Minimoog
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Messages
- 771
I have an original Ever Ready bulb from 1915/6 that fits their wooden torches from that period which is rated 3.5V, however I don't want to run it at over this as the uncoiled filament will soon fail (like fuse wire). Looking on eBay I saw some adjustable regulators such as item 201210015724 so I ordered one to see if it was any good and suitable for my purpose. It arrived and I am pleased to see that it was ideal for my light and fitted inside along with 5 LSD AA batteries in a holder. Now I can run my light at exactly the rated voltage with no dimming - its really nice and now gives a misty beam with golden glow, just as 100 years ago.
These little regulators can be used in such items as a motorists lantern with 18650's in or any other roomy light where the voltage of the bulb does not exactly match that of the modern batteries. It is very compact and as the ground is direct pass through, you can use the switch in your light to switch ground rather than positive so you wont need to break any wires or circuitry. This energizes the regulator and makes contact with the bulb at the same time. Drain is 22mA when energized, however this includes lighting a very bright blue power LED which I removed, then drain is 18mA. If you use the switch in the light to switch ground, then there is no drain as the regulator is out of circuit. It is adjustable down to just over 1 Volt. It can supply up to 3 Amps.
If you were to use this in something like a cycle lamp that took the 800 battery or any lantern such as the MotorMate you can have a very long running light with much less chance of burning out a bulb - and having flat output with no dimming.
I just thought I would share this here because now my pre-1920 Ever Ready bulb in its wooden light can get some use and I will be using one in my motorists lantern - which uses one of those 6V lantern batteries which I really don't like as they fade in cold weather. Perhaps you have a lantern or lamp which you don't use because of the batteries expense or availability - but with this, if the batteries fit and have more than 1 Volt than the lamp needs, then you can use one of these. I fitted mine with no soldering to the torch, using cable blocks, but some soldering is required to attach the regulator to the leads and power.
These little regulators can be used in such items as a motorists lantern with 18650's in or any other roomy light where the voltage of the bulb does not exactly match that of the modern batteries. It is very compact and as the ground is direct pass through, you can use the switch in your light to switch ground rather than positive so you wont need to break any wires or circuitry. This energizes the regulator and makes contact with the bulb at the same time. Drain is 22mA when energized, however this includes lighting a very bright blue power LED which I removed, then drain is 18mA. If you use the switch in the light to switch ground, then there is no drain as the regulator is out of circuit. It is adjustable down to just over 1 Volt. It can supply up to 3 Amps.
If you were to use this in something like a cycle lamp that took the 800 battery or any lantern such as the MotorMate you can have a very long running light with much less chance of burning out a bulb - and having flat output with no dimming.
I just thought I would share this here because now my pre-1920 Ever Ready bulb in its wooden light can get some use and I will be using one in my motorists lantern - which uses one of those 6V lantern batteries which I really don't like as they fade in cold weather. Perhaps you have a lantern or lamp which you don't use because of the batteries expense or availability - but with this, if the batteries fit and have more than 1 Volt than the lamp needs, then you can use one of these. I fitted mine with no soldering to the torch, using cable blocks, but some soldering is required to attach the regulator to the leads and power.
