opinions on 65, 75, & 85w ebay lights?

[jayrob]

I'm sorry jayrob but you are mistaken, the arc length of 35, 55, & +75w bulb varies greatly and modern ballasts will overdrive any bulb connected, color will change slightly to the red end but arc will be hotter and smaller.

I admit that I do not have any experience with the 55W version...

But I do know that the 75W and the 85W versions use the same battery supply. (possibly the 65W version as well??)

 

[BVH]

Ballast for the most part, drives power output from lamp. Lamp gas fill composition, fill pressure and arc gap are variables that contribute to actual power consumption. Also, if AC, then power factor correction contributes to the final power calculation.

If the ballast is regulated, then varying battery voltage and/or capacity have nothing to do with power output measured in a moment in time (watts) as long as battery provides voltage within ballast spec'd input range. Capacity will affect run time.

If ballast is unregulated, then varying battery voltage will greatly affect power output at lamp.

EDIT. Some more interesting stuff. Most hids are fed constant current. Voltage is what varies depending on the 3 variables i mentioned. Take two identical looking bulbs. Fill one with a tiny fraction more of pressure and it's voltage will be higher. Therefore, it's power output will be higher being that the current is constant. Volts times Amps = watts (for DC) similar for AC but taking into account PFC.

 

[sven_m]

[...]the arc length of 35, 55, & +75w bulb varies greatly [...]

BTW, which exact arc lengths do you people know?

I wonder almost each time when I think about the lights with 65W and above.

I know these:
- 4.2mm standard automotive type (35W, including the DL50 fatboy)
- ~5mm (5.2mm?, but definitely not longer), e.g. 75W. I call them 75W because when I found them on ebay early 2011, I only found 75W flat type finned ballasts
- ~3mm, e.g. 20W in the Stanley HIDC10 (not to confuse with the 35W HID0109)

I've asked an ebay seller for 85W 4200K ballast+bulb replacement kits, lovepets88, on jan-12, if he can tell about arc lengths for his bulbs, but I haven't received any answer.

Edit: I mainly have the currently available automotive-like looking bulbs in mind.
I guess there might exist quite some exotic (let alone historic types)?, like the solarcs (e.g. 10W 1.2mm arc)

 

[R10500]

Ballast for the most part, drives power output from lamp. Lamp gas fill composition, fill pressure and arc gap are variables that contribute to actual power consumption. Also, if AC, then power factor correction contributes to the final power calculation.

If the ballast is regulated, then varying battery voltage and/or capacity have nothing to do with power output measured in a moment in time (watts) as long as battery provides voltage within ballast spec'd input range. Capacity will affect run time.

If ballast is unregulated, then varying battery voltage will greatly affect power output at lamp.

EDIT. Some more interesting stuff. Most hids are fed constant current. Voltage is what varies depending on the 3 variables i mentioned. Take two identical looking bulbs. Fill one with a tiny fraction more of pressure and it's voltage will be higher. Therefore, it's power output will be higher being that the current is constant. Volts times Amps = watts (for DC) similar for AC but taking into account PFC.

Are you aware if the ebay HID flashlights' ballasts are regulated or not and of the voltage ratings of the 85W ballast that comes with the flashlight package? I'm only aware that the included batteries are 8700mAh but i don't know its voltage.

 

[R10500]

Also, in what way does varying arc length affect the output of an HID?

 

[BVH]

Are you aware if the ebay HID flashlights' ballasts are regulated or not and of the voltage ratings of the 85W ballast that comes with the flashlight package? I'm only aware that the included batteries are 8700mAh but i don't know its voltage.

No, sorry I do not know. One somewhat crude way to get an idea is to use a light meter to measure output with a full charge. Then don't move anything and run it for a while. You should read a significant decrease in output, similar to an unregulated incan light. If you can rig an Ammeter in Series at the tailcap, you could observe Amps at full charge and at near end of charge. If regulated, Amps will be increasing until the light turns off. If not regulated, they will decrease over the test run. If my memory serves me, every flat - square/rectangle automotive- AC output type ballast I've tested has been regulated. Of course the old Solarc's are not regulated and I recently tested some 20 watt, round DC ballasts that were not.

 

[woundedeagle]

Why not use the 120 LED flood light instead?

 

[langham]

Why not use the 120 LED flood light instead?

? You have to be more specific, and for starters this would probably be significantly more efficient than that one for the same amount of light output, cheaper and easier to repair. There would also be the issue of not being able to dissipate all of the waist heat that would be generated directly into the body of the light and then cause more inefficiency on top of that caused by having so many connections. HID lights emit their heat away from the emitter and led tends to emit most of that heat through the body of the led. Higher LUX capability from a significantly smaller light source. I still am not sure that I understand what you are talking about.

 

[R10500]

ok . from what i've read of ebay HIDs though that sounds like a problematic task. is it true that we can use those 3400mAh panasonic cells people have been talking about? i've got 3700mAh IMR LiMN batteries so i was wondering if that's possible too.

 

[langham]

The battery contains a circuit for indication and the button, so it would take some work to replace the battery cells.

 

[magicmatt]

Hi my name is Matt new to the forums. I just recieved my 85w hid ebay the other day and have a question. On the batteries how can you tell when there dead, fully charged or charging i see no indication when these batteries are plugged in.

