# New Lease on Life for LarryK14



## BVH (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks to JimmyM's X1 Regulator Board, I was able to breathe some new life into my LarryK14. Read about the board here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...e-Order-JM-PhD-X1-PWM-Lantern-Regulator/page2

With the original 4500 mah, Sub-C Nimh pack, the best I ever got was about 7 minutes run time until the spot was noticeably yellow. Worse, whenever I went to use it (somewhat infrequently), the Nimh's had self discharged more than 3 or 4 Volts, which is a ton for this light. I modded in a couple of GensAce 6S/5300 mah unprotected Prismatic Lipo packs in Series giving me about 50 Volts to the regulator. But, in essence, they are protected packs for the following reasons:

1. Jimmys board has many user programmable settings, Low Voltage Cutoff being one of them. I programmed LVC to occur at 43 volts - 3.58 Volts per cell. So the packs are protected from over discharge. 

2. I parallel and balance charge both packs to 4.15 Volts per cell using my CellPro PL8 and 2 safe parallel and balancing charging boards, just about the safest hobby charger there is. So the packs are protected from over-charging and cell imbalance.

3. The GensAce packs are rated at 30C continuous and 60C burst. The current draw at 29.8 volts is just under 22 Amps, so the packs are coasting at about 4.2C. Hense, the packs are protected from over-current. 

At 43 Volts LVC, the board switches into a programmed 10_second, 14.75 Volt dimming mode and then shuts down power.

I can set up to 5 different Voltages to the bulb (these are obtained by successive pushes of the momentary "On" switch. I set level 1 to 29.8 Volts, Level 2 to 28 volts, Level 3 to 26.5 Volts and Level 4 back to 29.8 Volts. I chose not to use Level 5. Running at Level 1, I get 18 minutes of run time and power to the bulb is 650 Watts. The bulb never dims like it used to because it's in full regulation until the 10-second dimming mode kicks in. (If you look close at one for the frontal shots, you can see where the backing that the bulb sits on, started to melt at approximately 17 minutes - before I noticed it).

I used Deans Wet Noodle 12 awg wire throughout. In my 18-minute test drawing about 22 Amps, it reached about 90 degrees F about 1" from the bulb terminal. Granted, it will be used in a closed environment but I will never run it 18 minutes continuous. Probably 3-5 minute bursts.

Some pics:


Lots of Dremel grinding on the plastic case ribbing to make a nice little snug nest for the batteries. I had to be careful not to go too far otherwise, the batteries would end up being loose in their nest.







More grinding......






Left side Battery, regulator board, Power switch - in back of handle (Power to the board, not the lamp) and On/Level/Off switch (Blue button).






Right side Battery in case.






The original fuse holder stuck too far into the case, interfering with the new, longer packs so I had to basically chop it off (but carefully, so it would still look normal from the outside). I didn't want to do a Mickey-patch on the plastic.






New Power switch and the original plastic bezel that came with the light and was used as a charging port, IIRC. I ground it down so that my slide switch could be used in this position. Since the bolt patterns were not the same, I had to add a metal tab to provide a wedged fit inside the case behind a molded in tang. This switch was optional. It makes and breaks a 3 ma current used by the electronics to stay in sleep mode. I didn't want the draw (self discharge over a long period of time).






Switch and bezel assembly.






Switch/bezel assembly mounted in back of handle.






The front end of the light. Small red wire provides + Voltage (up to 70 Volts) to the board.






I was concerned about heat from this Hot Boy bulb being within 1" of the Lipo packs and the regulator board. I finally stumbled upon a UL listed fire blanket manufactured for carrying your baby/small child out of a burning building. It is nice and pliable but has a super tight knit. I had a tough time just getting a sharp Awe thru it to thread the wires. The back of the bulb was about 275 F degrees after my 18 minute run. I put the blanket up next to it (not touching) and it blocked pretty much all the heat.






If one layer of heat protection is good, two must be better, right?






