6v 55W H3 series Halogan Lamp

[Officer Thompson]

I seen this bulb the other day and was wondering if any one had put it into a maglite yet. If any one has done it could they give me a link to the thread, if not what would it take to get this working in a maglite, does anyone know if the bulb could be overdriven? I see the are rated at 1,000,000 candle light power and I thought they would make a hack of a maglite.

 

[Flashanator]

That candlepower claim is utter BS mate.

First thing.... forget about candle power, its a totally misunderstood term & not even important for your idea. Those bulbs arent good for overdriving.

A stock mag would melt under the heat from that lamp, so you would need to upgrade parts (reflector glass etc). Most high powered Mag mods don't use those automotive bulbs, they use bi pin bulbs that are potted & are far better.

For example I have a maglite mod that uses an overdriven 35watt lamp & will produce around the same or more light then that 6v 55w.

the Mag85 would be a great starting point IMO.

Im sure some Magmod gurus will step in & advise you more then I can.

Cheers.

 

[Officer Thompson]

I was just wondering how bright it would be? I am running a 5761 maglite right now and it is very brighter would the 6v 55w be brighter? Is there a brighter mod then the 5761 that can run on 7.2 volts?

 

[mdocod]

I have been considering trying a 6V 55W H3 mod for years, but never really got around to doing it.

More watts, provided they are driven good and hard, does generally translate to more lumens, but it's not always the case. Depends on bulb design.... The best way to determine the validity of the 6V 55W H3 bulb option, would be to contact LuxLuthor and see if he would be willing to run it through the destructive incan test, ideally offer to send him some bulbs if he agrees to try them out.

Eric

 

[mdocod]

I was just wondering how bright it would be? I am running a 5761 maglite right now and it is very brighter would the 6v 55w be brighter? Is there a brighter mod then the 5761 that can run on 7.2 volts?

The 64275 can hit similar or higher numbers if driven well, it's a better option for 2xEmoli or 6x high current AA cells if you want to reduce the risk of instaflash, but watt for watt it's a less efficient bulb (consumes close to 50 watts when overdriven hard). It's also an axial filament, so the beam is different than most are used to.

Eric

 

[Officer Thompson]

I might go out and by some H3 6v 55W bulbs and play around with them alitte they are not that pricey. Would I have to mod my switch?

 

[mdocod]

It's going to take some substantial modification and fabrication to use one in a mag light. That type of bulb, overdriven, is going to run close to 10 amps, you will need everything redesigned to handle that type of crazy current flow. Special batteries, special switch, reduced resistance, custom bulb holder, reflector, etc.

Eric

 

[Officer Thompson]

ok this is something I might just play around with. I'm sure the batteries I have now will work they are rated up to 40 amps. I know I can custom mod a reflector to fit it just fine. But I really don't have any ideas on the switch?? you have any recommendations?

 

[mdocod]

I think I would suggest custom building a switch housing with an H3 bulb base on top, use a Judco 14V 10A rated reverse clickie from Digikey in the design.

Out of curiosity; What batteries did you have in mind?

 

[Officer Thompson]

Well the batteries I currently have in my 5761 are the same ones I would use for this light. There Tenergy sub-c batteries 1.2V 4,500mAh they say up to 40 amps.

heres a link to them on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-Pcs-of-Match...ryZ34061QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Chodes]

ok this is something I might just play around with. I'm sure the batteries I have now will work they are rated up to 40 amps. I know I can custom mod a reflector to fit it just fine. But I really don't have any ideas on the switch?? you have any recommendations?

I needed a high power switch for Mag use, here's what I'm doing:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2662547#post2662547

 

[mdocod]

Something like what Chodes has built there is exactly what you would need to do, but with an H3 base on top...

 

[Officer Thompson]

Hey nice job with the switch. If I get some free time on my hands i'm gona mess around with this a little. The bulbs are not bad priced about $7.00 for 2 of them. I think i'll start there see if I like the bulb and if it can be overdriven any.

