Hoping to update from tungsten to 21st century ..

[steve-o2]

Hi all!
New here, looking for some advice from experts , if you-all would help. I appreciate it! Nice forum you have here:]

I built these flashlights years ago (top drawing) and have been using them for 15 years or so..
The car high-beam lamps are of course power-hungry monsters though. Drawing 4+Amps, the charge lasts less than an hour.

Looking to replace the car lamp (leaving the battery/standoff/pvc handle& switch intact) with an LED assy for hopefully improved run-time of maybe 2-3 hours. I've done searches here, but it seems 12V flashlights with the output of a car headlight (bright-flood/ warm white) is sorta hard to find. I come from an electronics/lasers background so I'm familiar with photon emitting electronic devices. Any help is muchly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!
-Steve

 

[steve-o2]

Well, I bought this. It's probably a POS but I may be able to adapt it with some work ...

 

[Yoda4561]

If you want to build from "scratch" look into the Cree MTG2/MK-R LEDs, they're both availble in 12v flavor, the MK-R is the newest and most efficient LED cree makes, and both are designed to produce well over 1000 lumens reliably. The XM-L led is capable of 1200 lumens but most lights advertising values that high have inadequate heatsinking and driver circuits to push the LED that hard, the actual output is usually around 600-800.

 

[StarHalo]

That's a whole lot of work for ~500 lumens, there are plenty of modern flashlights that would put the output and runtime of that rig to shame. A Thrunite TN30 will nudge the 1000 lumen mark for about three hours, in a package that's smaller than a Maglite (and has a 2700 lumen high mode, which would overwhelm any car's lights..)

 

[Admiralgrey]

Frankly, your creations sound pretty groovey as is! (I wouldn't mind seeing some actual pictures either.) My suggestion is to not blaspheme these tungsten power houses, and instead work on an LED project from the ground up! In the process you could use aluminum tube for the handle to facilitate heatsinking.

 

[steve-o2]

Hey Thanks for all the responses guys !! Gonna go look at those new Cree LEDs right now ! Thanks a bunch you-all!! Good information!
-and great.. good to know that I didn't buy a piece of junk right off the bat :]

Oh, and here's a a few pics as requested by the Admiral .. (thx for the 'groovy' comment ;]
(These were purtyier when newly made.. they got a few miles on 'em now) ..

 

[steve-o2]

Hmm .. the MK-Rs dont seem to be too readily available for 1-2 off purchases (have to purchase reels for 2000 bucks plus from newark) ..
The XM-Ls seem to be more readily available for the hobbiest .
I just bought a 4V 10 AH gell-cell batt, which should supply a XM-L Cree LED for quite a while between charges. Just gotta figure out the heatsinking and reflector/ lens combo to build one from 'sctatch' now .. Oh, and gotta build the 4V charger too ..
Thanks again y'all :]

 

[Yoda4561]

Yeah, the MK-R's are super new, I think the press release on them was just a couple weeks ago.

 

[Admiralgrey]

Excellent searchlights Steve-o2, I think they look really neat!

Finding a reflector, lens heatsink and driver not to mention a suitable housing to make it fit is a pretty big task. Using a 12v SLA however would open up your options for premade LED cans such as MR16 or PAR36 size.
Or you could decapitate a maglite and use a suitable dropin / make one that works with a lower voltage SLA.

 

[steve-o2]

Yeah, the MK-R's are super new, I think the press release on them was just a couple weeks ago.

Ok, that would explain a lot .. ;] I'll just have to wait on that one..

Excellent searchlights Steve-o2, I think they look really neat!

Thanks Admiral!

Finding a reflector, lens heatsink and driver not to mention a suitable housing to make it fit is a pretty big task. Using a 12v SLA however would open up your options for premade LED cans such as MR16 or PAR36 size.
Or you could decapitate a maglite and use a suitable dropin / make one that works with a lower voltage SLA.

Good ideas!, my rough plan for the home-built is, since a lot of these >1Klm "torches" use a single 3.7V 2.4AH 18650 batt, is to up the AH rating to above 10; use a single SLA 4V batt , disassemble a cheap flashlight like the one I bought above, hack-saw it and fit it to a PVC handle, probably discard the driver and build a simple LM338 heat-sinked current regulator ckt, mount the power LED on a much more massive heatsink.. copper/aluminum possibly .. (My 1st one will be a frankenstein build, I'm sure .. lol)

Is lens vs reflector kind of like car headlights .. you have one or the other, but not both? And, the reflector has me a bit confused .. w/ a filament bulb, a parabolic reflector makes sense.. but a forward facing LED .. dunno .. ?

 

[StorminMatt]

Are you dead-set on SLA? If you are looking to run a lower voltage (like 3-4 volts), then NiMH might be a better way to go. Three full capacity D batteries will give you this voltage with 8-10AH (depending on whether you want LSD or not). And they'll be ALOT more compact and lightweight.

 

[steve-o2]

Are you dead-set on SLA? If you are looking to run a lower voltage (like 3-4 volts), then NiMH might be a better way to go. Three full capacity D batteries will give you this voltage with 8-10AH (depending on whether you want LSD or not). And they'll be ALOT more compact and lightweight.

Hi Matt,
Well, nothing's written in stone, it's just the way it's been set up for years and the wife's used to it. She uses the flashlights on a daily (nightly) basis to feed and water chickens, geese, peacocks .. it's her hobby -sigh - .. Anyway, having a runtime of only 45 minutes or so, the present setup is not good. After I told her (she was unaware of the short runtime) she's now carrying 2 heavy flashlights out for her nightly fowl sojourn.
I'm trying to see what I can do to remedy this situation.