The back end with fuse and holder installed, connections almost made and Lipo balancing connectors. The fuse holder conveniently wedges tightly down into the rear cavity of the light's rear positioning legs. Obviously, all the Anderson Power Pole connectors are color-coded so I don't get confused when charging and re-connection them all - Well, I certainly hope I don't make a mistake!






Finished top view.






Finished side view. It still looks just about how it looked when it arrived from Harbor freight as a $19.95 special!


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## Throwjunkie (Apr 3, 2011)

Good Stuff Man I guess this light is no longer sold by HF? How was the output on this one rated 600W 14k lumen if true had to be insanely bright.


Joe


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## JimmyM (Apr 3, 2011)

Nice build, Bob. Will we get outdoor beamshots? Maybe a beamshot video?
I'm really pleased it's working out so well for you.


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## BVH (Apr 3, 2011)

Yes, I will do some beam shots with it, and maybe some other lights. I need to scout around for a good place.

If anyone's interested, parts costs were about $345 for this mod, not counting the host & bulb. If any other LarryK14 owners are interested, I'd do another mod or two for them.

EDIT: 1/27/13 Cost for a new build is close to $550. Batteries have gone up quite a bit. And that particular host is nowhere to be found.


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## Patriot (Apr 5, 2011)

Beautiful work as always Bob! I always appreciate your attention to detail and imagine that you enjoyed yourself while finding solutions to the heat problem. Really great find on the fire blanket material. Looks like it really did the trick. Hard to believe now, in light of Lipo, that we were limited to Sub C's at one time. Fantastic upgrade buddy!


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## JimmyM (Apr 5, 2011)

Can you hear the bulb filament whine after everything is closed up?


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## BVH (Apr 6, 2011)

Jimmy, yes but the high-tech sound and setting the soft start option to "slowest" only adds to the "mistique" of this sleeper.

Thanks, Patriot!


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## BVH (Apr 12, 2011)

350 Yrds.






900 Yrds.


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## BVH (Apr 12, 2011)

Double Post


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## Jarski (Apr 12, 2011)

Wow, it really doesn't make any difference between 350 yards and 900 yards :O I'd like to have such powerful beast!


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## Walterk (Apr 12, 2011)

Massive output!


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## BVH (Jan 25, 2013)

My expensive batteries died despite having the regulator switched off eliminating the parasitic draw. Odd with Lipos having been kept near storage Voltage at 3.85 Volts per cell. Looked around for some used, but near new replacements (which had to be specifically GensAce 6S/5300 mAh short/fat style due to specific mods made to the host) and got lucky in a couple of weeks. A guy over at RC Group Forums was selling a 4-cycled pair because he was converting to a new battery size. Instead of about $250 new, shipped to my door, I got them for $180 and then sold my pair to someone who wanted to experiment with them, knowing they were completely kaput for $20 plus shipping so $160 total cost. I really, really enjoy this light with JimmyM's regulator. I set it up for 30.0 Volts on level 1, 28V on Level 2, 26.5V on Level 3, 25V on Level 4 and back to 30V on Level 5. Using Level 2 of softstart so about .5 to full power.

Cost for one of these is now about $550. Batteries have gone up quite a bit.


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## japudjuha (Jul 18, 2013)

Hey BVH,
My question is about the orange band that is around the lamp mount (between the grey host and the black crown). 


I assume there was a gap from the fitment of the Q4559X. 


What is the orange material that fills the gap?


Thanks


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## BVH (Jul 18, 2013)

It's a giant orange silicone, square-sided O-Ring. I "think" it came with the light when I originally bought it.


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## UNiT5 (Dec 1, 2013)

Is it true that the width if the q4559x is 20cm? 200 or so mm? Looking at building one of these after all the hype.  so in other words I need a host that's going to accommodate that bulb which is about 20cm in diameter/width and 10cm deep? Cheers


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## BVH (Dec 1, 2013)

8" diameter edge to edge of front glass with a 1/8" lip around circumference. I'd say it's 3 5/16" deep to accommodate the terminals


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## UNiT5 (Dec 1, 2013)

Thanks for the info. Just trying to locate a host but can't get exact dimensions on most of the products out there. So far I've got this http://m.ebay.com/itm/390640978921?cmd=VIDESC with package dimensions matching the bulbs diameter but maybe not the depth. I've messages the seller to give me exact head diameter and depth of head, but judging by the depth of the package it may not house the bulb properly...

