Husky 3 watt LED Spot questions

[GotMak]

I just picked up one of these for about $15 (on sale) and promptly came back home and found this thread, so I'm considering some mods to address a couple of issues:

1) Absurd 400mAh battery capacity - I'd like to go with a higher capacity battery pack - considering one of these, using the existing electronics (I don't have the knowledge or skills to go about changing the charging circuitry)

http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/items.asp?db=51 - they have them all the way up to 10kmAh D-cell based packs, but it might be a challenge to make them fit, but they can be made to order in a number of shapes.

2) Hot-spot - it's great, but I'd like to have a bit more diffusion. My primary use for this is as a car light, to be permanently kept in the car, plugged in and charged, in case it's needed for an emergency. As such, a floodier beam that can provide diffuse light for fixing problems, changing tires, etc, would be more useful than a 200yd thrower. Is there anything that can be done to soften the hotspot/spill line, decrease/eliminate artifacts, and create a flood-ier pattern?

is it even practical and safe to keep it plugged in to the 12v outlet all the time until it's needed?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Patriot]

1) Any of those packs should do but since you have the light and can measure the internal dimension of the battery box, you'll be the best one to determine what you'll be limited to regarding size. Also, check the voltage of your current battery and choose the same voltage for your replacement. Simply going to 1500mAh would provide a lot of run-time so don't feel like you've got to cram every cubic centimeter with battery.


2) I would recommend keeping the Husky as a thrower since it's the only area/category in which this light really shines or has an advantage over other types of smaller hand held lights. If you're looking for something to be used for close up work you've got hundreds, if not thousands of choices in small, compact LED flashlights and headlamps. A Zebralight headlamp for example would be ideal for changing a tire. Spots are sometime sacrificially larger in order to fit a larger reflector which in turn produces throw. If you don't need throw, you don't even need a reflector and the LED light can literally be the size of a AAA battery and run for hours.

If you must destroy the throw characteristics of your light there are several ways to do that which include sputtering the reflector, diffusion film, etching the lens, or crosshatch sanding the lens. You can do a "CPF Only" search on any of those term if you'd like and you'll find several threads discussing those methods.

 

[GotMak]

Thanks, Patriot, much appreciated!

The stock battery pack is a 3xAA 3.6v 400mAh, so I was going to go with a higher amperage 3.6v pack.

I see your point about the lights characteristics - might not be the ideal light to use as a car trouble light.

Regarding keeping it plugged in full-time, do you think that makes sense, or will the internal charging circuitry keep trying to charge the batteries even after they are full?

 

[Patriot]

Thanks, Patriot, much appreciated!

The stock battery pack is a 3xAA 3.6v 400mAh, so I was going to go with a higher amperage 3.6v pack.

Regarding keeping it plugged in full-time, do you think that makes sense, or will the internal charging circuitry keep trying to charge the batteries even after they are full?

Very Welcome.

Regarding the stock pack it seems nearly impossible that they actually found and used 400mAh AA, cells so I would take that stamped mAh rating with a grain of salt. Here is the same size pack with 1700mAh which would almost be plug and play depending on the connector that you use.

edit: Since it seems strange that the existing pack is only 400mAh, it would probably be worth the trouble to perform a run-time test. If it's really 400mAh, the light isn't even going to run for an hour. The reason I mention this is because if your pack is in reality more than 400mAh and instead closer to 1000mAh, switching to the pack I linked above isn't going to provide you with much extra. If that's the case a 6 x AA pack may be the better choice if it will fit.

Leaving it plugged in depends on the sophistication of the charging circuit. Considering the price of the light I wouldn't rely on it to shut off after max voltage has been reached. It could continue to charge in which case you'll eventually kill your pack. I would charge it like any other SLA light, (even though it's not SLA) but assume that it's getting a charge as long as it's plugged in. Some turn off once the peak voltage is reached but don't give a maintenance charge. In other words, it's not go to switch back on by itself. Once off it stays off, in which case there's no reason to have it plugged in anyway.

 

[GotMak]

I ran it continuously, and about 40 minutes into it, the beam was definitely less bright. I don't have a light meter, and these weren't controlled conditions, but my observation is that the hotspot was much smaller, as observed against some items about 30 feet away.

I agree that the 400mAh rating might be wrong, even though it's on both the battery pack and the light's label. I'll have to investigate some more to confirm.

As far as upgrades go, I was considering this one:

http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=12240.51

#2703F 3.6v 2700mah NiMH 3 cell AA flat Pack
Cell: SANYO 2700mah AA
Discharge rate: 5amps
Wire: 22ga Rx, 14/16ga on larger connectors

I think the discharge rate should be fine for the application, wouldn't you say?

 

[Patriot]

Looks like a great pack and the discharge rate won't be a factor in this application since the current to the LED is so small. I'm guessing 750 - 1000mA.

 

[GotMak]

Looks like a great pack and the discharge rate won't be a factor in this application since the current to the LED is so small. I'm guessing 750 - 1000mA.

That would make sense - others have noted visible dimming at 25 minutes - I may have, if I'd been paying constant attention, as well.

 

[Patriot]

That would make sense - others have noted visible dimming at 25 minutes - I may have, if I'd been paying constant attention, as well.

I should have said, the new pack that you picked out looks great. Going from the run-time of the stock pack perhaps it really is 400mAh...pretty sad performance. The new pack should be fantastic.

 

[GotMak]

I should have said, the new pack that you picked out looks great. Going from the run-time of the stock pack perhaps it really is 400mAh...pretty sad performance. The new pack should be fantastic.

I'll see if I can scavenge one, first. Christmas and all that, don't you know...

 

[mikekoz]

I looked at thes lights while back. I wonder if a battery holder can be found (Radio Shack?) to house 3 LSD NIMH cells???

 

[GotMak]

I looked at thes lights while back. I wonder if a battery holder can be found (Radio Shack?) to house 3 LSD NIMH cells???

I thought of the same thing. Radio Shack only has 1, 2, 4 and 8-cell holders for AA.

Since the holder depends on simple contact, but battery packs are typically soldered together, would the increased resistance possibly slow down the charge cycle? If a holder would work as well as a pack, it really opens up my options greatly - can go with a 3xC-cell holder, for example, for some pretty insane runtimes.