can a driver be used with a incan?

[thekobk]

I know incan lamps and led's work very differently from each other but can I use a driver to get multi modes in a cheep incan? Has any one tried this? Will this cause a driver to go ?

 

[mdocod]

some drivers can be used in this way from what I have heard... main thing is you need to pick out a driver that can protect itself from a no-load situation for when the bulb dies... as some drivers will self mutilate without a load. I think a simple low powered (like 3.6V 0.7A) bulb could be driven reasonably well on a LED driver.

 

[thekobk]

Cool thanks. Sounds like I have another project. The reason I want to do this is a dim incan is the best for finding worms/night crawlers in the summer without scarring them away. Led lights tend to make night crawlers disappear quite fast. My father actually used to buy cheep battery's and leave the light on for about an hour before going out hunting. Thanks again.

 

[Aircraft800]

Have you seen these?

V2 Mag C Incan Driver - Soft Start & Multi-Brightness
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=168596

Mag D Incan Driver - Soft Start & Multi-Brightness
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=177316

 

[VidPro]

if you just want a dull incan, how about a "battery spacer" or whatever they call it. you make up or buy a hunk of metal or tube or something to fill the space of one of the cells. you toss in this connector of fake cell in to replace a real cell.
with only 1 cell running say a PR2, its a dull orangy glow almost usefull for seeing at night 🙂
might be better than wasting cells, but you will end up with cell imbalances.. so you would prefer to have the team of batteries for your bright light, and keep the one used seperate for the dull lighting.

also you can put a Pr4 in a pr2 light, or similar stuff like that, using a slightly higher voltage incan bulb for the battery. we used to do that by accident.

like say a 3D bulb in a 2D light or a 4D bulb in a 3d light.

 

[bfg9000]

Yep, you can just use a LED driver with an incan because incan bulbs work just fine on DC (but not the other way so most incan regulators are not suitable for LEDs).

But the flashing/dim modes may reduce the life of the incan, plus incans color-shift dramatically to orange when dimmed (no matter how this is done, since the filament will continue glowing even while a PWM regulator is "off") so a multimode driver may be generally less than useful, except for your special worm hunting application.

The mentioned Kai board is probably the one you want, since it is cheap and can handle the bulb blowing or direct short-circuits without issue. Just don't follow the step to "Eliminate the UI on the Board" and you should be all set.

 

[thekobk]

Thanks every one for the feed back. bfg9000 that is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[JetskiMark]

How dim do you want it to be? Have you considered a Maglite Solitaire? They are amazingly dim, very durable and inexpensive. I think I saw some at Walmart recently for $5.97. Run it on a NiMH cell and it might work well for your needs.

Regards,
Mark