9,000 Lumens Worth of Carley Bulbs

[soloco]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

The problem with this way of doing it is that it is very easy to loose focus. The mag head is not that tightly fitting on the body. I prefer to screw the head on all the way and have it focused at that point. That's why I used the machine bushings and bored out the reflector all the way in my mod.

 

[PaulW]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

Wilkey,

That describes it perfectly. And it is indeed the way the Space Needle II works. As I now understand it, the bulb and all the parts named "E" remain stationary as we slowly lower the reflector by rotating the head and bezel. Thanks.

Paul

 

[Ginseng]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

I tried applying a few wraps of telfon tape to the head threads and it helps immensely. The head now screws on smoothly with very little play. If you lose focus, it's easy enough to get it back. However, a permanently focused module has its benefits as my SuperSabrelite and SF 9P demonstrate.

Wilkey

 

[soloco]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

What's this teflon tape? Can you post a link to a pic and description of what it is?

 

[Tomas]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

It's a very thin, stretchy, white teflon tape with no sticky stuff on it, used by plumbers to seal plumbing joints. It's wrapped on the threads then the other part is threaded on over it. It even inexpensive - a couple hundred feet for under a dollar at Lowe's last time I rolled by. One wraps on as many layers as necessary.

 

[Ginseng]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

Tomas,

Right on. It's basically very thin teflon ribbon. The other benefit I've found with this stuff is that it eliminates the grinding that those horrible Mag threads sometimes exhibits. Certainly no ARC-quality thread cutting here.

Wilkey

 

[Ginseng]

Re: What Does 9,000 Lumens Feel like?

Ok,

All packages have gone out by USPS today. You should all have them in hand by the end of the week if not sooner.

Wilkey

 

[Ginseng]

Well,

I've been playing with my Carley bulbs and I've learned some things.

1. 809 on 5 fresh SF123 will flash.
2. 805 on 4Cs will flash.
3. 809 in a Mag 4C with 4x123+1AA lithium = bright!
4. teflon tape on Mag threads works great to keep the head steady
5. If your spot is lopsided, note the direction of lopsidedness. Look at the bulb, it will be leaning to the other side. Take off the head, loosen the bulb collar, move the bulb around until it looks better centered. Re-head and check spot again. Repeat until satisfactory.
6. Lensed bulbs suck.
7. You get numb after flashing two $8 bulbs in the space of a few minutes.
8. The Mag C lamp pedestal is as wobbly as a drunk on a teeter-totter.

Wilkey

 

[PaulW]

Wilkey,

They're great lessons that will help us all (certainly will help me).

Add to the list:
9. 612 with 3x123 will flash sometimes.
10. 808 with 4x123 will flash frequently.

We are getting to be a flashy bunch. But ouch, ouch, ouch!

Paul

 

[Sproing]

Wilkey,

Thanks for sharing your findings with us but sorry to hear about your loss.

I'm thinking of trying 3 x 3.6V Li-ions with the 809 but don't know if that is going to flash it. If I get the guts to try it I'll report back!

 

[Darkcobra]

We have some brave souls in here. . . /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I'm going to have a most remarkable 3C M*g when my package arrives...

I don't know about the added 1.5v of a lithium AA though...

I'd kinda want my light to be reliable!

 

[Illuminated]

Wilkey,

You can shim the Mag lamp pedestal with paper strips to remove most (if not all) of the side-to-side play. Don't use pastic, and don't make it too tight. Also, leave room for the wiper strip to make good contact.

John

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Uh oh. I'm not sure I can actually say this, but I'm not too impressed so far.

I got my two carley 809 bulbs, and 1940 reflector today.

I dug 4 fresh new SF 123A batts out of my stash and popped them into my 3C M*g. I had my 3 123A/M*g 5cell Whitestar out as a comparison. My 3C was configured identically prior to installing the 809. They are still both equipped with stock M*g reflectors, plastic lenses with Writeright for a Palm100 installed.

