18v Ryobi light mods?

I am in the construction bus. and can always use a bright light in attics and crawl spaces. I have seen a few mods here done with tool lights, so here goes...

I would like to do a led conversion to the 18v light that came in my Ryobi tool set. The bulbs always blow with very little bouncing or bumping and I wanted to change to led. Don't want something to overheat quickly or be a real pain to do (the actual mod) would like to keep runtime to atleast an hour maybe more. I have a few good pocket lights I edc. But would rather learn to mod this one and avoid loosing them when crawling around. Plus it would leave room for more knives and other stuff in my pockets. Thanks, any help would be app. as the search function seems to be acting against me today. Steve

Funny, I was using my Ryobi tools this weekend and was thinking the same thing "what could I do w/ my Ryobi light?". I do have ideas, but they would be pretty custom projects with multiple emitters and reflectors, but it would be bright!

I'm going to be doing an LED conversion to my Ryobi 18V but I'm just getting started in the whole light modding thing. I took it apart and it doesn't look like there is any sort of regulation, so the bulb is receiving the full ~18V (more or less since Ryobi batteries are probbly even more unpredictable than "good" cordless tool batts, not to mention resistance from cheap construction). The battery is wired to a switch and then to the bulb holder (which is nothing more than springs).
My idea was to snip the leads at the springs, remove the springs, install a driver or 15Ohm/20Watt resistor and make some sort of holding fixture for the emitter. At that power level I'm pretty sure heat would be a problem and the only conductive thing in there is the reflector. Most likely it would be better off putting in a few emitters, a few reflectors, a diffusing high-temp lens, and a heatsink/mounting base.
Still, it would be almost impossible to make it weather-resistant. There are SOooo many crevices, seams and holes you wouldn't want to use it in wet crawlspaces or during a rainshower.

If your Ryobi uses NiCd cells (which I'm sure it does) you'd be FAR better off using a constant-current power supply for your LED or LEDs. With the way NiCd's voltage drops, the likely resistor configuration would be way overdriving the LED at full charge and then quickly move to underdriving the LED as the battery is depleted.

The constant current supply would enhance battery life and reduce heat, which in turn increases LED brightness over the entire run time.

I was wondering if I could put a resistor inline (if needed) to drop the voltage and maybe run one of the Maglight c/d cell replacement led "Bulbs" . Anybody know if this would be a decent mod, or if it would work. I don't want to go too extravagent or anything.

bladefrenzy said:

I was wondering if I could put a resistor inline (if needed) to drop the voltage and maybe run one of the Maglight c/d cell replacement led "Bulbs" . Anybody know if this would be a decent mod, or if it would work. I don't want to go too extravagent or anything.

Click to expand...

Can't say how well that would work, but you'd be better off with a Terralux or EverLED PR2 assembly. Too bad they don't make an 18V dropin. The MagLite modules are dimmer and last a long time, but not really a good work light.

I just thought of something: Get an 18V SureFire drop-in from dealextreme and make it fit. Ghetto ghettoness.

Gearbox, you are talkin my tune now! That and some ductape and zip ties and I'm ready,lol. I will def. check into that , thanks, Steve

why dont you just stick a buckpuck 3021-d-n-700 or something like that in there. Then wire it up to power 3-4 Cree or Seoul LED's each with optics.

sounds easy enough i think. its obviously going to take some modification to get some heatsinking, but it should work.

This is my first mod, I really didn't want to have heatsinking issues and stuff. Just wanted to make a light that was pretty bright say 80 lumens or so, more if an easy mod. I know there is no drop in for this. I'm going for toughness and reliability with little effort on my part,lol. Nothing exotic at all. Thanks for all the ideas guys. Steve

This looks about as simple as it gets:

TS-18 TerrraLUX ToolStar - upgrade for your 18V power tools!


Fits DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, and other professional quality rechargeable power tools with flashlight unit
Works with most popular battery voltages
For Professional and Home use!
100,000 hour LED's will last a lifetime and are far more durable than incandescnt bulbs.
Probably the last bulb you will ever buy for your tool light.

TS-18 TerrraLUX ToolStar
http://www.batteryjunction.com/tstetoupfory.html

Mr_Light said:

This looks about as simple as it gets:

TS-18 TerrraLUX ToolStar - upgrade for your 18V power tools!


Fits DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, and other professional quality rechargeable power tools with flashlight unit
Works with most popular battery voltages
For Professional and Home use!
100,000 hour LED's will last a lifetime and are far more durable than incandescnt bulbs.
Probably the last bulb you will ever buy for your tool light.

TS-18 TerrraLUX ToolStar
http://www.batteryjunction.com/tstetoupfory.html

Click to expand...

Yeah, but I want something complicated and uber-bright

I truly believe in KISS.

I think I have a solution to the 18v Ryobi situation but a working model is worth a million words.

I will order the parts I need and see if it floats.

So far I see the conversion costing around $20.

I did a mod with the 18v drill battery flashlight. What i did was construct a carrier for a mr16 20w bulb/reflector, and mounted it to the shoulder strap of my hunting backpack. I put the battery and the old flashlight housing inside the pack with wires ran.

I was actually overdriving a 12v bulb to 18v's. It is impressively bright. Im not sure if you can get an mr16 bulb in there, but if you can, you can wire the ceramic socket to the wires coming out of the switch and that will run for about 40 minutes.

If you want some pictures of what i did, PM me

ambhandyman said:

I truly believe in KISS.

I think I have a solution to the 18v Ryobi situation but a working model is worth a million words.

I will order the parts I need and see if it floats.

So far I see the conversion costing around $20.

Click to expand...

Did you get around to trying this out?

I just bought a couple 18 V ryobi P703 work lights. and have the 18 V Li-Ion batteries. Really want to convert them to LED.

Check out this thread to see a couple of Ryobi mods.