On a side note i noticed not sure if anyone knew this the batteries have three modes low which is red, medium which is blue, and high which is green. Also has two hidden modes sos and strobe, to access sos and strobe with the battery off, turn on the battery by holding the power button for three seconds. which takes the battery into sos mode click the button again for fast strobe. Some people might know how to do sos and strobe.

Then i found this little trick today with the battery in off, click the power button 9 times to lock the battery in low only mode, the red led will flash a couple times then shut off. Now you can turn the battery on and off in low only. From there with the battery off press the power again 7 times to activate low and medium modes. And again from power off another 8 times restores all three modes low, medium, high. Just thought someone might like to know what i figured out playing around with the battery pack.

 

[R10500]

gee...anybody know of more reliable substitutes to these ebay batteries? lol just as a point of interest, has anybody ever used mirrors to act as reflectors for their flashlights in any form of design? i'm seriously thinking that could improve throw and quality of beam produced

 

[langham]

The closest thing to a reflector I have heard of is someone tapped a SR-90 reflector to the front of it. The thing about HIDs is they have different shaped reflectors than an LED would so you would have to come up with a design that is closer to what they use. I think that the reflector from the Stanley HID spotlight would do very well with this emitter if you were able to get the positioning proper, because lets be serious these things are already too big there is no need in trying to save space on the front.

 

[R10500]

yeah came across that article but there's no way i'm getting my hands on that reflector. Was thinking of attaching something like a cylindrical mirror over the head. dunno if that's stupid or if it'll turn it into a killer thrower but it's just an idea. There haven't been any custom made reflectors designed for those ebay HIDs up till now have there?

 

[Fusion_m8]

ok . from what i've read of ebay HIDs though that sounds like a problematic task. is it true that we can use those 3400mAh panasonic cells people have been talking about? i've got 3700mAh IMR LiMN batteries so i was wondering if that's possible too.

There is an ebay seller in Sydney who sells these HID battery packs with Panasonic cells in them. Check out ebay item #271028231448 (I cannot directly link any sales threads on CPF without getting firebombed by at least 3 of the moderators). The seller sold 3 of these packs already, the first pack in October 2012. Haven't read any negative feedback yet. Looks like 3100mah cells in there, not the 3400s.

Price is pretty steep though, but I guess quality comes at a price. I guess if you're handy with the soldering iron, you can swap out the OEM cells for the Panasonics or Sanyos etc... yourself and save some $$$$.

 

[langham]

It will be expensive regardless. There are 6 cells in there at least and the average NCR18650A or B costs upward of $10 so you are looking at around 60-70 just in cells. You would basically just have to take apart the outside of the battery and de-solder the connections between the cells and the protection and then re-solder the new cells in the same arrangement. The NCR18650B I think is slightly longer than the A model so that is probably the reasoning behind the use of the 3100 mA cell. I wouldn't do it though unless you are going to use a different reflector, because that one just seems too bad to leave in there. You could order a new one from Phenix, but that would make the price of the upgrade almost double what you were looking at for the light. The mirror is a bad idea, due to the glass that is over the reflective area. The glass will do some strange things to the light as it is reflected. I think the best thing would be a TIR system like they use for light houses and some of the Surefire lights, with the diameter and depth of that head I don't see another way outside of just replacing the entire head assembly.

 

[R10500]

ok well i've found the sst90 reflector to be well affordable than i thought haha anw i just received my 85W torch. Not impressed at all. i switched it on to low and let it warm up for 30 seconds then slowly built up to high power but somehow it seemed dimmer than my 2200 lumen OEM LED light. please tell me it's only because i haven't charged it up yet lol if it isn't the case would installing a new ballast and bulb package from ebay hopefully increase my chances of getting more out of this flashlight?

 

[R10500]

I also tried to charge the battery in the car earlier and the lights on the charger turned red when it made the connection with the charging port but i suspect that the battery might not actually be charging. maybe i'm mistakened but is there some sort of indication when the battery is charging, like red lights in the battery itself until it turnes green when full, as per what i remember reading on CPF? wouldn't like a big cell like that to blow up in my face haha also, when changing modes to max. power, there was literally no difference at all, just a split second's pulse when changing, then no powering up. i'm not sure if this really is the battery being low on juice or something. i'm able to cycle through red blue and green mode on the battery btw.

EDIT: never mind, blind ol' me didn't notice the charging indicator on the other charger. One of the batteries is now fully charged apparently after only 2 1/2 hours approx.

 

[R10500]

i've been thinking about why my light isn't putting out more than my 2200 lumens LED and i wonder if i'm right in suspecting the bulb and ballast unit. something tells me the ballast is restricting input to a lower rating. either that or the bulb is somewhat of a dud or the unit is horribly inefficient. I'm hoping to get the olight reflectors to tape over the lamp, but first i'm going to get a replacement bulb and now the thing is i'm not sure how to remove the lamp head from the body. to focus the light is not a problem, since it turns effortlessly so should i use more force when i hit a wall at the end of the focusing? i'm doing this because someone suggested running the light for some time without the lamp head to avoid having the reflector ruined by some milky condensation forming during initial usage.

EDIT: never mind i found the video that showed how to. sorry for all this incessant nervous questions lol now the only thing i need to worry about is if running the light without the head on is going to poison me with all that emission.

 

[magicmatt]

oh i forgot also i ordered my hid with the 6000k color temp bulb, then i ordered a 4300k color temp bulb and noticed that after running the 4300k bulb it has some yellow color inside the bulb and when its on it has a yellowish tint does anyone else see this in there 4300k bulb thanks.