Date:         Wed, 19 May 2010 13:13:59 -0400
Reply-To:     B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Subject:      Re: Camping Christmas Lights
Comments: To: Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <472122.93560.qm@web83606.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

There was a guy next to me at Granny Groses Buses last week and he had a
string of LED Christmas lights on his Vanagon that were solar powered. They
charged up during the day and lit up at night. That is they way to go.

I would HIGHLY discourage using an inverter to power 120V Christmas lights.

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Koerner
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 12:49 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Camping Christmas Lights

Went camping recently, had shore A/C power at the campground, and ran a
string of white Christmas lights outside the vanagon laid on the
ground....just for the fun of it.... but provides just the right amount of
light for illuminating the area.  Girlfriend likes it, too; now, she wants
them all the time, even when out in the middle of nowhere.  

I have an aux battery per the GoWesty kit.  So one option is to run the
Christmas lights off a 120 VAC inverter.....easy smeasy I guess to do that. 
The other option is to "rewire" the string of lights so as to directly
operate off 12 VDC; my string has 50 bulbs so normally 120V divided by 50 is
2.4 volts per lightbulb....thus need to "group" about 6 or 7 bulbs in series
across the 12 volts of the auxillary battery.  Yes, much more hassle than
simply using the inverter, but probably more electrically efficient, and I
could "derate" the bulbs by putting them in groups of 8 or 9 thus with
slightly dimmer light.

Anyway, I suppose a third option is to buy 12VDC Christmas lights from
someplace....they must be available.  But that takes all the challenge out
of it!

Just wondering if the List has any clever ideas on this; basically it
provides low-cost, pleasant, lighting around the campsite in the immediate
vicinity of the slider door area.  So would candles and a kerosene lantern I
guess.....but candles blow out, and don't want to carry 2 or 3 kerosene
lanterns, too bulky.

Rich
85 Vanagon
San Diego