My Guinness Lite!

[alfaman2]

hi all

Just want to share my little el cheapo light built over the weekend.

Yes, things move faster when you are a little tipsy! Burp!

 

[gswitter]

Nice!

Now you need to use some chocolate to polish the reflector.

 

[lonesouth]

glue a can to a cell phone charger, run the wires to the led glued to the bottom == beer can night light...

 

[Illum]

you do realize that a crushed soda can contains about the same aluminum as the volume of two stacked quarters?

the heatsinking I think might be....uh, um hmm...
iced guinness?

 

[lonesouth]

I googled some, but couldn't find the heat dissipation specs on a beer can. I would suspect it could handle at least 1 watt, maybe more if you drill some holes in the bottom to provide a decent convection current...

 

[jtr1962]

Gives new meaning to the term "can light". And yes, a beer can should be sufficient to dissipate one watt despite the thin metal. Let's not forget that today's better LEDs, such as the Rebel, output roughly 30% of their input power as light, rather than heat, at 350 mA. So you really only have to deal with about 0.7 watts of heat.

 

[Illum]

I googled some, but couldn't find the heat dissipation specs on a beer can.

LOL...here's an easier way to do this

an average beer can weighs 13.5 grams, go find an aluminum heatsink that weighs about the same then read up its thermal dissipation capability.
Since the beer can has more surface area than the average heatsink, you can round that value up a tad bit.

an example of a 13.5g heatsink looks like this, but would include a datasheet
http://www.readyheli.com/Black_Aluminum_Heat_Sink_for_Jazz_Jive_ESC_s_p/g16439.htm

 

[fyrstormer]

There's an even easier way to do it. Open the can with one of those can openers that cuts around the outer edge of the lid, pour the beer into a glass, refill with distilled water, and glue the lid back on. All the heatsinking you'll ever need.

 

[jerry i h]

:laughing: You could epoxy the wires on the outside of a full can, and you would have the world's first beer-cooled LED lamp. Um, you should then pop the top just in case the heat causes enough pressure to explode the can, but that would waste a perfectly good beer.

 

[blasterman]

+10

And who sez LED's 'aren't there yet'

Just imagine how many LEDs you could use with a Foster's oil can.

 

[fyrstormer]

A what can?

 

[Norm]

A what can?

In 1972, by a partnership between Foster's Australia and Miller Brewing Company, the 25.4oz Foster's Can arrived in the US. The steel can looked so much like an oil can, Americans gave it the nickname Foster's Oil Can, the name has stuck with it for more than 30 years.

Foster's Oil Can

By the way Fosters isn't well regarded in Australia no matter what the marketing people tell you.

 

[alfaman2]

There's an even easier way to do it. Open the can with one of those can openers that cuts around the outer edge of the lid, pour the beer into a glass, refill with distilled water, and glue the lid back on. All the heatsinking you'll ever need.

yeah. fill the void with water and u have probably the most cost-effective heatsink in the world ever!

 

[Illum]

yeah. fill the void with water and u have probably the most cost-effective heatsink in the world ever!

yeah...and suffer from a small scale steam explosion if you drive it with 3-5W of heat for a whole day

if you fill it to the brim with water maybe, but for weight and volume alone it could be more cost effective using a traditonal heatsink:nana: