There are tons of low wattage inverters on the market, for under $10, some in the $5 range. These are in the 40-80 watt range, and intended as cellphone chargers, basically anything that has a wallwart adapter to charge the batteries. I've got a few sitting around the house, and work great, until the battery gets low, then they flash on and off... I know it kind of takes the fun out of building something from parts on hand, or basically for free, like the CFL bulbs in Canada, but it's a cheaper and better solution, since the protect your battery from over discharge damage, and maybe the CFL from over voltages. A store bought, low wattage inverter, is much cheaper than replacing a 12 volt battery. Personally, I really hate getting shocked, and avoid poking around in stuff that can bite back...