She is accustomed to simply plugging the flashlights into the charger that is mounted to the wall. It would be nice to keep it simple like that and just have a new group of flashlights that are lighter and have a longer (2-3 hr) run-time. Yes, NiMH or LiPo would be nice if I could have them permanently installed in the lites (not have to remove them each time for charging).

Cheers and thanks for the ideas!

 

[steve-o2]

-oops- double post -sorry -

 

[StarHalo]

having a runtime of only 45 minutes or so, the present setup is not good. After I told her (she was unaware of the short runtime) she's now carrying 2 heavy flashlights out for her nightly fowl sojourn.

Yeah, that's ridiculous. She's carrying upwards of 15 pounds of flashlights just to get 500 lumens for under two hours, absurd. A current 4xAA, 6-ounce light can easily best that, output- AND runtime-wise. Time to dump the homebrew and upgrade, at least to lighten the load on your wife..

 

[steve-o2]

Heh, no offense StarHalo but that little thing would be bent, crushed, wet, and lost in the dirt in pieces within a month out here on the "farm" ;] (these flashlights take a lot of abuse. I'm always rebuilding/ repairing them .. )

 

[StarHalo]

Heh, no offense StarHalo but that little thing would be bent, crushed, wet, and lost in the dirt in pieces within a month out here on the "farm" ;] (these flashlights take a lot of abuse. I'm always rebuilding/ repairing them .. )

These aren't frail toys we're working with here; this is where police and military folk come to get lights that are better than what they're issued (or folk come to get police and military lights, the Pelican 7060 and Surefire G2 respectively.) No serious duty light hasn't had its share of wear and abuse, and CPFers can be very creative. Search "Fenix T1 abuse test" sometime if you want some entertaining reading, watch members run over their flashlights with cars, freeze it in a block of ice, bake it into a loaf of bread, expose it to a Tesla coil, etc - none of which fazes our lights in the least (don't try that with anything involving a car headlight and/or a sealed lead acid battery.) These are the kinds of tools built to one day hand down to your grandkids if you'd like..

 

[steve-o2]

Well, I'll have to get a couple of those and see how well they hold up .. thx

-edit-

Ok, after looking at some reviews, I just ordered a Fenix TK11 R5. Looks very sturdy after watching this vid of the Fenix T1:
"Will it crush?" lol ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvhJWE3_Oc

I hope the TK11 holds up like that T1. According to starhalo I'm accustomed to 500 lumens , and this is only 285. I hope it's bright enough for the nightly duties. I'll probably have to mount it on a tiltable stand because lying it in the grass wont exactly be ideal for visual brightness of the chicken coops. And I wish that I could externally charge it by simply plugging it in, (for ease for my wife) but you cant have everything .. I'm sure that I'll get a solution figured out. You all have been super-helpful . Thanks muchly !!! :thumbsup:

Cheerz ..


--edit#2:

I think the main thing I'm concerned with is if these new LED flashlights project a "pin-spot" it's not going to do much good for the situation. As you can see from the photos I just took tonight just now (below), the car headlights spread quite a bit of illumination over a fairly wide area which allows one to see any potential threats (bob-cats, bears, etc) . A very narrow beam will be almost useless reguardless of lumen output.

A fairly large area of light compared to a 2-story farm-house:

The chicken coops:

..and that light was produced from just this lil' ole ugly thing ..
(the lens is filthy.. I should have cleaned it up before I took the pic) .. but it's gettin' late .. gotta get some sleep .. nite, you-all .. zzzzz ---

 

[StarHalo]

Ok, after looking at some reviews, I just ordered a Fenix TK11 R5.

Those were some old reviews, the TK11 was introduced five years ago, which is generations and eons in the flashlight world; I hope you didn't pay more than ~$30. And it can use rechargeable Li-ion cells, but please be sure you read up on the safety and handling of these batteries, they can explode if mishandled. It will seem rather dim compared to a headlight, and will have a narrow beam. I still recommend the light I linked to above, which uses commonly available regular or rechargeable AA cells, and has a broader beam.

 

[steve-o2]

Ok, cancelled the TK11 order, (didn't know the technology was that old - thx) , and will maybe order that nitecore EA4.
I'm not really fond of little AA batteries though, and would like to find something a little more substantial ..

Yeah, that's ridiculous. She's carrying upwards of 15 pounds of flashlights

Naw, each flashlight only weighs about 3-4 lbs.

Really what we need is just simple (no bells and whistles like variable brightness by pushing the button 1/2 way in 7 times-that'll just be aggrivating for her) , an on-off switch and plenty of warm-white light. A permanet battery that can be charged by plugging it in to the charger (no removing of batts) . It's what we have now and it's easy simple and straightforward. Actually I would like to keep the car headlight because I like the color and dispersion but it draws too much current. I guess I'll have to find a cree warm white LED and build from scratch . I've searched some on CPF here for somebody that's done this but no luck so far .. I'll dig some more ..

 

[StarHalo]

I'm not really fond of little AA batteries though, and would like to find something a little more substantial ..

AA cells mean easy rechargeabilty; you can buy/replace NiMH cells and chargers at any local store, and anyone can use them safely. There are some larger-cell options that would fit your task nicely, but bear in mind that recharging with these lights will mean online-ordering either expensive D-size NiMHs (and the charger) or dummy sleeves to put NiMH AAs in:

- The Malkoff XM-L drop-in for D Maglites; if you can get a hold of a Maglite, this will drop directly into it and give you many hours at 50% more brightness than your headlight. Like most Malkoff products, you may have to wait until the next production run for availability.

- The Fenix TK70; a.k.a. "The Plunger", a two pound log of a flashlight with the output of a commercial aircraft landing light, roughly five times brighter than your headlight (though it can be turned down as needed.) Big output with a big price tag.