My hottest hotwire, so far...

[donn_]

I was rooting around in my parts and bulbs boxes this morning, and found an Osram 64623 lamp and an AW V2 C-sized HD switch assembly. I dug out an HAIII MilSpec C-Mag, a borofloat lens and an FM LOP aluminum reflector with 15mm opening. I put it all together, and added 4x A123 cells which were clocked at a little over 14V and a spacer. I pulled the trigger, and voila!

A very bright light! Previous hotwire experience is with 1111,1185 and 5761. This 623 is much much brighter, and according to Lux' destructo tests, I should get pretty good bulb life since I'm not pushing it too hard.

A couple of questions:

1. Who's got a good (price-wise) source for more bulbs.

2. What other bulbs should I try in this rig?

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I've got some of the makings for such a light.

My brightest is 1185 on 9AA. Honorable mention to MC60 (at least when run on 6AA)

But who am I fooling... I play with super bright lights, but USE moderately bright LED lights.

 

[Meltdown]

Donn, congrats on your 623!

dunno if I'm getting the best deal but I've had good service and no complaints with bulbconnection.com/

 

[bxstylez]

also try replacementbulbs.com

shipping is cheaper and shipped via USPS Priority


by the way, wat mag host are you using? 6C?
i ask because i noticed you're using 4x A123's

.

 

[donn_]

Yup. Mirage_Man 6C in black HAIII MilSpec. I'm using an AW CR123 spacer to fill it up.

 

[bxstylez]

oops......

EDIT: it should be replacementlightbulbs.com

.

 

[Chodes]

64625 bulb should work well.
61238 will be good too with a larger safety margin.
With A123s your'e being fairly kind to the 623 bulb.
There seem to be much more options for 5 cells - 64440/64447/64458.

A few of my big Osram bulb beam shot comparisons:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=208688

The 62138 example there should be very similar to 4 x A123 cell performance - my Sonys have more voltage sag under load than they should.

The 64623 does have one big advantage - it's one of the cheaper big bulbs.

 

[donn_]

Thanks for the bulb suggestions and links to sources.

As an update, I moved this arrangement into an old 6D tube with an AW soft starter, and screwed on an FM 3" head with LOP reflector. What an amazing difference! The light's a good deal bulkier, but the beam is tremendous!

 

[DM51]

PICCSSSSS!!! lol

 

[donn_]

The new host is on top; 6D tube with FM3V head.

The old host is on the bottom; 6C-BK HAIII MilSpec.

I stuck a 3P in between for scale.

 

[shomie911]

Amazing!

I'm thinking about making a 6D mag with a bunch of AW's IMR18650 cells and just run the brightest bulb possible. I've looked at a few options and they're all above 10,000+ lumens. :twothumbs


Anyway, both ends of your flashlight make great weapons.

Set them on fire with the front end, then bonk 'em on the head with the back end. :laughing:

 

[LuxLuthor]

Donn, I have almost exclusively bought most of these bulbs from www.bulbconnection.com Search for the bulb, and make sure to select the brand (Osram) you want, since several companies make various models with different performance profiles listed...as in this 64623 example.