Will M*g 3D melt by using WA01185?

Hi:
like many others around, i'm also interested to build a M*g 3D mod with the following:

3* 3AA-D
9* Ni-MH AA Batt.s
Metal reflector
WA01185
UCL Lens

a "standard" mod /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

my questions is, will the super-power WA01185 bulb melt any plastic parts in M*g body?

because i've found the bulb holder has a plastic body. and how about the O-rings? anything else need to notice?

btw: what could be the runtime if i use 9* 2300mAh batts? or i should choose lower capacity batts for this ultra-high current?

many thanks in advance! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I would advise you use 2000mah and below batteries simply because at the kind of current that the WA01185 uses (3.15 amps), many batteries above 2000mah fail to deliver the current at a reasonable voltage.

As for the plastic thing in the bulb pedestal, it's a pretty tough type of plastic. I don't think you have to worry about that for the entire duration of your battery life. The o-rings should take it just fine too since I've ran a 50 watt MR16 in a mag before. The head got really hot. Scorching hot. I had ran the MR16 for around 20 mins, the temperature stabalizes at around 50 degrees celsius if I didn't remember wrongly. That is with some ventilation. With no ventilation, it can easily rise to 60-70 degrees. Even that shouldn't be a problem for the o-rings.

The mag switch has a lot of resistance. You might want to take it out, use any type of metal polish to clean up the contacts. (The positive metal contact) Followed by a disassembly of the switch, see if any oxidization has occured inside, and clean the ring and other small pieces of metal acccordingly. Or you might just want to swap out the switch completely for something else electronically controlled. It's called... SCR I think... That one might get a lil complicated. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

thanks Nerd, that's helpful! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

what could be the estimated run time for 9*2000mAh batts?

about the switch, using electronically control sounds too complicated for me.

first things first, how to open the switch? use a screw driver?

You'll need a 2.5mm thick hex Allen screwdriver. You can get those stuff at $1.00 shops. A whole set of difference sizes. Then you remove the rubber cap from the switch, and you can insert the screwdriver inside. It's a L shape thing. Twist anti clock wise and the switch should come loose. You can then take it out from either front end or the tail end if I'm not wrong.

To find the runtime, simply divide the Ah of the batteries (in this case, 2.000 Ah) by the A of the bulb (3.15 A). This yields hours. Here, 2/3.15 = about 0.63 hours = about 38 minutes. The usable time will be less than 38 minutes since at the end the light will be quite dim.

Keep in mind, you are slightly over-volting the 1185, which will also increase its resistance, so it will draw more Amps, which will decrease runtime further.

Overall, you should get about 20-30 minutes of very bright light depending on the quality of your batteries. I think that's pretty good considering how bright this setup is and that you can always have another set of rechargeables charged up and ready to be put in when the ones in your light are drained.

I see you put an aluminum reflector in there. The stock plastic reflector is OK up to a little over 10 watts. 3.15 amps x 10v is over 30 watts. At 3 amps, those 9 NiMHs may drop below 10v, but you will still have close to 30 watts ravaging the reflector & your glass lens, too. This is a truly monstrous mod (80% overdrive!!), perfect for Halloween...

[ QUOTE ]
srue said:
To find the runtime, simply divide the Ah of the batteries (in this case, 2.000 Ah) by the A of the bulb (3.15 A). This yields hours. Here, 2/3.15 = about 0.63 hours = about 38 minutes. The usable time will be less than 38 minutes since at the end the light will be quite dim.

Keep in mind, you are slightly over-volting the 1185, which will also increase its resistance, so it will draw more Amps, which will decrease runtime further.

Overall, you should get about 20-30 minutes of very bright light depending on the quality of your batteries. I think that's pretty good considering how bright this setup is and that you can always have another set of rechargeables charged up and ready to be put in when the ones in your light are drained.

[/ QUOTE ]

2000 mAh AA NiMH batteries will NOT deliver this rated capacity at a current of 3+ amps. No way, no how. Plus they will not hold their voltage well under this current draw.

thanks guys!!!

so basicly, i can expect about 20 mins of runtime, and since the bulb is slightly over-volting, the life time could be less than 50 hours.

seems i can prepair for this already...

any sugested battery model?

[ QUOTE ]
RussH said:
I see you put an aluminum reflector in there. The stock plastic reflector is OK up to a little over 10 watts. 3.15 amps x 10v is over 30 watts. At 3 amps, those 9 NiMHs may drop below 10v, but you will still have close to 30 watts ravaging the reflector & your glass lens, too. This is a truly monstrous mod (80% overdrive!!), perfect for Halloween...

[/ QUOTE ]

80 percent? Where'd that come from? The WA1185 is rated for 50 hours at 9.6 volts, so 10 volts, or even 10.8 volts is nowhere near an 80 percent overdrive.

Or did you mean something else? Just curious.

As for battery suggestions, I would use www.cheapbatterypacks.com 1400mAh AA's (the ones which are equivalent to the KAN 1400's--actually they are the same: KAN makes them for CBP). Either that or wait for their new 1600 mAh high-rate AA's.