Any idea for a link on something definite before I dig into my pocket.


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## UNiT5 (Dec 1, 2013)

Host wise


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## UNiT5 (Dec 2, 2013)

Upon further research I doubt the bulb will fit into unit from ebay...


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## BVH (Jan 12, 2014)

Larry K graciously sent me one of his last 4556, 1000 Watt Axial filament G.E. bulbs so I finally got around to fitting it to my regulated LarryK. Will take it to the range to get some pics.


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## UNiT5 (Jan 15, 2014)

always love beam shots


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## BVH (Jan 16, 2014)

OK, I stealthily grabbed these shots of the LarryK with the 1000 Watt 4556 lamp installed running regulated at 29.3 Volts. (I say stealthily because where there was once no homes, there are now 12 homes, 4 of which are occupied. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to use this area) I looked back at my other 600 Watt shots in the "Medium Iron Beamshots" thread so I would use the same camera settings. They were 5 seconds @ F3.5. and the lamp was running at 30.0 Volts. I used the same settings tonight but the images look well over-exposed because this is not what I saw and the sky shows up whereas it was completely dark when I took them. Same camera settings, same location so not sure why this happened. The 1000 Watt is not a Halogen lamp so I expected a warmer color temp but again, this is warmer than what I saw. I'll go back tomorrow night and take some at 4 seconds and 3 seconds to post what I actually saw. Sorry for the dirty camera lens. But I will say that I could very easily spot a human at 500 - 600 Yards. This thing is one heck of a search n rescue tool! That is, if you only need about 3 minutes of light between runs to keep from melting the bezel. Overall run time at 1000 Watts is 10 minutes to 3.5 Volts per cell shut-down resulting is a resting per cell Voltage of 3.7. I put 4.1 Ah back into the battery so it's a perfect discharge to 80%.

350 Yards:






Here's the old 600 shot at the same 350 Yards:








500 Yards:


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## UNiT5 (Jan 17, 2014)

i see wheat? and plenty of light haha. nice nice!


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## BVH (Jul 15, 2014)

I've put together most everything to make another one of these regulated LarryK14's but I think 1 is enough for me. If you want to build one, look in the CPF B/S/T sub forum for the "Kit".


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## kuna (Aug 31, 2014)

Always loved these Larryk14 monster spotlights, they're not much different than the 1kW DCB 224 used in modern lighthouses. I was surprised at the difference in beam divergence using the 1000 vs 600W lamp; the 1000w bulb is much floodier, not too surprisingly tho. also the color temp looks a little different too, but I know that's probably due to the camera. What would you estimate the candela is on one of these?(600w or 1000w)


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## japudjuha (Sep 1, 2014)

The Q4559X 600watt is rated at 765000 cd on the GE website. This would be running at the rated 28 volts. 


Most of us (I believe) are running them at up to 30 volts. 
That means they are over driven by about 15% to roughly 650w and 880000 cd (maybe more). 
Even at 28v they will change the way you look at your lights. 
I find myself looking at new torches and going "only 5000 lumens!?! Haha. Definitely worth the build ;-)

EDIT: I recently measured my Q4559X LarryK , 1.09Million Cd at 1Meter (@30v)


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## kuna (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks for the info, and yup, that can be a problem when you have a light like the Larryk14. Suddenly a thousand lumens is not so bright anymore. That is one reason why I don't have a light like the Lk14 lol


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## BVH (Sep 1, 2014)

Yeah, having had a WWII 60" Carbon Arc kinda spoils everything else at times.


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## Onestep (Sep 3, 2014)

Until you hear something rustling around in the dark outside the house.


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