Almost a bad situation

[NC Scroller]

Last night while working in the garage I almost had a serious disaster. While ripping an oak plank, on the table saw, the power went out. There I was in total darkness with a turning saw blade. Lucky for me I kept my cool and basically froze until the blade stopped. It felt like it took hours. Once the blade stopped I reached for the handle flashlight.

I have two questions you all (or as they say here y'all). Any one else have a simiar experince? Any one know of and have any backup lighting in their shop?

Scott

[Rivari]

Scott I was having alot of power outages...of course mine were GFCI related. I do however have 4 LED haedlamps I keep within the shop, I use them mostly when I am outside splitting wood at night but they do come in handy when the GFCI pops or if the power just goes out. I would imagine that your odds of having a similiar experience would be low, that is unless you are ripping wood with a table saw all day.

My advice, keep some sort of battery operated light in a known location at all times.

[ChuckD]

You know that something like this only happens to those who are not prepared for it. If you have prepared for it, it will never happen. I have an emergency light that will come on if the lights go out. Not once in the 10 years since I put it up has it happened. But if I took it down, guess when it would happen????

[CanadianScroller]

Good job you had your wits about you.
I have seen solar powered spotlights for yards that could be rigged in the shop. They wouldn't come on unless there was a blackout.
It would not cost much to put a couple in there just in case.

Only down side is the light would be on when you left the shop.

[Gill]

So, if you buy a lottery ticket and plan how you'd like to spend your winnings, you won't win, whereas if you just contribute to a scheme at work and forget about your contributions you'll be guaranteed success? Hmmmm.... sounds promising !

Actually, I don't buy lottery tickets. It means my chances of winning are statistically about the same as someone who does.

Gill

[stevebuk]

hi scott
thank god for a clear head eh! how about wearing one of those head flashlight things, that way should the light go out again, you just reach up to your head, and you dont have to search for a light.

[MikeDingas]

Emergency lights are a lot cheaper than surgery to reattach a limb. If you work at night with table saws, etc. it would be a good investment. I know that if I ever loose a finger in my shop my wife will probably pad-lock my shop!

[Steviegwood]

Hi Y'all, I have a suggestion that may work for alot of people fo backup lighting. We had a hunting cabin that I wired up some standard cheap porcelin light fixtures and installed 12 volt DC light bulbs. I took my boat batteries as a power source and we had as much light as any AC lighting. Take a small corner of your shop or under a bench set up a battery and connect a trickle charger and it stays charged. Just make sure that you turn those lights on with your other lighting. That way you can at least see if you lose power. Steve

[MikeDingas]

Google "emergency lighting" and find tons of emergency lighting sellers. Including this inexpensive one.

Also, see my recent post on adding a safety switch to keep that power tool off once you lose power.

[Dragon]

Mike
I have one of those emergency lights that I keep wherever I am working. It's one of those that is plugged in and kicks in when the power goes off. It lights the whole room with dual bulbs.
Diane

[NC Scroller]

$19.00 to save a finger or two is surely a wise investment. Mike thanks for finding that for me. You can bet one will be on it's way to my house this week.

Scott

[MikeDingas]

Hope it works for you. I didn't realize they were that inexpensive 'til I looked for one.

[Pop]

Living in the country with what we call "hold your breath" electric, outtages here are quite normal. Sometimes a couple times a day over the warmer months. Beside installing a generator to take care of refrigerated items for the l-o-n-g outtages, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a couple $20 emergency lights. They have 2 moveable spots and plug into an outlet. Power goes out-lights come on. I mounted one in the hallway upstairs and in the breezeway between the house and garage. I haven't needed one yet for the shop because I'm usually pooped out by the time the sun goes down and need to go in anyway.