nirvana unplugged.
November 8, 2005 5:22 AM   Subscribe

I love my lotus lamp. I hate the cord. Is it possible to convert into a little battery-powered beacon of enlightenment?

The lamp is really quite small, and the casing is cheap plastic that won't come apart without breaking, so I imagine the battery would have to sit outside the lamp*, which is not a problem.

I really don't know the first thing about electrical work (but I'm willing to learn!), so I'm not sure what more you might need to know about the lamp to answer the question. I'll answer any queries as best I can. Thanks!

(*I'm imagining some sort of cut-the-cord-hook-up-the-inside-wires-to-some-sort-of-batteryish-contraption solution anyway. I just hope it's not too bulky.)
posted by digifox to Home & Garden (5 answers total)
 
Well, the problem is that it's built to run on 120 volt power. You can do this with batteries, but you need lots of them. It's also built for AC, but incandescent lamps don't care about AC or DC.

What you'd need to do to make it work well.

1) Change the socket, so you could install a 12V lamp.
2) Install or wire battery pack.
3) Install 12V lamp

To get 120V, you'd need 80 AA batteries in series, or 14 9V batteries, or 12 N cells (but the last would last about 3 minutes.) So converting to 12V would make it much more practical.

Other than finding the socket and installing it, it's not very hard, and given that you'd be going to a much lower power lamp, it isn't really unsafe to do.
posted by eriko at 5:37 AM on November 8, 2005


From the picture it looks rather small... what type of bulb does it use? There may be same sized bulbs that use a lower voltage, and you could replace the cord with a battery pack.
posted by Marky at 6:07 AM on November 8, 2005


what about removing the socket and replacing it with a high powered LED run on watch batteries? Those suckers last forever, and if you find a kids toy that has them in it, you can just steal the LED setup from the toy. My daughter had a ring with little flashing LEDs in it. She tore apart the rubber housing of the ring to get out the little board with the LEDS on it. It's about a 1/2 cubic inch square with the batteries. Find a toy with white LEDs and no flashing, and you're home free.
posted by cosmicbandito at 6:26 AM on November 8, 2005


Many base types are available in 12V version including standard light bulbs. If it isn't a type A base you could try checking with an RV place for the bulb style you have. Once you have 12V you can string together 8 1.5V batteries and Robert is your father's brother.
posted by Mitheral at 7:54 AM on November 8, 2005


Yes, if you go with this idea I heartily reccomend LEDs over lamps. If you go with LEDs, and wire them properly (with a current limiting resistor) your batteries should be good for up to days of enjoyment.

If you go with a 12 volt lamp and AA batteries, even duracells would be hard pressed to give you more than 1 or 2 hours of reasonably bright light.
posted by shepd at 10:50 AM on November 8, 2005


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