Power failure is a frequent occurrence in Nigeria, making lamps for lighting up at night essential household goods. But with generators and highly inflammable petrol very common in Nigerian homes, kerosene powered lamps and candles are no longer an option in most homes because of the risk of explosions and fires. So, how do you safely light up your home at night?
Battery powered lamps is the compelling alternative, they do not have naked flame or emit heat, so the risk of explosion and fires are very low or even zero. This review is about Lontor CTL-DT725. Although described as an LED rechargeable LED camping lamp by the manufacturer, the Lontor branded lamp is a multi-purpose lamp fit for lighting up the home, camping, and for reading.
Here we will share our impression of the Lontor LED Rechargeable lamp.
Inside the box
When you open your Lontor LED rechargeable lamp, you will find the lamp and a power cable for charging. Once out of the box, you are expected to charge the lamp.
The Design
The Lontor LED rechargeable lamp resembles your traditional kerosene lamp. It has a dome-shaped bottom that houses the rechargeable battery, the charger, and the electricals. On one end of the dome there is a four way rotary switch, for controlling the brightness of the light and on the opposite side a 2 pin socket for connecting the power cable.
On top of the dome is the lighting element. At the core of the lighting area are three columns of energy saving LED bulbs. Each column has 10 white LED bulbs making it 30 white LED bulbs in total. The columns are about 120 degrees from each other. At the bottom of the lighting area are three flashing multi-colour LED bulbs about 120 degrees from each other.
However, they are not on the same column as the white LED bulbs. Each multicolour LED is positioned about mid-way between two columns of white LED (i.e. 60 degrees). The LED bulbs are wrapped in a cylindrically shaped apparatus with a special refractive property that makes it appear as if there are more than 30 LED bulbs.
This refractive behaviour tends to distribute the light more efficiently when the Lontor lamp is turned on as it somehow increases the footprint of the light emitted by each LED. The multi-colour LED bulbs produce a colourful disco light effect with the help of this unique refractive behaviour.
The problem with the lighting element is that it does not seem to be replaceable, which means that as the LED bulbs begin to go dim or burnout, you have no way of replacing the bulbs or the element. However, LED bulbs are known to last very long, it may take up to year before you start noticing dim or burnout LED bulbs. But to be fair most LED rechargeable lamps don’t seem to have replaceable bulbs.
The lighting element is covered up (protected) in a transparent cylindrical plastic material. Between the lighting element and the cylindrical cover is a red charge indicator LED.
On top of the lighting area is a saucer-shaped roof with a handle for easy handling. The roof appears to be designed to reflect light downwards reducing the amount of light that escapes upwards and creating a very bright beam of light around the lamp. This makes the Lontor LED rechargeable lantern great for reading.
Next: Lontor LED Rechargeable Lamp – Usage
