Remote battery work headlamp.

[rebar]

Hello. First post here.

I spend allot of time working in and around the house at all hours. Jack of all trades, master of few. I'm looking for a high quality headlamp with rechargeable remote battery pack, but don't think I need 300 lumens and all the bells and whistles which could fail. I own a old petzl with the incandescent bulb, 3 AA's on the headband which works OK with fresh batteries but falls short after a day of use. Uncomfortably heavy after a long day. I'm tired of replacing batteries.
I have plenty of 7.2v Ni-cads and nimh's packs Iv built for my remote control models. Plenty of chargers.

Should I build battery packs to utilize old petzl? Or buy a new LED headlamp and add a remove pack?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[Bolster]

Can't answer most of your questions Mike, but your desire for a rechargeable pack reminded me of the Black Diamond Sprinter, probably worth a look.

The SF Saint has a separate battery pack option, if you care to recharge AAs or RCR123s.

Most folks around here recharge Eneloops for their headlamps.

Welcome to our corner of CPF!

 

[vtunderground]

By remote battery pack, you mean one worn on your belt or in a pocket... not one on the back of your headband, right?

 

[robostudent5000]

I own a old petzl with the incandescent bulb, 3 AA's on the headband which works OK with fresh batteries but falls short after a day of use.

welcome to CPF Mike. which Petzl do you have? and do you know how much it weighs with the batteries so we can get a better idea of your requirements?

or even better, to echo Bolster's comment in another thread, you could look at the list Bolster came up with at the link below and list what your requirements are.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?313328-To-Consider-Before-You-Purchase-a-Headlamp

 

[Howecollc]

If you have an old Petzl Zoom like mine, I would advise you just switch to using NiMH AA batteries in place of alkalines; it sounds like you probably already have some lying around. There's a chart underneath the 3 AA battery adapter which shows almost the same runtime for NiMH vs alkalines when using the standard 1 watt bulb, and 45 extra minutes of runtime when using NiMH and the 2 watt halogen bulb.

Or you could build an external pack for the Petzl with an appropriate voltage for one of the various screw-in type bulbs from Reflectalite.

 

[bedazzLED]

Hi rebar.

If you don't mind recharging eneloops, then have a look at the Fenix HP20. It has a remote battery pack and sounds like it's a decent headlamp.
Have a look here http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=128.

 

[bedazzLED]

Hi rebar.

Just thought of another one you might want to look at.

The LED Lenser H14. This is quite a substantial headlamp, but it's quite versatile. It's focusable, regulated, and it comes with a detachable battery pack and an extension lead, so the battery pack can be worn remotely. The lead is almost 1 meter long.

You can wear it as a headlamp, doubles as a bike light, can be attached directly to the battery pack to make it s standalone spot light.

 

[rebar]

welcome to CPF Mike. which Petzl do you have? and do you know how much it weighs with the batteries so we can get a better idea of your requirements?

or even better, to echo Bolster's comment in another thread, you could look at the list Bolster came up with at the link below and list what your requirements are.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?313328-To-Consider-Before-You-Purchase-a-Headlamp

Wow.. Thanks for the warm welcome.. and Im not sure who to answer first

Im not sure which petzl I have. No model # I can see and I cant find it on the net. I think I bought it at local Menards or true value 8 years ago, but Its bullet proof seems like. You turn the lens to turn it on, and to adjust from spot to flood. The light adjusts up and down. The three AA battery holder connects the headbands (one on top also) mounted on the back with a rubber cover/door battery access . So removing the pack would require some sort of three way strap connector able to allow the strap to slid through for adjustment. I like it and thought it was the cats meow until we got LED flash lights at work. They are very bright. So I started researching a bit which led me down this elusive internet rabbit hole. lol

Howecollc: My bulb says KR 4.8v 0.5Amp or 0.8Amp, so either 2.4W or 3.8W. Will the 2 W halogen out perform my bulb?

Another thing I fight is charging AA batteries. Unlike my model packs, which I solder together with a deans micro connector.. I have to insert my AA batteries into a 2 or 4 place plastic holder, and then charge, not knowing if they have been evenly discharged. After reading reviews about AA chargers which fry them, I decided to skip that and use a German Graupner Ultra Duo Plus II, or pit bull charger on a power supply with a 750 watt 15v output. lol Great old setup but a little overkill and a pain in the ***. But both chargers are good peak detectors. My lipo charger isnt set up for AA. Its on micro deans connects as well.