 

[2xTrinity]

Another option for a high current switch is to use a power MOSFET to handle the 10A load, and then use the stock switch to turn on and off the transistor.
I have used this method in some of my hotwires to reduce the total resistance of my host.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=182482

here is a link to a guy who built a mosfet switch for a maglite. Check out the circuit diagram in the beginning to get the basic idea.

 

[Officer Thompson]

Well I order 6 of the 6v 55w H3 bulbs today so I'll let you know if they can be overdriven any. I also seen the dorcy makes a 100w 6v H3 bulb. If I were to run the 100w bulb would these switches you guys are talking about still work? Or would I need a different switch. Also do you guys have any idea what the run time on something like this would be? I'm running 6 4500mAh but i'm guessing it would burn through them pretty quick, which it's not big deal i'm just gona keep it in my car on duty incase something runs in the woods or something.

 

[Chodes]

Well I order 6 of the 6v 55w H3 bulbs today so I'll let you know if they can be overdriven any. I also seen the dorcy makes a 100w 6v H3 bulb. If I were to run the 100w bulb would these switches you guys are talking about still work? Or would I need a different switch. Also do you guys have any idea what the run time on something like this would be? I'm running 6 4500mAh but i'm guessing it would burn through them pretty quick, which it's not big deal i'm just gona keep it in my car on duty incase something runs in the woods or something.

100w at 6V is close to 20Amps. I've heard people use the Judcos up to around 14-15A, 20A will be in experimental territory I think. Best to use a mosfet at that current.
If your cells were 5000mAh, at 10A , runtime would be 30 mins theoretically.
So 10% less for 4500mAh - around 27 minutes absolute max. Expect 20-25 mins

 

[Officer Thompson]

ok thanks alot, I seen they also have a 75w 6v so i'm guessing that would pull around 15 amps? I don't think I will be playing with the 100w and 75w I really don't need that much power in a maglite. I can always carry a shotlight in the trunk. The 5761 30w overdriven to 7.2 i am running now works very nicely, But i am still thinking I would like to go to 55w if I can and hopefully these h3 bulbs can be overdriven

 

[Chodes]

ok thanks alot, I seen they also have a 75w 6v so i'm guessing that would pull around 15 amps? I don't think I will be playing with the 100w and 75w I really don't need that much power in a maglite. I can always carry a shotlight in the trunk. The 5761 30w overdriven to 7.2 i am running now works very nicely, But i am still thinking I would like to go to 55w if I can and hopefully these h3 bulbs can be overdriven

Yep Ohms law.
P=ExI: Power (watts) = E (Volts) x I (current)
So 60W = 6V x 10Amps - about 9.5A for 55W.
Using P/E to determine I : 75W/6V = 12.5Amps.
100W/6V = 16.7A.

100W/12V=8.3A - much more manageable current.

Not exact , resistances in light, voltage sag of cells etc but gives you a good idea.

Far more experienced and knowledgeable people than me might chime in - I think basic theory is 12V bulb much better design if going above 50W - double the volts so half the current , less problem for components and heat build up due to resistances in light components (and therefore voltage drop)

 

[mdocod]

Chodes is absolutely right about the issues with a 6V 20A setup....

The advantage of 6V bulbs of massively high wattage ratings is that you can use less cells to drive them and therefor make smaller brighter configurations, if you are always comfortable with a light that is using a bunch of Sub-C cells, (so it's a larger light), then you may find that moving up into the 50-100 watt category can be done in the same size light, with better results, using a higher voltage, lower current setup.

I didn't realize they made a 6V 100W H3... I'm going to go have to do a google search, you have me interested in a build option.... Wonder if the bulb could handle a pair of LiMn cells,....hmmmm... If not, a pair of A123 cells would work wonders with it...


Eric

 

[Officer Thompson]

So what is the limit on the stock switch as far as amps go before it burns up. using the ohms law if I can overdrive the bulb to 7.2 it should drop the amps to 7.7? or is there a different formula when overdriving.