The 3C was marginally brighter as they were for whatever reason. Now with 4 123s an 809 bulb and four fresh batts, I don't PERCIEVE it to be any brighter. Without a light meter I don't really know, but if I can't percieve it maybe it ain't so. I expected more.

What REALLY blows my mind is... I have a 3D M*g with 4 C cell batteries in it driving the stock 3cell bulb. I PERCIEVE it as the brightest incandescent light I have???

Back to the drawing board.

Moderator PLEASE feel free to boot me if I have broken any rules!

 

[PaulW]

Wilkey,

My Carley bulbs arrived today in a beautiful little white box. I saw it on my mailbox when I left the house, and put it in the garage. Now it is early evening, I'm worn out, have more jobs to do, haven't had supper, and the little box is in the garage. I haven't opened it.

I say this because I almost feel I have to apologize (mainly to myself) for not opening it and checking things out. I have been testing lights for what seems like two days straight . . . hmmm it has been two days straight. Too much buying and selling.

Am I rambling again? Need to get off the merry-go-round for a few hours . . . maybe sleep. I can remember what that is.

Just wanted to let you know that they got here, and I'm grateful.

Paul

 

[Ginseng]

Joe,

I had the same sense of dread when I tried the 809 in 4x123. I could tell it was brighter than my KPR112 on 3x123, but just barely. The way I could best see the difference was outside in the deep dark. The 809 threw a little better but the difference was not stunning.

That's why I made the remark about trying it with 4x123+1AA in a 3C or 4C. I did this and it's noticeably brighter than the KPR112. 5x123 will blow an 809. Don't ask me how I know.

I think that this sort of illustrates the pitfalls of this hobbying around. To this point, nobody had reported any experience with the 809, just the 808. And that bulb seemed to have a 50/50 record of flashing. So, based on some measurements and calculations, we made a choice that should have been pretty good. Well, it's at least as good as the KPR112 and will take and extra 1.2V of push. But I think that's it.

And as for perceiving...if it don't look brighter to you, then it ain't. I wish I could say you were off base but I just don't think that will be proven to be the case.

I'm hoping that PaulW will do some electrical measurements to get to the bottom of this. As it stands, I think for 4x123 it comes down to the 808 or the 809. Neither one is exactly perfect, for different reasons. Now, if they had offered a 10V 1.2A bulb at 300Lu, I think that would have been perfect. Unfortunately, I don't know if that +/- 0.5V rating would even be within their manufacturing tolerance.

Wilkey

 

[Ginseng]

Hehe,

Paul, I didn't mean to heap even more work on you. Get some rest and when you can approach this with energy and fun again, then by all means do so.

Wilkey

FWIW, I really like the 805 in a 3cell light. It puts out like the KPR112 but at 3.7V and you can light up a room for hours on three alkaline Ds. Just wish I hadn't flashed my only one trying to push it with 4Cs.

 

[soloco]

Unfortunately you are underdriving your 809, which is why I didn't order them. It's hard to get the 10.5V under that much load from 123 batteries. At 1.2A the voltage for 4 123s in series comes out around 10V. If you think about a 6-Cell Xenon bulb that is supposed to run off of 9V of alkalines but is rated at 7.6V, makes you wonder how high a battery voltage you need to REALLY drive the 809. I'm thinking 5 123s (5 x 2.5V = 12.5V) MIGHT kill it. OR make it the brightest damn 'candy around! Willing to try? 5 fit in a 3D if you have one.

 

[Ginseng]

Soloco,

Five SF123s with 5-7 minutes of runtime will not blow an 809, and you're right, it's very bright. Five fresh batts blows the 809, and not in a nice way. My bulb actually melted the thick wire lead attached to the filament and left the filament intact. There's just this grayish puff on the capsule next to where the lead used to be.

The upside to this underdrive is the longevity. Whereas the KPR112 is pretty highly overdriven, the 809 should now provide well more than the 20 rated hours of life. And it ain't dim, just not brighter than the KPR112.

Wilkey

 

[soloco]

Wilkey~
I have a handful of new 808s from Carley. I'll testing various configurations this weekend. I'll have to be careful. Hot flying glass sounds pretty scary.
soloco