I really want a brighter light with a remote belt or pocket battery pack. There's so many headlamps out there now its hard to decide. And I hear the quality control is more like planned obsolescence these days.:shakehead

 

[rebar]

Sorry double post

 

[Howecollc]

First off, I'm running on the assumption that your light is one like this, and that it uses 3 batteries like you said.

I have a feeling that your bulb may not be a Petzl brand. My Petzl brand 2 watt halogen bulb is marked 4.5V 0.5A but doesn't have the "KR" designation, as it is not a "Krypton" bulb, but a halogen. I don't know where I placed my Petzl brand 1 watt standard bulb so I can't say for sure if it has a "KR" designation on it or not, but I do remember that it was listed as 4.5V 0.2A (actually 0.72 watt when you take into account the 3.6V nominal output while under load of three alkaline batteries). The halogen bulbs are straight sided and have a pinched tip on the end, while the Krypton bulbs are round. Most of the Petzl bulbs have a screw-in type base.

So if your bulb doesn't say Petzl on the base and is a screw-in type, then you probably have a RayOVac or similar brand bulb which was actually intended to run on 4 alkaline batteries instead of 3. I can't imagine this would work very well on anything but the freshest batteries, so I may be off base here. If you do indeed have the wrong bulb, then my 2 watt halogen will definitely be brighter than what you have; it's about as bright as a 3D Maglite.

There are plenty of things you could do with a remote NiMH or even LiPo pack and several of the bulbs offered by Reflectalite, and I've considered doing something like that for a while now, but honestly that seems more like a project for fun kind of thing than an everyday work-light option. Sounds to me like you probably want to step over to the LED side.

The options, as you said, are endless, and quality control does seem to be an issue with some of the more desirable high output import brands. Your Petzl has lasted you 8 years because there's simply nothing to tear up inside; that's unfortunately not the case with LED lights. Because of this, I choose my lights based on warranty as well as utility and quality. You're never going to get stuck with a broken Surefire; they replace everything for life no questions asked. I have quite a few Surefires but wasn't willing to spend that much on a headlamp based on how infrequently I use one. Another manufacturer I like is Streamlight; not as pretty as Surefire and usually not as bright, but still built very well and warranted for life by a company that's been around a long time. I wanted to like the Zebralight and Fenix models, but have read about too many issues with switches and UI electronics and such.

So what headlamp did I choose when I finally decided to shelve my old-school Petzl: the Streamlight Argo HP. I don't use anything that's not rechargeable, and while this light is intended to run on 2 CR123 lithium throwaway cells, it will also run on an RCR17670 lithium-ion battery that I already have plenty of for some of my other handheld lights. I don't know if you already have any Li-ion cells or not, or a charger for them, but the cells are $11 each and the chargers range from $18 to $47. The light isn't too front heavy, even with the top strap removed. It runs for over 4 hours at full regulated brightness on high and about 16 hours on low per charge. It has an easy to reach push button on top for low, then high, then off. If the switch ever fails (which is what I figure will be the thing to eventually go), just send it back to Streamlight for a free replacement; all you've lost is $4 one-way shipping. Most headlamps seem to be designed as spotlights, this one's no exception. I put some frosted tape across the lens and turned it into a nicely diffused floodlight. It's considerably brighter and far easier to work with than the old Petzl, it's rechargeable, it should easily serve you for the next 10 years (maybe even without having to utilize the warranty), and it only costs $33.

http://www.lighthound.com/AW-17670-Protected-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_101.html

http://www.lighthound.com/Ultrafire...3-37-volt-Lithium-Battery-Charger_p_2279.html

http://www.lighthound.com/Pila-IBC-...0-37-volt-Lithium-Battery-Charger_p_3680.html

http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=55#tabs

http://www.streamlight.com/documents/fact-sheet/155.pdf

 

[rebar]

Yes it's the Zoom.
Like I said I love the simplicity of it, but not the weight.
My plan at the moment is to remove the battery holder and mount a tape measure clip for my belt and lengthen the wire. Then upgrade the bulb buy new batteries and a new charger. Waste not want not. Hoping to find a battery solution which might work with Ecig's. Multiple batteries and chargers drive me nutz.

