Camp Light
How do you build a bucket light for camping.?
The bucket light is the light people put up in trees and it light a large area. I know you use a 5gallon white bucket. But what type of light and how do you wire it.
The infamous bucket light:
I purchased a 5-gallon pal with cover at Lowe’s, along with a light socket. I had an old extension cord that I cut the frayed end off of and connected it to the socket through the lid.
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1501526907080224323YgSKcb
I decided to make us a bucket light for camping so we wouldn’t need to run our Coleman Propane latern all the time. I had seen one fall 2003 at High Falls. Then, I saw a few on the internet others had made and, again, saw another at High Falls this fall. It looked pretty simple to make.
The items I used to make this light were:
- A white 5 gallon bucket with lid. It seemed best to buy a new utility bucket instead of trying to reuse an old bucket.
- Cheapest utility light socket I could find.
- An 8′ extension cord
Assembling the light:
1. Mark and drill two holes in the center of the top for bolt & nut to hold the light fixture to the top. I put flat washer under the bolt head so it wouldn’t pull through the thin plastic top.
2. Drill a hole in side of the light fixture large enough for the extension cord wire (after cutting of the end).
3. Drill a hole in the lid to run the wire through.
4. Cut off 2 or 3 feet of of the extension cord leaving the plug end on.
5. Run the wire though the lid from the top and then through the light fixture.
6. Connect wires to the light fixture.
7. Using bolt, flat washer and nut secure the light fixture to the lid.
8. Screw in light bulb, snap on lid and plug in.
I plan on starting with a 60watt bulb but having a 40watt handy in case the 60watt is too bright.
I’m also planning on using the bucket to store extension cords, tacky lights, etc. in when not in use.
http://www.mindspring.com/~msgigi/bucket_light_mod/
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