sam's hid spotlight

[loving light]

Hi,well I finally got one for $21.05,I felt like a kid in high school(I do not have a sam's card,so I stood outside the door and asked people going in that had a membership card)remember back in high school standing out in front of the beverage store and asking people to buy beer:naughty:.
Well now that I have my first HID what should I watch out for?I am waiting till it gets dark so I can play outside.Thanks,Joe.

 

[Patriot]

Congrats on your ultimate bang for the buck light.

"Well now that I have my first HID what should I watch out for"

A high quality, compact, flashlight sized HID. AE makes some really nice ones for the money. A new compact 14W will be available soon too.

 

[jugg2]

I think he means warnings. Like "Don't (fill in the blank)" I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to turn them off and on, off and on. Like flashing it, or strobing. But that all I know, I don't even have a HID.

 

[White_Shadow]

i need to get one of these cheap HID lights

 

[Probedude]

I too am looking for a recommendation for operating HID lights.
Like:
- if you turn it on, run it for at least X mins to prolong bulb life

With metal halide lighting fixtures I seem to remember something about running them for x hours after turning on and allow them to cool ever 24 to prevent/minimize lamp explosions. These portable of course won't run for hours, let alone 24 but are they similarly affected by frequent on/off episodes?

 

[srvctec]

I read somewhere on CPF, in one of the many already existing threads about the POB HID from Sam's, that one should leave the light on for a couple of minutes before turning it off to help prolong the life of the bulb.

 

[Probedude]

I read somewhere on CPF, in one of the many already existing threads about the POB HID from Sam's, that one should leave the light on for a couple of minutes before turning it off to help prolong the life of the bulb.

Yeah, but I wonder if a couple of mins is more like 5-10.
I wish the on/off button was different. Twice now I've picked it up and accidentally turned it on only to quickly turn it off again. After one time I looked at the arc section of the lamp and it looked brown and opaque. Later I ran it for about 5 mins and when turned off and cool the ampule was clear. So there's definitely a difference between a quick on/off and a 5 min wait.

Suppose I just make sure when I play that it's for at least 5min.

 

[TheGreyEminence]

The Dealer where i bought my 24 Watt Brightstar HID´s recommended to let it burn for at least 3 minutes before shutting it off.After shutoff, let them cool down a bit before restarting...

Regards

 

[srvctec]

I wish the on/off button was different. Twice now I've picked it up and accidentally turned it on only to quickly turn it off again.

Here's what I did with mine. No more accidental turn ons. I've modded 3 this way and they work great now. I also have lots of in progress pics of the mod if you are interested- just let me know.

 

[Probedude]

Here's what I did with mine. No more accidental turn ons. I've modded 3 this way and they work great now. I also have lots of in progress pics of the mod if you are interested- just let me know.

Nice mod! I'll have to rummage through my parts bins and see what I have. It appears from you switch style that there's room in the main body of the case.

The Dealer where i bought my 24 Watt Brightstar HID´s recommended to let it burn for at least 3 minutes before shutting it off.After shutoff, let them cool down a bit before restarting...

Thanks much!!

Dave

 

[Trashman]

You should make sure you keep it charged and to charge it after every use. If it's not being used, you should charge it every couple of months to maintain the batteries integrity. These tips are not specific to HID, but the Sam's uses a sealed lead acid (SLA) battery, which requires care. If the HID starts to flicker (due to low battery), it's time to shut it off and charge! The flickering will damage the bulb.

 

[Probedude]

You should make sure you keep it charged and to charge it after every use. If it's not being used, you should charge it every couple of months to maintain the batteries integrity. These tips are not specific to HID, but the Sam's uses a sealed lead acid (SLA) battery, which requires care. If the HID starts to flicker (due to low battery), it's time to shut it off and charge! The flickering will damage the bulb.

Thanks. The nice thing about SLA's is that they can be float charged pretty much indefinitely (which is why they're used in UPS's, alarm panels, etc). Now that's a generic statement - I don't know how good of a design the charger in the sam's HID is.

If what I read is true (I haven't opened it) at least it uses an extremely common size SLA (12V 7AH). I just refurbed our computer room Symmetra UPS - 40 of these batts in this UPS!.