New Lease on Life for LarryK14

BVH

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Sep 25, 2004
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Thanks to JimmyM's X1 Regulator Board, I was able to breathe some new life into my LarryK14. Read about the board here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...e-Order-JM-PhD-X1-PWM-Lantern-Regulator/page2

With the original 4500 mah, Sub-C Nimh pack, the best I ever got was about 7 minutes run time until the spot was noticeably yellow. Worse, whenever I went to use it (somewhat infrequently), the Nimh's had self discharged more than 3 or 4 Volts, which is a ton for this light. I modded in a couple of GensAce 6S/5300 mah unprotected Prismatic Lipo packs in Series giving me about 50 Volts to the regulator. But, in essence, they are protected packs for the following reasons:

1. Jimmys board has many user programmable settings, Low Voltage Cutoff being one of them. I programmed LVC to occur at 43 volts - 3.58 Volts per cell. So the packs are protected from over discharge.

2. I parallel and balance charge both packs to 4.15 Volts per cell using my CellPro PL8 and 2 safe parallel and balancing charging boards, just about the safest hobby charger there is. So the packs are protected from over-charging and cell imbalance.

3. The GensAce packs are rated at 30C continuous and 60C burst. The current draw at 29.8 volts is just under 22 Amps, so the packs are coasting at about 4.2C. Hense, the packs are protected from over-current.

At 43 Volts LVC, the board switches into a programmed 10_second, 14.75 Volt dimming mode and then shuts down power.

I can set up to 5 different Voltages to the bulb (these are obtained by successive pushes of the momentary "On" switch. I set level 1 to 29.8 Volts, Level 2 to 28 volts, Level 3 to 26.5 Volts and Level 4 back to 29.8 Volts. I chose not to use Level 5. Running at Level 1, I get 18 minutes of run time and power to the bulb is 650 Watts. The bulb never dims like it used to because it's in full regulation until the 10-second dimming mode kicks in. (If you look close at one for the frontal shots, you can see where the backing that the bulb sits on, started to melt at approximately 17 minutes - before I noticed it).

I used Deans Wet Noodle 12 awg wire throughout. In my 18-minute test drawing about 22 Amps, it reached about 90 degrees F about 1" from the bulb terminal. Granted, it will be used in a closed environment but I will never run it 18 minutes continuous. Probably 3-5 minute bursts.

Some pics:


Lots of Dremel grinding on the plastic case ribbing to make a nice little snug nest for the batteries. I had to be careful not to go too far otherwise, the batteries would end up being loose in their nest.
1LeftSideCaseBatteryFitMods.jpg



More grinding......
2RightSideCaseBatteryFitMods.jpg



Left side Battery, regulator board, Power switch - in back of handle (Power to the board, not the lamp) and On/Level/Off switch (Blue button).
3LeftHalfWithBattery1RegulatorSwitches.jpg



Right side Battery in case.
4RightHalfWithBattery2.jpg



The original fuse holder stuck too far into the case, interfering with the new, longer packs so I had to basically chop it off (but carefully, so it would still look normal from the outside). I didn't want to do a Mickey-patch on the plastic.
5OriginalFuseHolderCutDownInside.jpg



New Power switch and the original plastic bezel that came with the light and was used as a charging port, IIRC. I ground it down so that my slide switch could be used in this position. Since the bolt patterns were not the same, I had to add a metal tab to provide a wedged fit inside the case behind a molded in tang. This switch was optional. It makes and breaks a 3 ma current used by the electronics to stay in sleep mode. I didn't want the draw (self discharge over a long period of time).
6PowerSwitchwithTabMod.jpg



Switch and bezel assembly.
7PowerSwitchMountedToAdapter.jpg



Switch/bezel assembly mounted in back of handle.
8On-OffSwitchInHandle.jpg



The front end of the light. Small red wire provides + Voltage (up to 70 Volts) to the board.
9FrontEndNoBlanket.jpg



I was concerned about heat from this Hot Boy bulb being within 1" of the Lipo packs and the regulator board. I finally stumbled upon a UL listed fire blanket manufactured for carrying your baby/small child out of a burning building. It is nice and pliable but has a super tight knit. I had a tough time just getting a sharp Awe thru it to thread the wires. The back of the bulb was about 275 F degrees after my 18 minute run. I put the blanket up next to it (not touching) and it blocked pretty much all the heat.
100SecondlayerBlanket.jpg



