"Duh" Why didn't I think of this???? ....:+}

[Danny]

duh ~ why didn't I think of this one........

I have a friend who used her solar lights inside at night when her current
was off during the hurricane.  She stuck them in a jar or bottle and said
they gave off plenty of 'free light'.  She put one in each room and would
put them back outside in the daytime and bring them in at night as long as
the current was off.  They are safe to use and cheaper than batteries.
Bring in a solar light one night and test it.

Due to a thunderstorm, we lost power for about 5 hours.  We were scrambling
around in the darkness, looking for matches, candles, flashlights, etc.  We
looked outside, and noticed our solar lights shining brightly all around our
patio, stairs, dock, etc.  They were beautiful. My wife walked outside, and
brought several of the solar lights inside.

We stuck the solar light pipes into plastic drink bottles containers and
they made the nicest, brightest, safest, lighting you could ever imagine.

We put one in the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, etc.  There was
plenty of light.  There are all types of solar lights available.  We bought
ours at Harbor Freight.  We put them all around our yard.  They look nice
and they do not attract flying bugs like the outdoor lights around our
doorway.

The lights we have fit into the small (20 oz) water bottles and they also
fit into most of the larger liter bottles.  If you need a weight in the
plastic bottle to keep them from tipping over, you can put a few of the
pretty colorful "flat marbles" that they put in aquariums, and vases. (you
can also use sand, aquarium gravel, etc., whatever you have available).

The lights we have were perfect inside our home.  They burn all night long
if you need them.

The next day, you just take your solar lights back outside and they will
instantly recharge and be ready for you to use again any time you need them.

Perfect for power outages, hurricanes, etc.

[dgman]

Hey Danny, sounds like a good idea, thanks.
Sounds like you lost your accent on that post though!

[GrayBeard]

Great Idea!

But that is also why I keep flashlights all around the house along with a good supply of "plumber's candles" available at your friendly hardware store, cheap too! Also 2 oil lamps on each level of the house.

Learned that when living in the old section of St. Louis with 120 year old power lines that would fail just because the moon was in the right phase.  I almost always have a flashlight of some kind within reach at home or away.

I just checked everything the day before yesterday when they predicted 'snow' and very cold temperatures. Also brought in firewood and the propane stove and moved the gas grill right up next to the patio door.

[Russ C]

Thanks for posting it is a good idea. I just usually fire off the generator and we have all he lights we need. 

[Gabby]

Sounds like a good fix. Our solar lights never get a good enough charge here when the winter storms come rolling in. The wife has bought a couple of different ones and they just don't seem to get enough sun light.
I keep a Coleman propane lantern handy for lighting up the kitchen, and some heavy candles for seeing where we're going from room to room. The Generator is reserved for powering our Toyostove oil furnace. It's only a 1000 watts surge. Keeps the house warm though. Beats the heck out of trying to heat it with the drafty old fireplace. I'm the only one warm from running back and forth to the wood pile feeding it.
Gabby

[slowcutter]

With you Gabby no wood here.

I grew up with wood. We used 12 cords a year

[Gabby]

I'd never use it except for when SWMBO insists I light it off when we have company for ambiance. Total PITA lugging wood then cleaning up afterward and getting it ready for next time. Hard on these old bones getting down and back up to make sure it is prepared properly!
I make sure she knows it hurts!
Grumpy Gabby