Batterys for portable Shelter

[cid]

Looking to go to a 12 V battery for lights in my portable this year.
The candles just don't cut it any more. 
What is the best type of battery gel or a deep cycle lead acid?
Live in Minnesota so it can get real cold.
Thinking about using car interior lamps, although I have seen some cheap AC inverters to get 120 volts out of.
Commets please.

[grumpymoe]

i keep a couple of 12volt batteries fully charged for lighting in the shanty....of course i have access to "defective" batteries that wont sustain cranking, but recharge after a couple or three hours.....nothing better than to walk into the shanty when it dark outside, flick the switch, and voila......light...not the brightest, but its enough to see things through....as we get into the hardwater season, i will post some pics....Grump

[billditrite]

i too have my shanty wired 12 volt and that includes lighting,cd player,portable dvd and anything else you plug into your car.it runs off my deep cycle marine battery which seems unnafected by the cold.i fully recharge it after each use.

[Turkeyhunter10ga]

I recycle my oldest trolling motor battery out of my boat , use it for the light inside my portable , just took the overhead light out of a junk car , cable tied it to the upper most crossbar of the trap and ran wires down 1 side and alligator clips to attach to battery. The battery will get used a lot more this year since i've bought an electric auger for this winter.

[stinky]

 Depends on how brite you want it but a vexilar battery with some led lights works great and its alot lighter than a car or teolling battery. You cvan also find some 12volt rope lighting and hook that up off the vexilar or similar battery. They make a battery the size of the vexilar that has more amps for longer life and there are places to get a battery and charger for about $20.
Bob

[kenelz]

For lights I think the Coleman gas lantern works the best, and you get the heat. For electric stuff a deep cyle battery like a trolling motor battery works good, I used one for my remote cabin and ran a small TV, phone answering machine etc off of it, I had gas lights and fridge though.

[oakorchardfishking]

PHONE ANSWERING MACHINE?

[TJG]

Grump is right, any battery will do, no matter the age.
If you just run the lights and maybe a radio, they last for ever.
Go visit your local car dealer or Fountain tire or Autowrecker
we are glad to help!

[JigAwhopper]

I guess,  you guys don't care much about the amount of weight you drag on the ice.  Deep cycle car or boat battery must weigh around 50lb!  Same with the gas lanterns, they make noise, my hands always stank like gas, and I cracked the glass few times from getting the snow on them.  Not mentioning the fire hazard.  I think the lighter the better for a portable.  The new LED lanterns are great or even one of the LED Peltz head lamps that uses 2 AAA batteries is sufficient to use for about 150 hrs! Just my opinion, but LED is a way to go!                                             J.

[trev.357]

i just got one of these, i didn't have a deep cycle or a charger i have been playing around with it  and seems to work well for my needs .
 http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443249994&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374302192103&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374303515778&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=2534374303515779&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374303515779&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395348027&bmUID=1099318389514

[killitandgrillit]

Gel batteries can freeze in low temps. i'd suggest a good lead-acid battery, deep cycle of course. I'm running a optima this year.

[stumper]

The best light i found is a RV camper bulb screwed into  one of those outlets you can plug into an extention cord.just wired a cord end to  battery on my jeep and pull up and pug it in.of course this set up could be used with any battery .the one in my jeep wasnt real good and i could light my shack for 5 to 6 hr and still start it when i left to go get more bait.these bulbs can be purchase at stores like menards for a couple bucks.


stump

[cid]

Hey thanks for the info.
Kinda curious about the LED lights and how brite they are.
was thinking about just using trailer marker lights or something similar. after all I am just a portable set up for now

[Powder River]

I know Coleman makes a light for camping tents that has a big magnet on one piece and a metal piece for the magnet to hold to.  What you do is place the light inside the tent and the metal bracket on the outside of the tent, sandwiching the fabric between.  It runs on three AA batteries and last along time.  I have a few in my tent during the summer and it really lights up the place.  And the nice thing about it is that you can position the light anywhere on the fabric you need.  The magnet holds like a dream and the worst Wyoming wind has yet to send it flying.

Hope it helps,
Powder River

[killitandgrillit]

Hey thanks for the info.
Kinda curious about the LED lights and how brite they are.
was thinking about just using trailer marker lights or something similar. after all I am just a portable set up for now

They can be pretty bright. Get the red tinted ones though if you plan on doing any night fishing. It's nice to be able to go out and take a leak and still see where your walking. If you use white lights, you'll be stumbling around for a few before your eyes adjust.

[baginwal]

I know Coleman makes a light for camping tents that has a big magnet on one piece and a metal piece for the magnet to hold to.  What you do is place the light inside the tent and the metal bracket on the outside of the tent, sandwiching the fabric between.  It runs on three AA batteries and last along time.  I have a few in my tent during the summer and it really lights up the place.  And the nice thing about it is that you can position the light anywhere on the fabric you need.  The magnet holds like a dream and the worst Wyoming wind has yet to send it flying.

Hope it helps,
Powder River

I have the same setup as powder River and agree that it works great!  The nicest thing is the convienence of the magnet.  When necessary we run two in the shanty (6 x 5 x 6 ).