I am curious as to how many volks like to light their campsite up like
a Christmas tree?  Seems to moi, that getting off the grid is more
enjoyable when you are away from light pollution & can see the natural
light in the darkened sky?
Flame suit donned!

YMMV,

Mr. BZ-do have several strings on our patio at home, however

On May 19, 2010, at 1:31 PM, Richard Koerner wrote:

> Bryan---What are your concerns about using an inverter for 120VAC
> Christmas lights?
>
> Rocket--I am speaking of the "mini" Christmas lights, not the oldie-
> style C7 bulbs...so much less current draw.
>
> Also, now that I think of it, I would rather only carry 1 set of
> Christmas lights, not a 120AC version and a 12VDC version (depending
> on the camping situation)...want to keep clutter/storage at a
> minimum.  And I already have a 150W inverter and a string of 120AC
> mini lights....so from a "hassle" standpoint, this is the minimum
> effort.  I don't really know what the current draw is for a typical
> set of white mini-lights is....20 Watts or so?  My laptop uses about
> 65 Watts, and I use if for hours on end when camping, for internet
> and DVD watching, with no problems.
>
> LED Christmas lights might be a good solution...never really seen
> them in action...I definitely DO like the  warm "look" and
> illumination provided by the standard incandescent mini lights
> though, and they are sure cheap enough.
>
> Rich
> 85 Vanagon
> San Diego
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 5/19/10, B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET> wrote:
>
> From: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
> Subject: Re: Camping Christmas Lights
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 10:13 AM
>
> 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