Here is What the new World's Biggest Light looks like. All the components from the 72 inch light are now in the 36 inch Gorilla. The focal length isn't as big, so it's beam will be a little wider. The focusing is accomplished with a delta plate for three dimensional adjustments. I'll add vent hoods and other weather proofing soon. I have a tempered glass front lens and a plexiglass front lens for when I need the searchlight to be lighter in weight. The cooling fans provide more than adequate air to keep things cool under 100 degrees on an 80 degree night. I was surprised by how well the bath fans work at only $15.00 Home Depot.
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More finishing has been done since this photo was taken.
Ready to test after some basic adjustments. Gorilla searchlight now outfitted with 4k watt HMI
The 36 inch Gorilla has been outfitted to operate in inclement weather, a four thousand watt HMI lamp producing over 385,000 lumen light output.
Here's the new 36 inch Gorilla reconditioned into the 4 Kwatt beast it is now. Want to test this at night, but the touchy situation with a neighbor having a fight with her boyfriend means I'll probably have to pack this like sardines into my car and find a parking lot somewhere and not get into too much trouble...lol.
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The horizontal bars are from the magnetic ballast lag wave.
Plastic lens works well under the heat, but I wasn't cooling the back reflector enough so it tarnished unevenly into a deep golden color. Will have to work on that, add maybe a forth fan just for cooling some of those critical components, or decide it works well enough for now and make improvements along the way...it's already way super bright..!
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Getting an idea of the beam
Forms a nice tight beam for several hundred feet, but I wasn't able to shine it way out, for fear of disturbing people....I'm going to have to work on this.
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Looks like daylight.
With the performance of the Gorilla adequate, but not as well focused as the Monster will be, with a longer focal length, will make a more collimated beam, though it may not be quite as bright, as it gathers less light by design to get it's incredible focal length.
Had everything set up and by chance many neighbors weren't home and others were up past their bedtime, so I took a quick ten minutes and fired up this bad boy and took some night shots. Beam isn't as well collimated as I wanted, still needs some focus fine tuning, but it still makes a very impressive beam that can be seen for many miles and draws quite the crowd.
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Here's a view from a block away. Very impressive. I'll get better photos as time permits.
Beam as seen from near my shop with searchlight.
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As seen from a block away, The 36 inch Gorilla has been outfitted and upgraded for weather resistance but now Much Brighter at 385,000 lumen.
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Beam looks cool seen through the trees. Dominates the sky and looks quite beautiful. Won't look like UFO's in the clouds, as the beam spreads just enough to still light the clouds, but not so bright and with a beam that can be seen connecting it to it's source for customers to travel joyfully to...lol.
I coudln't go very far as I only had a few minutes, as many people noticed this bright beam in the sky and start to travel towards it. I had to stop the migration before my neighbors got upset over another spotlight traffic jam.
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As seen from half a block away, The 36 inch Gorilla has been outfitted and upgraded for weather resistance but now Much Brighter at 385,000 lumen.
In the Monster, the beam will travel farther, just not as bright as the beginning, but brighter out towards it's ending part of beam.
Coudln't get too far from the searchlight, as crowds started to gather.
Test at Stores and restaurant openings soon, when the nights are longer again.