Tristar III vs. Solarc 10W??

Sprout

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
25
Location
Atlanta, GA
I'm still pondering what to do for my next bike light project. I've more or less narrowed my choces down to a WA Solarc 10 Watt HID or a LED light using 3 Luxeon IIIs & a Fraen trilens (like an Elektrolomens Tristar III).

I know the LEDs would be much more durable, but which would put out the most light and be the most impressive?

-Mark.
 

Nerd

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
2,271
Location
Singapore
If I were you, I'll go the Solarc way. 3 x lux 3s won't reach the 500 lumens brilliance of the Solarc, neither will the CRI be like that of the Solarc. The colour and clarity of using a HID is also part of why it looks so much brighter.

Secondly, the heat from the 3 x lux 3 driven at spec would be around 12 watts. 12 watt of heat in a confine space with a Fraen tri lens means lots of heat, that cannot be dissipated very quickly, not that it really matters since the luxeon stars nowadays are rather though.

I wonder about the durability of the Solarc though, I don't think the electrodes break so easily, but the glass envelop can break, and the lamp life is around a few K hours of continous burn?

IMHO, if I were you, I will take the Solarc, it's so much smaller and you don't have to worry about heat issues when you're not peddaling.
 

trailhead

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2003
Messages
46
Location
BC Canada
I have tried these exact two setups together in a subjective test. The LSIIIs were at 900ma and I thought it was pretty hot until I put it beside the 13 degree WA. Not even close. And there were some real thermal challenges to having the three LEDs that close together in an enclosure. When it comes to durability and longevity the LEDs have it all over the HID though.

Duane
 

Nerd

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
2,271
Location
Singapore
trailhead,

is it right to say that your observation is that the 13 degree WA is super hot, more than the 3 x Lux 3s? That's pretty interesting! I was thinking HIDs should be rather efficient and thus not as hot, at least no more than 3 x 3.9 watts of the Lux 3 @ 900 ma @ 12 watts.

If 10 watt HID is hotter than 12 watts of Lux 3, does that means it's more inefficient than the Lux 3s?

Wait, did I get it the other way round? Am I interpreting something wrong again?
 

trailhead

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2003
Messages
46
Location
BC Canada
I'm sorry, bad choice of terms. I meant that I thought the 3xIII was hot as in excitingly bright. The Solarc easily swamped it out at ranges out to dozens of meters and was a wider beam as well.

Duane
 

trailhead

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2003
Messages
46
Location
BC Canada
Also, I should add that these were not stellar Luxeons, but SV1js.

If I was a tinkerer wanting to build a really good light I would probably go with the Solarc. But, I think in a few years we'll see that the LEDs will have taken over with the HIDs never really breaking into the mainstream.

Duane
 

Mr Ted Bear

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 20, 2001
Messages
1,766
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Something else to ponder... WA has developed some new versions of the orginal SolarArc 10watt bulb. Word is, the new bulb is much more durable, and can be dropped, even "thrown", without breakage. The new bulbs are undergoing field testing, may be available in the next few months
 

kj

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 23, 2003
Messages
793
Location
Tokyo, Japan
I'm happy if that new bulb is compatible to the existing ballast.

Back to the topic, I have the TriSar and Mag mod with Solarc 10W HID. The Mag HID mod can produce a tight intense hotspot, which is very impressive. TriStar produces a flood type beam instead. So I would suggest HID if you want the "impressive" beam, but I don't know the tight spot is suitable to your purpose. I assume you can have a flood beam from HID with other types of reflector, but I don't know for sure.
 

ufokillerz

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 21, 2003
Messages
967
Location
New York City
looking forward to the new solarc bulb, but i would think for now the solarc 10w easily beats a tristar III. then again the solarc 10w kit by itself is more expensive then the tristar III TK.

i have dropped my solarc light once, and the bulb works fine.
 

trailhead

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2003
Messages
46
Location
BC Canada
Something else that I think will have an effect on this arena in the future, LED prices are dropping while W/A recently raised Solarc prices by 20%. Where's the compact HID competition?
 

Sprout

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
25
Location
Atlanta, GA
I thought the Solarc would be brighter since, on paper, it puts out twice as much light as 3 LuxeonIIIs. I hadn't considered that the Solarc would actually be easier to cool though. It's just a pitty that the HID bulb is so fragile, but it seems that the new bulbs will sort this out - Where did you get this information, Jeff??

-Mark.
 
Top