Possible New Lamp from Carley

Just ordered some potted 808's from Carley, and my great rep Wil asked if the following lamp might be of interest for mods:

PR Based T-2 1/2 halogen, 11.5 volts, 2.4 amps, 27.6 watts, 54.0 average candle power (with a low cp of 45.9 and a high cp of 62.1), kelvin color is 2985×, 100 life hours.

I told him that if it could be run at around 10v (or maybe a little less) it might make an appealing lamp for a 3D Mag mod using three of those 3AA battery holders to place 9 NiMH AAs in series. Of course, the reflector and lens would have to be upgraded, and I don't know what the current handling capability of the Mag switch is, but that would be one heck of a bright mod (for a short while at least).

Anyone have any other inputs?

John

No no no..... AA nicds might take 2.4 amps.. AA Ni-mhs will die terribly... The M*g plastic reflector would melt within seconds of turning the light on. The switch will take it no problem. Len MUST be glass...

You'll be lucky to get 20 mins of run time out of either battery option you use. I, for one, am interested in the bulb.. time to get some of their reflectors as well....

If you run it @ 10 volts, it wouldn't work so well. In fact, it won't be so bright. As it is, it's already 2985 kevin. You will want 3100 kevin to get a nice "white". 9 AA batteries x 1.2 volts would give 10.8 volts. But under a 2.4 amp load, it won't give 10.8 volts. I'm not even sure it would give 9 volts (Nimhs) for long. But who knows.. some batteries are better than others. I'm sure lemlux would have a lot more say on this matter. Plus he has experimented with batteries extensively.

Yeah, I had mentioned to Wil that the lens and the reflector would be non-stock. And I told him that sub-3000 kelvin is kinda low, but for that much raw cp, I could live with a yellower beam. But I'm surprised that the NiMHs won't source the 2.4 amps without dying. All the discharge curves I've seen have indicated good performance even up to around 3C. I have a lot of Maha cells, and here's their discharge curve:

http://www.mahaenergy.com/support/techfact/chart/discharg.htm

Is the voltage drop due to the higher internal R versus NiCds?

I'm still sorta intrigued by this lamp.

John

Whoo! Just got another email from Wil at Carley, and he asked me if the following lamp might be of interest:

T-1 1/2, xenon, 7.2 volts (optimized to be operated with 3 lithium batteries), 1.84 amps, 30.7 candle power (avg.), 3450× kelvin @ 7.2 volts (3500× kelvin @ 7.8 volts), 15 life hours @ 7.2 volts (10 hrs @ 7.8 volts).

I told him this one was much more appealing than the one I originally posted. This lamp seems surprisingly similar to the TigerLight lamp (13 watts @ 7.2v). (Is the TL brighter than the Surefire 3-cell lights with HOLA?) And the good thing is that it's "runnable" on 3 CR123s or 6 NiMHs. Time to get some of those 3AA holders for my Mag 2D!

John

Kubolaw:

Has Carley decided to make the lamp you mention in your 2/12 1:23 post a catalogue item?

lemlux -

I'm not sure what the future status of this lamp will be. Wil told me that it "has not yet been released to the public" due to its high color temperature(?) and the amount of heat it generates. I imagine that the expected demand in this lamp will determine it's eventual inclusion (or non-inclusion) in the Carley catalogue. I told Wil I'd report back to him on any interest generated here (and I already told him that I was _really_ interested).

John

I'm interested! i coldnt get the 808 potted in a PR base because the bulb exceeds the amp rating of their bases.

keep us posted.

Bob

pedalinbob:

Carley will ceramically pot their bulbs or W/A's bulbs in a PR base for $1.65 per bulb. They just won't make a stand-alone ceramic version of the 912 socket.

Originally posted by pedalinbob:
i coldnt get the 808 potted in a PR base because the bulb exceeds the amp rating of their bases.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hi Bob -

I'm confused about this statement, since I just ordered a bunch of potted 808's from Carley. As lemlux indicated, are you sure they didn't think you were asking for a socket?

