# DIY lantern from flashlight



## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

This may be old hat to the folks here, but it was new to me. Monday night, I woke up in pain from earlier dental surgery. I needed some ibuprofen but the power was out. I didn't want to fuss, so I just grabbed the little LED flashlight. I got the last pill and realized I need both hands free to get water out of the jug. I then noticed the size of the flashlight was about the same size as the empty pill bottle. What the heck, right? The result was this:










Not as good as a real lantern, but it frees up the hands. It might come in handy to someone else who didn't have a lantern with them.

I went to back to bed, and as I was waiting for the meds to kick in, I started thinking that a bit of foil on the bottom would reflect more light back. Or a thinner container would show more light. Well, Tuesday night, the same thing happened - I woke up in pain and the power was out again. I set up my makeshift lamp but then noticed the clear plastic cups with the paper goods. I grabbed an old wide-mouth canning lid, set it shiny side up and stuck one of the clear cups on it. 










_Oh, definite improvement_, I thought to myself as I sipped some water. And the water reminded me of a post here about how they use water bottles as skylights in Third World countries. Setting the flashlight on top of a water bottle gave:










(Sorry for the poor photo quality - couldn't get the camera to focus on that shot.)

So, if you ever need a lantern or to free up your hands, sticking a little flashlight on a bottle of water will give you a pretty decent amount of light. Everything is sitting on top of a 5-gallon tote, to give you an idea of the scale. I could easily read from the light from the water bottle and my old eyes ain't as good as they used to be.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Who da thought? I hope I remember this when I need to.


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## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

Very clever!


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Love it!  Thanks!


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Love it! Now put a mirror propped up behind it, maybe sit it on top of one too...that's what I do with my kersone lamps, when our power is out.

I REALLY like this idea if you have small children in the house, as it's MUCH safer than having a kerosene lamp or candles burning, when there are rambunctious little one's running around!


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

backwoods, that's a great idea. I don't have a mirror handy, but I do have an aluminum oven liner that I use behind the grow lights for seed starting. I wonder how that would work...


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Limon said:


> This may be old hat to the folks here, but it was new to me. Monday night, I woke up in pain from earlier dental surgery. I needed some ibuprofen but the power was out. I didn't want to fuss, so I just grabbed the little LED flashlight. I got the last pill and realized I need both hands free to get water out of the jug.


 
Good idea, but why not just hold the flash light in your mouth?


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

You can also put a headlamp around a gallon jug of water (like the jugs that look like gallons of milk, or those that look like vinegar jugs), with the light facing the water.

Costco is carrying 3-packs of LED headlamps with batteries here for $9.99. They are great for the price; I haven't had to use them a lot yet, but they must be pretty good because after carrying them for the holiday shopping season, they brought them back for summer - they must be holding up well and not many returns by Costco members.​


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## BlueRidgeGal (Sep 13, 2011)

This mimics the small LED solar lanterns on the market. We have 3 and have given a bunch away for presents. Everyone loves them -- in the dark, those small bulbs put out a nice little concentrated light. 

Very good post!


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

suitcase_sally said:


> Good idea, but why not just hold the flash light in your mouth?


Because you can't drink or swallow meds with a flashlight in your mouth.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Merks said:


> Because you can't drink or swallow meds with a flashlight in your mouth.


LOL! Not to mention I was taking the pain meds after dental surgery. Let me tell you, having a cotton wad soaked in a formaldehyde solution sealed inside a tooth to kill the still living nerve in that tooth is not a fun experience.


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

I have done this. It works wonderfully camping.


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