Costco HID spotlight reflector

[FelmarCorp]

Hey guys..

question about the Costco HID spotlight-

I've noticed the reflector looks a bit dull...not that shiny mirror look.

Would it be a good idea to remove the lens and clean it up ?

Maybe a better idea to re-coat it with something else that's shinier ?

The question is...will I get more throw with this modification

photo-


Thanks in advance

 

[Mr. Tone]

From what I understand, touching the mirror in any way will scratch it and make it worse. I do not know this from personal experience but that is what I have seen other CPF members post. If you wanted a really nice mirror you could contact several different manufacturers for custom work. There is one reflector manufacturer that advertises here on CPF. http://www.phoenixelectroforms.com/

 

[BVH]

I'd at least remove the window and clean it on both sides. I'd guess there's a significant film on the inside of the glass and that is what's giving the dull look. Both my Costco reflectors are in new condition.

If you ant more throw, buy one of the good 55 Watt ballast and bulb kits (5000K or less color temp) and install it. Super easy to do. You can keep the same battery or upgrade to something larger.

 

[FelmarCorp]

Thanks for the tips guys

I think the first thing I'll do is clean the glass inside and out very well...hopefully that's why it looks dull.
modifying the ballast and bulb kit sounds interesting...I've never done something like it before, may be inclined to try it.

So changing the reflector wouldn't do much? Those super shiny custom ones look nice!

 

[Mr. Tone]

Thanks for the tips guys

I think the first thing I'll do is clean the glass inside and out very well...hopefully that's why it looks dull.
modifying the ballast and bulb kit sounds interesting...I've never done something like it before, may be inclined to try it.

So changing the reflector wouldn't do much? Those super shiny custom ones look nice!

I actually have a 80 watt HID bulb/ballast kit that I would be willing to sell. I had it in a Titanium Innovations Mega Illuminator, which is the same host as that one with a slightly different reflector. This has less than 3 hours use on it and is a plug and play bulb for the Costco, as long as the Costco has the H7 type like the Mega Illuminator. I sold the Mega Illuminator a while back and I returned it to factory condition before selling it, so that is why I still have this high power bulb/ballast combo laying around. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you more details. I can tell you that mod increased both the throw and lumens output considerably.

 

[FelmarCorp]

I actually have a 80 watt HID bulb/ballast kit that I would be willing to sell. I had it in a Titanium Innovations Mega Illuminator, which is the same host as that one with a slightly different reflector. This has less than 3 hours use on it and is a plug and play bulb for the Costco, as long as the Costco has the H7 type like the Mega Illuminator. I sold the Mega Illuminator a while back and I returned it to factory condition before selling it, so that is why I still have this high power bulb/ballast combo laying around. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you more details. I can tell you that mod increased both the throw and lumens output considerably.

Sounds fantastic...PM headed your way!

 

[Mr. Tone]

PM replied to. I will quote my PM here so BVH can see and maybe help you answer some important questions first. Below is my PM response to you.

"BVH has some Costco HID spotlights so we could ask him if it is H7 like my Mega Illuminator was. There will not be any permanent modifications required on your part but there are some mods you will have to do. Does your light have the built in AC and DC charging cords? My Mega Illuminator did and if so, you will need to remove both the large power transformer inside and also the stock ballast. I carefully labeled every wire before doing anything. Then I had to rewire the power leads to the new ballast and stuff that in the cavity behind the reflector. Then you plug in the new lamp and install it in the reflector and you have yourself one bright light."

 

[Mr. Tone]

Oh, one more thing. A friend of mine also modded his light with the same bulb/ballast combo except that his had a H4 bulb base. The bulb base needs to be correct because otherwise the focus will be way off. Anyway, he did his mod to Cyclops Thor Halogen spotlight. His mod performed about the same as mine and he wants to sell his because he doesn't use it much. It is a huge light like your Costco HID. The modding work is already done on this and it works great. If you are interested I will take pics of his light for you and send them via email. Then you could keep the Costco stock if you wanted.

 

[BVH]

I'll take a look later today to see what bulb base they have. If you go with 80 Watts, you'll probably want to get a larger battery - the 9 Ah SLA or make your own from RC Lipos if you're familiar with using and charging Lipo packs. The stock 7 Ah will not give you much run time.

 

[Mr. Tone]

^

BVH, did you ever have a Mega Illuminator and compare the two?

 

[FelmarCorp]

Good info..thanks guys.

Yea, the one I have does have the built in AC and DC charging cords.
I've actually opened it up and looked around so I do have knowledge of what's in there, haha.

I think it might be a cheaper route to buy the bulb/ballast rather than a whole new unit...if I can do the mod (H7 setup) I think I want to give it a go.

BVH- Its funny you talk about the battery...I recently just bought a new one for the spotlight, lol.
How much runtime do you think I'll get out of the 7Ah ?

 

[Mr. Tone]

I got between 25-30 minutes with mine, right off the charger. The bulb takes a couple minutes to reach full brightness and then it is full output until the battery can't supply the input voltage the ballast needs. After that it just shuts off with none of the dimming you get with incandescent. I am talking about with the 80 watt mod. With the factory 35 watt setup I think I got around an hour and a half.

 

[FelmarCorp]

25-30mins is not bad..I can live with that

BVH- Any news on the bulb type ?

 

[BVH]

I promise I'll take some pics tomorrow. Been machining most of the day.

 

[FelmarCorp]

no worries

btw, I cleaned the glass lens today and it looks much better! That really helped..

 

[BVH]

OK here's the scoop. I forgot I had modded this - my 2nd Costco with a 70 watt ballast and lamp. So here's my mod. I removed all the guts from the back side and have lipos in there and I mounted the ballast to the front side of the baffle - the work being done from the backside too.


H7 lamp




Ballast and ignitor. Ignitor is held to face of ballast with sticky Velcro.

 

[FelmarCorp]

Great news...thanks for the info and pics, BVH

Velcro will come in handy...such a great invention, haha!

Overall its a pretty easy swap ? Like Mr. Tone said- just re-wire and remove stock ballast ?

 

[BVH]

Yep, should take an hour or so.

 

[Mr. Tone]

Yes, I thought it was an easy mod, too. I think it took me around an hour or so as well. Thanks for the pics, BVH.