navlight drain,ampage or watt?

[blue_anchor]

on a drying harbour mooring,got to remove all goodies if left for any length of time..main power drain will be a small allround masthead light-say 5 watts..thinking of getting a battery /powerstation thingy..rated at 18 a.h.,advantage is that its portable..cable run approx 25 feet..would the lights hold out for an all night sail mr chumley-warner??

 

[andyball]

If all you run is a 5W bulb,the current draw will be a little under 0.5 Amps....in theory a battery rated at 18 amp-hours could provide that for 36 hours,but it's best to (at least) halve it in reality.....so 18 hours ish : a long night.

At a price, there are "superbright" and led type lights available which draw much less current. The extra cost might be (partly) offset by needing a smaller battery.

 

[ccscott49]

The definitive answer I would think!

 

[dickh]

You can get a small allround lamp with a rechargeable battery & built in solar panel - one of the boats on our moorings has one - appears to work OK, also I believe has a sensor to turn the light on and off at dawn & dusk. Therefore no need for a battery... - sorry, don't know where to get one but look in the small ads in the mags.
Just re-read your post - probably not suitable for nav lights but OK for allround anchor light.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[blue_anchor]

thanks all