Thanks again
Mike

 

[vtunderground]

Something to keep in mind if you end up trying to run a new LED headlamp off of a 7.2v battery pack... LEDs have a forward voltage of around 3.2v. If you hooked up a 7.2v battery pack to, say, a Princeton Tec Apex, the Apex will run just fine, but the current regultor will try to discharge your battery pack down to 3.2v or less. I've ruined a bunch of NiMHs by overdischarging like this, before I knew what I was doing.

My suggestion is that you purchase a new LED headlamp. Coming from the Zoom, I think you'll be impressed by how much light you can get (and how much runtime) from such a small package.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

I know you specifically stated that you want a remote battery pack, but perhaps some of that idea is based on the poor performance of your older lamp and you might be very surprised to find that today's LED technology makes it possible to get the performance you want in a much smaller package than you might imagine.

Freeing yourself from a battery pack and associated wires, etc might make your everyday headlamp even more pleasant.

As just an example, the newest Petzl Pixa series runs for a very long time on just 2 AA batteries without a separate battery pack on the back of your head. You won't find that it is too heavy at all. Other lights like a zebralight would be even smaller running a single AA.

Since you sound like a bit of an electronics gadget guy, perhaps it is time for you to upgrade to the newest rechargeable AA batteries and a decent charger.

The charger that comes with the sanyo eneloop batteries and charger kit at Costco is a decent charger as long as you remember that it only charges 2 or 4 batteries at a time (not 1 or 3). With a 2xAA headlamp, this charger that comes with the kit is perfectly suitable.

 

[robostudent5000]

Yes it's the Zoom.
Like I said I love the simplicity of it, but not the weight.
My plan at the moment is to remove the battery holder and mount a tape measure clip for my belt and lengthen the wire. Then upgrade the bulb buy new batteries and a new charger. Waste not want not. Hoping to find a battery solution which might work with Ecig's. Multiple batteries and chargers drive me nutz.

Thanks again
Mike

i've seen guys transplant Mag Xenon bulbs into screw bases and use them in Zooms. if you can put a 5 Cell Mag Xenon bulb into a screw base, you should be able to run your 7.2 volt batteries through that and get a lot of light. i don't know how much extra heat the Zoom can handle, but i would think that that would be okay... right?

 

[rebar]

Thanks again. My 7.2 packs are only 1100 mAh. So I think using the original zoom AA 3.6v battery holder would be best. Guys, Im adamant about the remote pack. It will give me the lightest head weight. I wear this thing for hours on end.

It looks like the 2 watt petzl halogen might be my best bet. That powered by sanyo 2700's or Eneloop AA's and good charger.

Sound like the ticket?

 

[rebar]

Thanks to the info and suggestions on this forum, I have modified my Petzl zoom to a remote battery pack which clips to my belt. Total cost of $6.00 for the 2 watt halogen. It took me a few hours, but was well worth it since the head weight is no more than a ball cap. The wire runs down my back and could be concealed under my cloths if I was concerned about hooking something. No switch and adjustable flood to throw.

Thanks again!
Mike

 

[Howecollc]

Good to hear.
I'm curious to know how much of an improvement you found the 2 watt halogen bulb to be over the original.

 

[rebar]

I just now received the Halogen bulb. Its been a long time since I had the stock bulb so I cant compare to that. But compared to the KR 4.8v 0.5Amp bulb designed for 4 cells.. It is much brighter. I'm very satisfied, and allot of that comes from the time I spent modifying it and the fact I didn't add anything to the landfill.

Use it up.. Wear it out.. make it do.. Or do without.

 

[VBurd2128]

I have just been getting into home-improvements and the headlamp is critical - especially when your wife wont hold the flashlight and your 6 month old daughter just eats it. That being said, just go to your local Home Depot and spend $4 on a new one.

 

[robostudent5000]

I have just been getting into home-improvements and the headlamp is critical - especially when your wife wont hold the flashlight and your 6 month old daughter just eats it. That being said, just go to your local Home Depot and spend $4 on a new one.

is there a $4 headlamp at Home Depot that meets all of rebar's criteria? if there is, i'd be interested.