Advice on hunting lamp modification please

Predatorx247

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Hi all.
To start - Please excuse my lack of forum and electrical knowledge.

What im trying to achieve is to run my blitz lightforce 170 lamp using 18v 5ah dewalt xr lithium batteries
It is currently running on a 12v 17ah sealed lead acid battery with a 12v 100w osram 62138 hlx bulb (i believe the fitment is a g6.35) and i am trying to reduce the size and weight of the battery.
I already have the dewalt batteries as i have dewalt batteries for my job.
My plan is to take an old drill (because it already connects straight to the battery) cut off the motor, gearbox etc and wire a 12v socket to it. My lamp already has a 12v plug connected.
The only trouble is that my battery is 18v and bulb 12v
I have found a phillipss 17v 95w g6.35 but for around £18 which i thought was pricey.
I have read that it is possible to run a 12v bulb using 18v supply but lifespan will be dramatically decreased.

The questions i need answers for are
Can anyone suggest a bulb for my needs? At least 100w?
Would the above mentioned phillips one be ok?
Would the standard 12v one be ok?
Do you have any other suggestions?

Ive considered reducing the voltage down to 12v with a resistor type thing but am told that i will lose 40% of the battery tuntime through energy to heat transfer?

Any solid advice will be greatly appreciated.

TIA.
 

FRITZHID

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Yes you can use that Phillips 17v bulb.
12v bulb might work for a little bit but I wouldn't count on it.
Yes, using a resistor will just waste power as heat.... You could find a dc-dc converter however and just wire that in between the battery terminals and the 12v socket.
 

Predatorx247

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Update on progress.

Dismantled drill, cut wires from motor.
Just pushed wires into lamp connections for test.
Connected battery, turned lamp on and pulled trigger.
Lamp worked but blew bulb as soon as i pulled trigger all way in.

Any thoughts or suggestions ?
 

Predatorx247

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Was wondering if anyone knows if led would be any good.
Trying to avoid paying 18 quid just to maybe blow the 17v philips bulb.
Or maybe even a 24v halogen bulb if its rated as higher watts?
 

alpg88

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if lifespan of the bulb is not an issue you can use 12v 90w 64458 bulb.
it is rated 12v, 90w but it can be over driven, to up to 200w, i personally use it in maglite build, that is powered by 5 li ion cells, around 20v. bulbs takes it like a champ. at 18v you should get about 30 hours, and 7000lumens,
there is a destructive test thread in incandescent forum, many bulbs tested in regards to overdrive, after experimenting with few bulbs i ended up using 64458.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...lb-Tests-Updated-8-27-2010-(Newer-Info-Added)
 
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Predatorx247

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Thanks for thst.
Lifespan is only an issue if the bulbs are expensive.
Do you have an estimated lifespan on your suggested bulb with my setup?
Best place to buy?

I read somewhere that a fully charged 18v li-ion battery is actually more like 22v until it used some power. Any idea if this is true?

Also, the "trigger" on the drill when its being used as a drill gives it variable speed. Do you think this might affect anything?
 
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alpg88

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18v lithium pack has 5 cells in series, fully charged they 21v. i use it with 5 cells, no soft start, no bulbs flashed yet.

lifespan is in the table i linked, at 21v it is about 4 hours, at 18-about 30. the lamp takes about 10A, the trigger wont affect anything but brightness, it can actually come in handy, if you are afraid to flash a bulb, do not press all the way first few min, let batteries drain a bit, so they drop a bit voltage at first. but i think you will be fine even without it, trigger will add a bit of resistance, and drop voltage, so the bulb will prbly never see 21v at any time.
in usa i get those bulbs for around $8. on ebay some sell it for 20-30 bucks each (crazy), others for less, just now i saw someone selling 40 bulbs for $80, $2 per bulb is very good price, but you have to get 40. just look for them on ebay, you can find them relatively cheap.
you can use other bulbs, with voltage regulator, to drop 18v to 12v, tons of them sold on ebay, you need one at least capable of 150w. but imo ,it is unnecessary complicates things.
you can do resistor too, but you'll need big resistor, 100w to be safe, however resistors turn power into heat, you will be wasting lots of charge. voltage regulators do not waste nearly as much power,
 
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Predatorx247

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Thanks for your help. I looked at the link. Very good info. Will be ordering 64458 as soon as i find some decent prices.
The only downside will be the runtime of the battery with high amps but i can deal with that. And i will definately keep the trigger to use on lower voltage to start with.
Thanks again.
Will post some pics of finished product.
 

Predatorx247

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Do you happen to know if the drill i am using would already have a voltage regulator and if it does would it be set to 18v? Ive no idea what they look like.
 

alpg88

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is your lamp\glass plactic? if so, do not order those bulbs, they burn mad hot, they may melt your light.
 

Predatorx247

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Think i will go for the 64440 anyway with longer battery runtie, lower temp. Less lumens but brightness was never as issue
 

Predatorx247

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Ordered some 64440's yesterday so will update when they arrive.

I was just wondering if anyone knows if it would be possible to convert to LED.
Originally i had planned to make a simple job of this but now that ive started i want to try and create something that is better than what i already had with regards to energy efficiency, practicality and of course light output.

The way i understand it is that LEDs would give me a much greater runtime from the battery, but i dont know if they are suitavle for long distance lighting. Im not sure what the standard range is on the lamp in its standard form but i would like to achieve a spot distance of around 250m if at all possible.

Is it possible to get hold of dimmable LEDs as i want to keep the variable speed trigger in place.

Is it possible to overdrive LEDs too like mentioned with the haligens above. Im pretty sure 18v would be hard to source.

If ive got my estimations cotrect then i think i would need something like an 18v 20w LED?
 
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FRITZHID

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Well, going to LED isn't like just swapping a bulb out. You'd need to install a LED driver compatible with your voltages, you'd need to add a heatsink to dissipate the LEDs heat.
It prob be easier to do away with the variable trigger switch or you might have to build a custom driver.
 

Predatorx247

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Ok thanks. That all sounds a bit too complicated for me. I will stick to halogen for now and see how it works out.
 

Predatorx247

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Thanks for all your help.

Lamp finally finished with the help of some friends for wiring and making a nylon fitment to secure the lamp to the handle.

Works using a 12v 64440 bulb and 18v battery.
Decent spot at 100 yards.
Brighter than the old setup and easier to use!

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