. A lantern I looked at in a local camping shop had 12 leds mounted in 3 banks of four. That gave a vey good light north, south, east and west but was poor in between. (If the LEDs had been staggered so that they were orentated every 30 degrees it would have given a reasonably even even distribution) I have no idea what its electrical consumption was.

More reseach into camping lanterns is required. The Maplin one would be Ok, but may not have quite the required 2mile range, if it were not for its appetite for AAs.

It seems to have been reasonably well made (in China) and is quite compact but I have not yet actually used it. If I don't before the end of the season I'll give it some trials at home and try to determine its visible range as well as exactly what burn time I can get from a set of NiMHs and what size (capacity) will be needed for a night at anchor.

Sorry folks that has got a bit away from the original subject of the thread.
 

Sinbad2222

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Put it in the dustbin.
I have hurled at least 3 of the damn things into the briney in a rage during the course of my yachting career!
Towsure, the caravan shop, do an excellent LED lamp for about eight quid, lasts 7 nights on 4 AAs. Rechargables are better value though. Slightly blueish light but that's ok. Forget about 2 miles range, quite unnecessary, 200m is much more realistic. I hang mine from the boom just beyond the washboards so anyone up at dawn can swith it off.
 

ShipsWoofy

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[ QUOTE ]
Sorry folks that has got a bit away from the original subject of the thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not at all, I think it counts personally. I was sort of happy with my hurricane lamp until this years sort of cruise. Spending so long on the mooring, in the rain, watching films and stuff, we ran the batteries down. Thinking cleverly, I filled the hurricane lamp and put it onto the saloon table, a lovely gentle light which actually did a lot to warm up the cabin too. But the smell was too strong, the two sheets of kitchen roll I had put the lamp on were drenched in paraffin! Great, the seams had gone in the reservoir. That lamp is now in the bin, so I am in the market. I have 3 gallons of esso-blue in the shed, be a shame to waste it. (The last garage in the country to have a pump recently closed down near me).

I never fully slept at anchor with the paraffin lamp, I kidded myself that I did, but it always played on my mind that it was burning away outside. I guess it was years of american films, where at some point the baddy would throw the lamp and it would explode into a ball of flames. I should have tried dropping mine while lit before dumping it, just to see what would happen.

So I might get both, an L.E.D. for anchor and a small miners safety lamp for emergency, comfortable light inside.

I have been considering this lamp after someone on the forum mentioned it, but am looking for any and all feed back on how these things work out in the real world.

Click image for page.

I had not thought about the blind spots until you mentioned them, but wonder if from 25ft+ they stop being an issue?
 

VicS

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[ QUOTE ]
I have been considering this lamp

[/ QUOTE ] That looks too good to be true. 3.1 miles visibility and 136 hours from a set of AAAs. Or does 3.1m mean 3.1 metres? Worth checking out!
[ QUOTE ]
blind spots until you mentioned them, but wonder if from 25ft+ they stop being an issue?

[/ QUOTE ] I felt that they would become more important as the distance increases. Not a problem close to.
 

NealB

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\'twas I wot recommended it....

and I use it very much in the 'real world'.

It's been used for 6 full nights so far, anchored in: Thames Estuary, East Head (Chichester), Newtown Creek (Isle of Wight) and Barn Pool (Plymouth).

It's still on its original batteries. It's very much brighter than mathead anchor lights, and has also done service as a saloon table light.

I can't see any 'blind spots'. It seems to give good 360 degree coverage.

You could always go to Decathlon to look before you buy - they're not packaged.

Great value for £9.95 in my view.
 

VicS

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Re: \'twas I wot recommended it....

[ QUOTE ]
You could always go to Decathlon

[/ QUOTE ] That seems to be the only way. You cannot buy on line and it seems no mail order
 

Dipper

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[ QUOTE ]
I never fully slept at anchor with the paraffin lamp, I kidded myself that I did, but it always played on my mind that it was burning away outside. I guess it was years of american films, where at some point the baddy would throw the lamp and it would explode into a ball of flames. I should have tried dropping mine while lit before dumping it, just to see what would happen.

[/ QUOTE ]



I have the same worries so I hang mine from the front of the pulpit. If it falls off, it goes into the sea and I don't have a rope warp below it! I have got a very low coachroof so it is visible almost all round but if you had a high coachroof I guess you could put it on the end of a spinnaker or whisker pole and poke this over the side at a suitable height.
 
A

Anonymous

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ANY light source that is not hoisted to the top of the mast can be obscured and writing as one who fairly often enters anchorages of all sorts at night I find that all-round TUNGSTEN at the masthead has the best visibility against shore lights and other vessels.

The next best thing, for visibility, is a hurricane lamp presumably because there is nothing else out there that looks like a flame and it stands out. It also flickers a bit.

Those blue-ish garden patio LED lights are useless. Yes, you can see them fine when you know they are there but they don't stand out from the background.

I understand that many cannot easily fit an all-round masthead anchor light and it cannot be justified for limited usage until the mast is being re-wired, anyway. If people can't fit one there is nothing better than a hurricane lamp for visibility - though there are safety and convenience issues of course.
 
A

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We keep a nice brass one on board and after use we pour the oil back into the bottle (use a little funnel) and then wrap lots of newspaper round it, held in place by string or shock cord. No hurricane lamps are spill-proof, you have to drain them.
 

Woodlouse

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We have a brass paraffin anchor light. We hang it off a hook in the focsle. The hook is on one of the frames so the lamp lies against that. It's still in one piece and has been with the boat over 30 years.

As for fears of it falling down on deck when lit, I would have thought that the impact would knock the flame out.
 

VicS

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[ QUOTE ]
combine one of these with a pack of rechargeable AAs

[/ QUOTE ] with a current drain of 90mA that'll give about 28 hours from a set of 2500mAh rechargeables and a price tag of £29 maybe you should be offering the same one as Decathlon. 136 hours from a set of AAAs and only £10.
 

onenyala

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I drain my hurricane lamp after use however I still manage to spill parafin when filling or emptying it.
The odds seem to be even as to whether it will get blown out over night.
I have experimented at home using white spirit instead of parafin and the flame appears brighter I dont know whether the odds of it remaing alight all night would be better using white spirit. I dont know what the are the down sides of using white spirit.
 
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