Thinking about a 24 volt powered light

HarryN

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Hi, starting to gather ideas for a 24 volt powered light.

Probably a hand held / spot of some kind but could even be built up inside of a box that sits on a table.

Fan cooling is assumed to be needed.

Targeting the 10 - 50 amp range.

For this project, I don't mind following someone else's lead at all. It is really just for fun to goof around with my son in law.

This will not be a "work of art" project, more of a "wood box" project.
 
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night.hoodie

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Lost City of Atlanta
What kind of cells (primary 3V lithium? secondary 3.6V Li-ion?) and how many? 8x to 10x lithium primaries gives almost exactly 24V nominally, but not for long, and maybe not at all under load. 5x to 6x 3.6V-4.2V Li-ion secondaries undershoot or overshoot 24V. The amp range does not sound too high considering the voltage target.

What kind of light source? LED? Incan? Unless voltage is matched to exactly what the LED needs, a driver (buck/boost? FET+multi-7135?) is required, and efficiency suffers. Incan lamps no longer grow on trees, but it would be more interesting IMO, and probably not require a cooling fan or a driver, if a lamp could be sourced that matches the voltage and amp target.

Sounds like fun, but maybe if it is wood it might catch on fire? Metal tube might be more fireproof.
 

HarryN

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Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
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Location
Pleasanton (Bay Area), CA, USA
The battery pack is separate and has roughly 1 kW-hr of usable capacity when delivering 50 amps @ nominal 24 volts. It is "transportable, but not really something that you carry around. (it has wheels)

I have built a few LED lights - completely from scratch, but don't really want to go that deep. I would not mind buying a light engine and optics setup if we go down the LED path. A driver would of course be needed in that path.

Incans are very interesting, but I don't have any experience with them at all, other than very traditional consumer incan flashlights (2 or 3D)

Automotive lights are all 12 volt. I wonder if marine lights are 24 volt? I should look that up. Edit - yes they are.

You are probably right that a metal tube would be good starting point for thermal related aspects. I have good access to wood working tools and have to hire out everything that is metal working - other them drilling an occasional hole.
 
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