If one layer of heat protection is good, two must be better, right?
101FirstLayerBlanket.jpg



The back end with fuse and holder installed, connections almost made and Lipo balancing connectors. The fuse holder conveniently wedges tightly down into the rear cavity of the light's rear positioning legs. Obviously, all the Anderson Power Pole connectors are color-coded so I don't get confused when charging and re-connection them all - Well, I certainly hope I don't make a mistake!
102BackEndOpen.jpg



Finished top view.
103TopViewComplete.jpg



Finished side view. It still looks just about how it looked when it arrived from Harbor freight as a $19.95 special!
104Side.jpg
 

Throwjunkie

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Mar 10, 2011
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Good Stuff Man I guess this light is no longer sold by HF? How was the output on this one rated 600W 14k lumen if true had to be insanely bright.


Joe
 

JimmyM

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Nice build, Bob. Will we get outdoor beamshots? Maybe a beamshot video?
I'm really pleased it's working out so well for you.
 

BVH

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Yes, I will do some beam shots with it, and maybe some other lights. I need to scout around for a good place.

If anyone's interested, parts costs were about $345 for this mod, not counting the host & bulb. If any other LarryK14 owners are interested, I'd do another mod or two for them.

EDIT: 1/27/13 Cost for a new build is close to $550. Batteries have gone up quite a bit. And that particular host is nowhere to be found.
 
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Patriot

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Beautiful work as always Bob! I always appreciate your attention to detail and imagine that you enjoyed yourself while finding solutions to the heat problem. Really great find on the fire blanket material. Looks like it really did the trick. Hard to believe now, in light of Lipo, that we were limited to Sub C's at one time. Fantastic upgrade buddy!
 

BVH

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Jimmy, yes but the high-tech sound and setting the soft start option to "slowest" only adds to the "mistique" of this sleeper.

Thanks, Patriot!
 

Jarski

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Wow, it really doesn't make any difference between 350 yards and 900 yards :O I'd like to have such powerful beast!
 

BVH

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My expensive batteries died despite having the regulator switched off eliminating the parasitic draw. Odd with Lipos having been kept near storage Voltage at 3.85 Volts per cell. Looked around for some used, but near new replacements (which had to be specifically GensAce 6S/5300 mAh short/fat style due to specific mods made to the host) and got lucky in a couple of weeks. A guy over at RC Group Forums was selling a 4-cycled pair because he was converting to a new battery size. Instead of about $250 new, shipped to my door, I got them for $180 and then sold my pair to someone who wanted to experiment with them, knowing they were completely kaput for $20 plus shipping so $160 total cost. I really, really enjoy this light with JimmyM's regulator. I set it up for 30.0 Volts on level 1, 28V on Level 2, 26.5V on Level 3, 25V on Level 4 and back to 30V on Level 5. Using Level 2 of softstart so about .5 to full power.

Cost for one of these is now about $550. Batteries have gone up quite a bit.
 
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japudjuha

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Aug 10, 2012
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South Australia
Hey BVH,
My question is about the orange band that is around the lamp mount (between the grey host and the black crown).


I assume there was a gap from the fitment of the Q4559X.


What is the orange material that fills the gap?


Thanks
 

UNiT5

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Nov 26, 2013
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Is it true that the width if the q4559x is 20cm? 200 or so mm? Looking at building one of these after all the hype. :p so in other words I need a host that's going to accommodate that bulb which is about 20cm in diameter/width and 10cm deep? Cheers
 

BVH

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8" diameter edge to edge of front glass with a 1/8" lip around circumference. I'd say it's 3 5/16" deep to accommodate the terminals
 

UNiT5

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Thanks for the info. Just trying to locate a host but can't get exact dimensions on most of the products out there. So far I've got this http://m.ebay.com/itm/390640978921?cmd=VIDESC with package dimensions matching the bulbs diameter but maybe not the depth. I've messages the seller to give me exact head diameter and depth of head, but judging by the depth of the package it may not house the bulb properly...

Any idea for a link on something definite before I dig into my pocket.
 

BVH

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Sep 25, 2004
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Larry K graciously sent me one of his last 4556, 1000 Watt Axial filament G.E. bulbs so I finally got around to fitting it to my regulated LarryK. Will take it to the range to get some pics.
 
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