100 Watt HID Mod

jayrob

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Jan 3, 2008
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900
Location
Northern CA U.S.A.
I once modded something similar for a customer and I've since wanted to make one for myself...

The host and battery shown below are a perfect fit for each other... :)

Note: I have updated this post with my latest beam shots using the other bulb that came with my HID kit. This second bulb was closer to the 4300k that I wanted... :)





Host...

100WHID1.jpg

100WHID2.jpg


The host is very well made:

* Thick rubber ring in front
* Glass lens
* 7 1/4" Aluminum reflector (pretty deep too)
* Rubber battery door

The reflector bezel is held on with 8 screws, and there is a nice o-ring seal behind the glass.

Can't believe I got this bad boy for only $10 bucks on Ebay!

I see the new 18 million ones by the same company and they look the same except the front is longer. Maybe a deeper reflector?? Not sure if it is the same quality as this one either...






Secondary Light:

So since the host has two switches, I decided to put a wide flood table light...

* XML - 2 U4 (no reflector)
* DC DC buck converter

100WHID3.jpg

100WHID4.jpg

100WHID5.jpg

100WHID6.jpg

100WHID7.jpg

100WHID8.jpg


The Lipo pack I'm using is 16.8 volts at full charge. Using the buck converter shown, I adjusted the voltage output so that the emitter is getting 1.3 Amps.

At this current, it only draws about 350mA's from the Lipo pack... :)

Here's the driver






Lipo Pack and Voltage Monitor:

100WHID11.jpg

100WHID9.jpg

100WHID10.jpg


13 Amp hours! :D

After the initial start up surge, the 100 Watt HID draws a steady 4.38 Amps from the Lipo pack. (should be nearly 3 hours run time between charges) :)

This Lipo pack is the perfect size for this host as you can see from the build pictures to follow...

The host has charge ports that I am not using, but I did use that area for a fiber optic plug that shows my voltage monitor which is mounted inside.


Battery voltage monitor color code:

Bright blue - Full charge
Cyan - Very good
Green - Good
Yellow/Amber - Low warning
Red - Batteries low





More pics...

100WHID12.jpg

100WHID13.jpg

100WHID14.jpg









HID Bulb Mount/Focus:

The trickiest part of this build was making the small custom bulb mount plate shown below...

It was trial and error to machine the correct depth for best spot focus.

100WHID15.jpg

100WHID16.jpg

100WHID17.jpg

100WHID18.jpg


As you can see I'm using some heat shield in a couple places.

Probably not needed, but just an extra safety precaution since I'm using a Lipo pack...






Some Beam Shots:

This beam and spot blows away any other HID I have. Seems twice as bright as my 85W, and same for my FireFoxes FF4 at 60W... :cool:

100WHID22.jpg

100WHID23.jpg

100WHID24.jpg



Hope you like it! :cool:


Radiometer: (had to remove the beam from my radiometer after 5 or 6 seconds or it would have blown up) Lol...





Here's some interesting information on HID vs Halogen:

Lighting from an HID bulb is up to 10 times more durable than halogen. Vibrations can cause damage to a halogen filament, but there is nothing to break inside an HID bulb. Instead of using a filament as it's source of light output, an hid bulb generates a xenon arc that jumps between two diodes to emit its light output. This electrical arc is similar to the lighting in the sky, so in a sense, hid xenon bulbs are what you might call "lightning in a bottle!" Pretty cool huh?!! These light sources also produce a white to blue-white light in the 4300K to 6000K color range that is safer due to the fact that it is closer to the color of natural daylight.

The color temperature of daylight is close to 4300K, which is why we as human beings that see best during the daylight are able to see more vividly with a 4300K hid kit compared to 2300K from halogen bulbs.

The light output from a 35W 4300K HID Xenon lamp is about 300% more visible light than a 55W halogen bulb.

And this build is 100 Watts HID! :drool:

HID also consumes much less power, and generates much less heat during operation...











Click here to see my list of projects and tutorials! :)

 
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KuanR

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
1,823
Location
Macau S.A.R.
Wow Rob this brings back memories of the light you built for me. This latest incarnation is a lot more refined, I might need to have one built in the near future!
 

jayrob

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Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
900
Location
Northern CA U.S.A.
Wow Rob this brings back memories of the light you built for me. This latest incarnation is a lot more refined, I might need to have one built in the near future!

That must have been 3 or 4 years back...

How's it holding up? Still have it?

This latest one is larger in size, but the battery fitment and overall quality of the host is very solid...

The largest expense is the Lipo pack and you would need a balance charger for it. (I already had a nice balance charger for my RC heli's and stuff)
 
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KuanR

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
1,823
Location
Macau S.A.R.
Yeah it's been a while! I ended up giving the light to a fellow CPF member when I packed my life up and moved to Macau. Last I heard it was still working and going strong
 

jayrob

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
900
Location
Northern CA U.S.A.
So today I tried the second bulb that was in the kit and it was much closer to the 4300k that I was hoping for...

So I have updated the original post with these latest beam shots:

This beam and spot blows away any other HID I have. Seems twice as bright as my 85W, and same for my FireFoxes FF4 at 60W... :cool:


100WHID22.jpg

100WHID23.jpg

100WHID24.jpg




Radiometer:
(had to remove the beam from my radiometer after 5 or 6 seconds or it would have blown up) Lol...
 
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