Mag LED upgrade in bicycle generator light?

[HonorKnight]

Has anyone tried putting one of the mag upgrade LED upgrade bulbs in a bicycle generator? I have an old 6V 3W bottle generator attached to my bicycle. The rear bulb is a screw in 6V 0.6W and the front is PR based halogen 6V 2.4W bulb. I was wondering if there is any reason I can't just put one of the 4 cell mag LED's in place of the front halogen light.

 

[Ralf]

I think that is not a very good idea.

A bicycle generator is basically a current source and not
a voltage source. The faster you go, the more voltage
comes out. My SON Hubgenerator is able to put out even
more than 12V at speeds around 20km/h ...

Cheers
Ralf

edit: furthermore a bicycle generator is alternate current ...

 

[BigusLightus]

Can you wire up a voltmeter and go for a ride to test for greatest output. I'm guessing the AC output is rectified into DC to power the common flashlight bulbs. A voltmeter will tell you. I've alway wondered if there is a way to charge AA batts from such a generator?

 

[hammong]

You can send the output into a 12 volt DC capacitor, and use a voltage regulator circuit to bring it down to six volts. The parts will run you like $7 at the local Radio Shack.

Greg

 

[HonorKnight]

I've alway wondered if there is a way to charge AA batts from such a generator?

Apparently you can charge batteries using a generator.
There are rechargeable halogen light systems that use a generator to recharge NiMH or LI-ION batteries to power the light. If I had one of those, I would just drop the mag LED in and not worry about it. Unfortunately, now that I think aobut it, I think my system might be AC.

 

[tspoon]

If you use a Luxeon 3 watt LED with a bridge rectifier it will probably run OK, as long as the LED has some heatsinking. The Lux III can take up to 1000 mA, which no commercially available bicycle generator should be able to supply.

 

[Illum]

perhaps you should add some solar panels to the handlebars:laughing:....unlike a generator, PV cells output constant voltage at slight fluctuations in current under normal conditions.:rock:

A generator however, fluctuates at both voltage and current, and emitters prefer to be fed with stable, clean power.🙂

I know it sounds a little off topic....
moderators....do as you plz, you have my thanks