# 100W halogen torch to 35W HID mod



## rapt (Mar 24, 2006)

*Home made HID torch.*


I decided to build a hid torch because the ones on the marker here were way overpriced. I am an importer of leds and Lasers so I decided to import the Hid bulb and ballast from a manufacture as a sample. 


I should have just got a second hand one because there are allot of people who take their HID units out of their cars when one of the bulbs stop working, These sell for about $48USD

Cost 
5,000,000 canldle power torch (100W halogen H3) $12.5 USD
35W Hid bulb H3 (6000k) and ballast $90 USD including shipping from China

The torch was on special. It came with a carry strap, ac charger and a dc 12v charger. 
It runs of 2x 6v 4Ah batteries 


How to build your HID torch

The Torch









The Kit.







The bulb in the torch was already a H3 bulb so it just un-clipped and the new bulb clipped right in.










The Balast was too big to mount inside the torch so it had to be mounted on the out side, 2 holes had to be dirlled in the side for the cables to go in to the torch. These holes were large because I did not want to cut the High voltage connectors off the leads. Small holes were also made so the ballast could bolt on the side. 










 
As you can see the plastic that keeps the batterys in place had to be trimmed to make way for the cables to come through. 

After the ballast is bolted on to the side of the torch and the cables inserted in the holes the batterys can be put back in. 

The power cables were too long so I decided to chop them in half and put new spade connectors on them. 






Final assembly: . Before plugging the Ballast in to the power check the battery’s with a multimeter to make sure it is off. You don’t want to get zapped by 22,000V.
Coil the cables around so they are not in the way and cable tie in place. 

That’s it.






Time to test it. 

Hid bulbs are supposed to be about 3x brighter than standard bulbs so 3 *35 =105 equivalent. The standard bulb was a 100W bulb but because of the colours temperature it looks brighter and the beam is visible in mid air. 


The focus is still good and there is a bright spot in the middle with a bit of side spill. I used it for about ½ an hour and the batterys went flat. I will have to charge it up fully and do some more testing.


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## Delvance (Mar 24, 2006)

W00 good job Rapt!

Very cool and probably at a neat price too. I might have to build one of these sometime soon.
:goodjob:


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## fleshlite (Mar 24, 2006)

Hey Rapt,
Looks good, how about adding the HID kit to your Web site so we can buy it too. If you can get it in quantities it would be cheaper and we can also get a break on it.


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## rapt (Mar 24, 2006)

Hello. Yes I have thought about selling them but it would not work out cheaper even if I did a deal for candlepower forum members. I can get the kits for $130USD each minium of 20 kits. Then shipping would be about $200-300USD

Total $2600 for 20 kits. It would work about $140 USD per kit. 

Deide that by 2 if you just wanted 1/2 of the kit $70USD plus shipping from New Zealand to USA. $30USD Total would be $100USD for one bulb and balast. 

There are a couple more things that would not make it worth while for me, $2600 USD is allot of money even for my buisness. The exchange rate here is not very good at the moment. Goods comming in to New Zealand are charged an importers tax. (12.5%) depending on if the value is over $300 USD. Unless you undervalue them for customs  

Check out the prices on e-bay I think you could get a better deal on there. Like going halves with some one with this kit
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-H1-H3-H4-H7-9004-9006-9007_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQitemZ8048973018QQrdZ1

or you can buy single kits for motorbikes off there as well.


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## KevinL (Mar 25, 2006)

*WOW*.. nice light!!

I have the exact same spotlight and all I did was rebuild the internal electricals with higher-gauge lines, higher capacity battery and 100W bulb, nothing compared to what you've done. This might still be the cheapest HID ever.

Thank you for sharing your info on where to obtain them


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## jtice (Mar 25, 2006)

Great mod, hell of an improvement huh? 

Here is a place I am thinking of getting a few HID kits from,
one for my ATV, and another, well, you know, just to play with 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...=8038797231&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

They have a ton of different bulb base types,
and you can even choose your color temp!

~John


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## KevinL (Mar 27, 2006)

Just bought one of these, but I only need one bulb. If anybody else wants to call dibs on the second H3 bulb and ballast, drop me a note.

Edited: References to $90 are incorrect, I made a mistake in calculating the price.


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## rapt (Mar 27, 2006)

KevinL said:


> Just bought one of these, but I only need one bulb. If anybody else wants to call dibs on the second H3 bulb and ballast, drop me a note. $90 plus shipping to wherever you are.


 
Good luck selling the bulb. What sort of torch are you going to put it in? Be sure to post some pics on here when you have done the conversion.


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## KevinL (Mar 27, 2006)

rapt said:


> Good luck selling the bulb. What sort of torch are you going to put it in? Be sure to post some pics on here when you have done the conversion.



Same as yours, actually  

I already have one of those spotlights, they are quite affordable and available locally since they weigh a ton and are not cost-effective to ship. My current one has an Osram 64625 100W (3000 lumen) bulb installed, it's very nice, but heats up way too quickly for practical use especially in the plastic housing. Thought I'd try your mod trick for more runtime, less heat, and similar amounts of light. 

Thanks again for sharing your discovery with us. These threads are truly the best of CPF :bow: :bow:


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## jtice (Mar 30, 2006)

These setups are alot cheaper than the ones I was looking at,
but its a shame they dont have them in the 9145 bulb base I need 

Great projects guys !
Finding good hots is always my hardest part.

~John


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## Bushman5 (Sep 13, 2007)

could one subsitute a PIAA H3 SuperWhite (150 Watts) instead of the 100w?

EDIT: never mind, i thought you were using the H3 100w bulb with the ballast....i just noticed the HID bulb requirement...


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## LuxLuthor (Sep 13, 2007)

Great mod. Thanks for sharing it with us!!! :thumbsup:


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