Using high-rate batteries gives you three advantages:

1. Long cycle life: expect to get closer to the full cycle life quoted by the manufacturer (500 cycles) when not pulling more current than cells are designed for (such as the 2000mAh AA's).

2. Better voltage under load. High-rate cells will keep their voltage even under a high current draw. More volts = more lumens.

3. High-rate cells are properly rated in mAh's. If a high-rate cell (such as a KAN 1300 or 1400 AA) says it will deliver 1400 mAh, then it WILL DO SO, even under a 1C or 2C (or higher) current draw. On the other hand so-called "2300 mAh" AA's will NOT deliver that much under ANY significant load. Ginseng posted a great thread documenting this. He compared Maha high capacity AA's with the KAN 1300 AA's. Do a search and check it out. It's an eye opener.

Also, high rate cells have low internal resistance, and thus take being fast-charged much better, and they don't get as warm during a discharge.

But in the case of the 1185 on 9 cells, the extra internal resistance certainly helps forestall insta-flashing the filament.

Anyway, just some thoughts.

I got the following:

WA1185 bulb - waiting
RF1940MOP reflector - waiting
3AA-D battery holder - secured
Borofloat lens - secured
Mag 3D host - local stores out of stock, but shouldn't be hard to find one.
Nimh AA - still wondering what to get, but I found a 30 minute GP fast charger, so I can get 9 AA charged up in about an hour or so. Like mentioned, I want to get high current Nimh... But donno where to get Kans...

thanks js!

on cheapbatterypacks.com, i found SP AA1800 batts claims to be "Low Cost AA 10amp cell. This is not a button top cell so it will not work in cameras etc."

will this fit better?

Jim you're right about not achieving the rated voltage, but the situation is not nearly as severe as one might think. The WA01185 will pull down in 20 minutes under 4.6A load and still deliver 1.1V at 50% depletion. At a much lighter 3.2A load, you'll get better than 30 minutes depending on your cell choice. This is for the Maha2000. The 2000mAh nimhs are a pretty good match for the WA01185.

Wilkey

JS said "80 percent? Where'd that come from? The WA1185 is rated for 50 hours at 9.6 volts, so 10 volts, or even 10.8 volts is nowhere near an 80 percent overdrive."

I was looking at the Carley catalog, specifically at the #612 PR base bulb which uses an 1185 bi-pin bulb (Krypton Star Lamps for Rechargeable Batteries, pg 21). Carley has this as a 6v 1.7 amp bulb. Interestingly, I don't find the 1185 listed in the catalog any where else. I wonder if it is a de-rated WA01185, seems unlikely, but that is one massive filament. That sure would be interesting.

RussH, Carley does not make the WA01185 bulb. Welch Allyn does. I might have misspelled that.

Bill

edit. corrected

Ahhh,
The CA612 was a nice bulb. I think it's been discontinued though. They just pot a CA1185 to make it. It used to come prepotted from a manufacturer in the Far East.

Bill is right on. The WA01185 is the bulb used in the Mag85 mod.

Wilkey

Does anyone have the data sheet for the WA01185?

http://www.walamp.com/lpd/webstore/searchbylamp.tpl?Sku=17345948104771&cart=1099046886146036&divnum=3&startat=61

[ QUOTE ]
Ginseng said:
Jim you're right about not achieving the rated voltage, but the situation is not nearly as severe as one might think. The WA01185 will pull down in 20 minutes under 4.6A load and still deliver 1.1V at 50% depletion. At a much lighter 3.2A load, you'll get better than 30 minutes depending on your cell choice. This is for the Maha2000. The 2000mAh nimhs are a pretty good match for the WA01185.

Wilkey

[/ QUOTE ]

No kidding! Wow! Thanks for the info, Wilkey. I should have known that there were very good reasons why you were using these cells for the Mag85.

Plus you don't get insta-flashing very much with this setup. Sounds like this is the way to go.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Wilkey! Wilkey! The INCAN MASTER!

Right, I've never instaflashed on 9 cells of 2000mAh to 2300mAh capacity. Go to 10 cells though, and the IF rate goes up to about 30% on a rested pack and 80% on a fresh off-charger pack.

Oh, and while the cells get dangerously hot under 4.6A, they are only slightly warm under 3.2A. Certainly cooler than they get when driven under fast-charge mode in the MAHA C401.

Bah, I may be the incan master but you are the incan regulation and battery master. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

Wilkey

Can I ask both masters a noobish question?

I found GP 30 min chargers, will their batteries do? The 2100 series?

http://www.gpbattery.com/Primary_batteries_Rechargeable.htm

Hi Sjackal:
I've found a local shop selling maha powerex batts. (at least their website says they have).
maybe you can buy from them.
now just wodering how long need to wait for the lamp...

any good source to buy these lamps?
btw: how to make them potted?

again thanks for all the infomation MASTERS /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif