How do you rate this lighting system

[Twizzle]

Hi

This is my first post here so hello all.

A little while ago I was rummaging through my lbs bargain bin (as you do) and came across a nearly complete Electron EHP 300 5w rechargeable lighting system for only £3. It has not been used and the only thing missing is the charger. After giving the battery a very quick zap with a wall wart of the right polarity and rating, everything seems to work and was wondering what people thought of it for unlit cycle tracks. Also would it be worth it to change the bulb for a 10w one.

Many Thanks

Twizzle

 

[Bobblehat]

Hello Twizzle, welcome to CPF

Apologies in advance for the long reply.

The unit you've bought has some similarities to the unit I've been using for 5 or more years, quite happily, if not with a slight envious eye to more powerful, more modern systems. Yours is not the brightest light available, nor the most efficient, but before you get disheartened, depending on how you intend to use it, it is a perfectly useable bike light to get you out and about at night.

The vast majority of posts in this forum (and others) are about LED based systems, either home made or bought, depending on which forum you look at. But several years ago these forums were all full of DIY halogen bulb based systems and modifications that seemed to be the Bees-Knees at the time. Along came a fellow called Achesalot, and others, and changed all that, showing us how to build high power, high efficiency LED based bike lights. Halogen bulbs were swiftly old hat, a bit dim for the power they sucked out of a practical sized battery suitable for bike mounting, or if made bright with a high wattage bulb, had pretty poor run times.

I ramble on about this as a prelude to mentioning that how suitable, or "good", the EHP 300 for you depends on a number of factors.

1) How fast do you ride and where will you use it?.... a 5 watt halogen bulb would be pretty risky screaming downhill on an unlit road, but "might" be OK as a "do you see me" light in traffic at moderate speed on lit roads. Most would agree that the 5W halogen bulb would be suicidal on single track mountain night time jaunts! 5W is pretty good on traffic free paths in parks, canal towpaths, dedicated cycle paths etc … bearing in mind that the faster you ride, the more watts (or lumens) you might want to feel safe. I alternate between a 6W flood beam (halogen) aimed fairly low in traffic or when other riders or pedestrians approach, to a spot beam 10W when I can get up speed and not blind anyone. Like the EHP300, mine came with a 6V battery, but I now use a 7.2V model car NiMH pack and overdrive my bulbs to produce a more intense, "whiter" light. The users of more modern LED systems would regard my system as barely adequate by today's standards, but it really depends on the requirements of the user on the "goodness" of their own light system.

2) How long do you want the light to last on a ride? Not sure which battery you got with your £3 bargain (Nice buy, BTW!), but a typical 4AH 6V NiHM bottle should last over 4 hours with a 5W 6V bulb … a pretty decent long night ride (for me anyway!). You might be only doing short commuter runs and don't need to recharge every time you use it, or doing longer runs and get annoyed as the lights start to fade near the end. Worse still, the lights go out completely before the end of your ride (not recommended for long battery life, or safety of the rider!) Many experienced night-time cyclists have redundancy …… or back-up ….i.e a second light and/or a second power source …… gets you home with some safety in mind.

3) How much weight are you prepared to carry? Halogen based systems tend to need a fairly hefty battery, if you require a lot of light or long run times. You can buy less bulky Lithium batteries, either saving weight, or increasing run times ……. or both! Or just be happy with your £3 bargain as is! You could go nuts and buy a light weight LED /Lithium system and blind everyone in sight (in your beam anyway), dogs, cats, motorist, pedestrians, other cyclists, wildlife, ………. Koalas ……….. or have a hoot in the wilds not blinding anything and have great fun too!

4) Cold, Heat, Rain, Snow, terrain (e.g. vibration?), anti-theft, local legal requirements and more … are other factors to take into account as to how any individual would rate any bike light system.

As to upping the bulb to 10W …… go for it if you find you need it … less run-time though …I think Electron supplied the same basic unit with a 10W bulb variant, so the housing should stand the heat. A little shopping around might show you that you are not restricted to "Electron" bulbs … I think generic MR11 bulbs will fit ….. 6V ….not 12V.

Be careful with the charger ….. only use one that is designed for the type of battery you acquired with the light set …. If you got a 6V NiMH bottle …get a NiHM charger with a 6V setting …… if Lead-acid or NiCd …get an appropriate charger ……. Don't suck it and see if you want it to last and be safe! "Smart" Chargers that terminate the charge when the battery is fully topped-up are better than budget chargers that could fry your battery if left unattended.

Hope my ramblings were useful. Bobbl@

p.s have a look here if you haven't done so already ... a large variety of bike light systems ...... http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=240535 my halogen set-up is on page 3.

 

[Twizzle]

Bobbl@

Many thanks for the reply, it all sounds like sound advice. It seems that the rig is not quite what I need, as the main use would be unlit cycle paths including old unlit railway tunnels. Theft is also one of the main considerations where I live - even if it is no use to them, if it is not nailed down they will have it away, so it might be that everything would have to be removed if I left it unattended for any length of time, which is a bit of a chore. I was thinking about handlebar mounting an LED torch as they are light weight and I would be able to keep a spare battery with me, but I do not know too much about them but a good browse of the forum will undoubtedly help.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Twizzle