6V Battle Lantern question

[white_chev]

Hello. I have an old 6V battle lantern that uses a PAR46 halogen bulb. I tried connecting it to a 6V lantern battery the kind with the two spring terminals on top but the light was very dim. I bought a 6V rechargeable battery (the kind used in Powerwheels toys, etc.) on Amazon and it is much brighter but not as bright as I imagine it should be.

I am curious about the difference... I know the lantern battery has a much lower AH rating than the rechargeable battery but both are 6volt. If I buy one or two more of the 6V rechargeable batteries and wire them in parallel I will increase the AH which will increase the battery life but my understanding is that it will not change the brightness?

I guess I just don't understand how one 6V power source could make the bulb brighter than another.

Sorry for the noob question but I am not finding a satisfying answer in my Google searches!

 

[alpg88]

Yes, that is correct. rechargeable have more power, but same voltage, and less capacity.
I have same lantern, yellow, but it uses par 36 bulb.
4546 4.7V .5A. is correct bulb, regular alkaline 6v battery should be able to power it at full power, especially 2 in parallel. make sure contacts are clean. it is a 2,3 Watts bulb, it is not impressive at all, even when driven at full power.
I turned mine into a 35w hid, using an aircraft par36 to h3 adapter and automotive hid kit, and guts from li ion 18v Ryobi battery. In its stock form it is too dim for a large heavy light, imo

 

[white_chev]

alpg88, thank-you for the quick reply. I know the battle lantern you are talking about- very cool. This one is a little different. Actually it is more of a 'hand light' made by McDermott-

Handlights by McDermott Corp.

Essentially an older model/version of what you see at the above link. I called McDermott to ask about replacement bulbs and the person I spoke with called the lantern a 'battle lantern'. I have attached a photo below.

In any case, thank-you for answering my question. I love your idea to use a Ryobi battery, etc. I will think about doing something similar.

Thanks again,



Chris

 

[alpg88]

oh yea, that is a totally different animal, now i see par 46, you definitely need rechargeable for that one.
In your case, i would use power tool batteries, does not matter which brand, Ebay is full of contact brackets where you slide/plug a power tool battery into, there are also dc dc step down/buck converters from 100w to 300W. set them to correct voltage, and use that with a powertool battery, and just replace them like you would with power tools, when they drained. Depending on a bulb you can overdrive it a little, (some more some less, long life bulbs with few thousands rated hours can take quite a bit more of voltage.) get more lumens out of it, but keep in mind, it will not last as long, and it becomes more prone to failures due to shocks and vibrations.