John

well, im not sure what happened.
i called about 2 weeks ago, asking if i could buy a few 808's potted in a standard PR base.

the woman (who was extremely nice and helpful) told me they have done this in the past, but no longer did due to the base having a too low amp rating. she stated that the base only has a 1 amp rating, but the bulb has a 1.2 amp (i think) rating. i was also told that i could purchase the 808 bulb, and pot it myself in a more highly rated base, which Carley did not sell.

i am ready to make 2 of the 285 lumen mod (just need some bulbs!), but couldnt figure out which bulb would work the best. Darkgear offered to sell me a couple of the 808's, but i havent gotten around to ordering them yet.

so, you are saying that i still can get the 808 in a PR base?

whazzzup?
Bob<--doing my best "surprised homeboy" impression...

Bob -

There must have been some confusion over the socket/potted issue. Both Wil and Patty from Carley have given me quotes on the potted 808 in the last week ($7.89/potted lamp). Clearly the Carley PR bases can take at least 1.7A since their Krypton Star PR lamps run that high. Just give them another call and I'm sure they'll be happy to take your order.

John

1.84 amps, 7.2v and 30.7 candlepower average - I'd be very interested in this bulb if it can be potted (special order) like the 808.

I'm sure it would suck 123's dry pretty quick but then so do SF's HOLAs... I like the idea of 6 NiMH AA's in a 2D too.

Any idea if this will melt a Mag reflector though?

Jon

(What I wouldn't give for some Al Mag reflectors!)

OK, not that I wanted to ressurect this old thread, but I got a few of these "high color temp" lamps from Carley, and I have to say that I really like them. It's a much smaller lamp than the 808's (naturally), and in a C or D Maglite they generate a super-bright beam that can be spotted down to a very tight spot. I guess because the filament size is smaller than the 808's, you can get better reflector performance. I haven't had a chance to run the lamp for any length of time (no more than 5 minutes at a time), but already I plan on ordering more. I don't have any fancy light measuring equipment like the rest of y'all, but from the shine-the-beam-in-your-face-via-a-mirror test, this lamp is noticeably more powerful than my Carley 808 mods and my Tigherlight. It doesn't seem any brighter when illuminating things, but the head-on effect is much stronger.

Probably won't last more than 15-20 minutes or so on three 123's, but for this kind of output, I think it's worth it. Once Elektrolumens starts selling those 3AA-to-D battery holders, I'll be getting a few to run this lamp on NiMH's in a 2D Mag.

It's not listed on the Carley website, but here's the info Wil gave me:

The lamp number is CL-1499.
The price is $ 7.21 each (potted, not marked). Lead time is about 2 weeks.

John


[ QUOTE ]
kubolaw said:
Whoo! Just got another email from Wil at Carley, and he asked me if the following lamp might be of interest:

T-1 1/2, xenon, 7.2 volts (optimized to be operated with 3 lithium batteries), 1.84 amps, 30.7 candle power (avg.), 3450× kelvin @ 7.2 volts (3500× kelvin @ 7.8 volts), 15 life hours @ 7.2 volts (10 hrs @ 7.8 volts).

[/ QUOTE ]

15 hours life is not a lot...

John

Your Mag's stock reflector will probably start deteriorating near the center hole from that much heat.

Mine did with 15.9 watts in just a few minutes, and another did it during extended run time with the Carley #805 (3.7V/1.6A) lamp.

You can make a dead Tiger Light aluminum reflector work with a potted lamp *if* the glass part of the lamp will fit through the tube end of the reflector.

File or machine an even bevel around the inside of the Mag head until the TL reflector seats deeply enough to put the lens and lens ring on. The stock reflector will still work afterwards if you want to go back.

Also, file a little off the tube end (bulb end) of the reflector (keep it nice and even) a little at a time, and keep trying it with the lamp until you get good focus. The tube end of the reflector will push on the bulb's base flange against the spring in the Mag's lamp holder.

The length of the tube on the end of the reflector determines the fixed focal point. It helps to use the Carley spacer rings on the bulb for a little extra adjustment.

I did not even try to make a big hole in the TL reflector for the Mag's lamp holder to go through, and I don't know if it could even be made variable-focus.

Might want to give this a try if you can find a dead Tigerlight lamp assembly (or maybe a Streamlight SL20X or SL35X - they look very similar).

John