# Not even sure what to call it.. roar of the PVC?(updated now 14cell +pics)



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

so I was wondering around in the hardware store.... and starting looking at PVC parts- started fiddling with how different pieces could be fit together, different adapters, fittings, caps... and came up with a neat way to make a very bizzare flashlight.....

I'm sure someone here has already done something similar, but I had to give it a try.... here's what happens when 12 AA NIMH cells are stacked end to end in a piece of 0.5" PVC- a 20W GE edison MR16, and a toggle switch...

I give you, the _________________ (not sure yet, need to think of a name)














that is a 3D maglight and a 4 cell ultrafire tactical light on the chair with it... here's some comparison beam shots...






I'd say it's in the ballpark of 200 lumens... in actual use it appears brighter than the P91... but in the beamshots it doesn't so much...

It's being driven at 14.6V on rested(several days) NIMH cells, ~1.7A.... So it's being driven to about 25 watts right now.. I'm not sure how much more room there is on this thing.. the lamp is rated for 3000 hours, so 14.6V should be very safe- maybe someone with more bulb knowledge could throw me some rerating formula for bulb life at this voltage...

I'm using Tenergy 2600mah AAs in this thing- I've run some side by side comparisons on them with Energizer 2500 (sanyo veriety) and they perform similarly... I am expecting well over an hour runtime here...

I used some springs I found at the hardware store in each end of the stick. soldered 14GA wire to the springs to run to the switch and to the bulb and such...

Is it durable? NO
Is it waterproof? NO!
Is it reliable? NO!!!!
Is it really cool? Heck YES!!!


----------



## Gimp_Light (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Man I was just wandering around ace hardware looking for some pvc to do the same thing.


----------



## Bradlee (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

That's a pretty nice looking light considering its composition ; a very interesting build.


----------



## big beam (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Are you sure your not a plumber :laughing:


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



> Are you sure your not a plumber


actually... I work with my step father once and awhile- his business is pool/spa repair/install.... so I have had a shot at a lot of plubming work with him, and that limited experience was enough to get me comfortable and experienced enough with these parts to know what I needed to make this work..


I was just having another idea... a similar design- with a length of ~6 feet, loaded with li-ion 14500 cells, could drive a 120V lamp, LOL...


----------



## Lunal_Tic (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

I like it. How about the Lumen Launcher, OLL (one long light), Sceptre Light, or Photon Voltaic Contraption (PVC)

-LT


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

how about the LLL (a spinoff of those ideas).. the Long Lumen Launcher.


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

i'm thinking about picking up a 50W version and running it on 14 cells... I think the voltage sag under the load will be enough to remain safe... maybe... lol...

I found this: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/95871

and i'm playing with some numbers.. the problem is that- I'm not sure if these lamps are truly rated for an even 12V, or if track lighting systems actually run a little higher than that by design-.. hmmmm....

based on 12V design voltage, and a 3000 hour rated life... these lamps should be able to run at ~16V for ~90 hours maybe....


----------



## DonShock (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

The first name that came to me when I saw the picture was Scepter. I could just picture some King in full regalia, sitting on a throne, holding this thing in their hand with the tail end sitting on the floor and a huge shaft of light shooting skyward.


----------



## coldsolderjoint (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

i need one of those to mount as a weapon light on my potato gun.


----------



## kelmo (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Its a "High Tech Tiki Torch (HT3)" or "Tiki Torch for the New Millenium!"

Or how about "Shine of Da Kine!"


----------



## FirstDsent (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Vinylite, Vinylight, Vyn-A-Lite, Litarama, Vynarama, Vinylator, Vyn-O-Matic, Plumb-Bright, DrainLite, MagPipe, PipeCharger, MaxiMag, PipeLite, PipeBeam, McPipe, Lion Pipe, Plastic Needle, USP (Ultimate Stealth Pipe), Schedule 40 light, Sch4020, Pipe20, Pipe20XL, LowesLight, HD20
PolyLite, Etc...

Bernie


----------



## MoonRise (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Couple of things/thoughts.

First, cool idea.

Next, you are not even -close- to really overdriving that bulb assembly. The GE MR16 units can handle a LOT more overdrive IMO. I'm playing with some GE Edison MR16's and pushing them to a full 18-18.5 volts at the BULB. That's not calculated voltage, or guessed voltage, that's a full 18+ volts measured at the bulb. No flashbulbs yet, but not many cycles or much runtime yet either for my experiment.

Your ballpark guess of lumens is in the right ballpark. As far as I can tell from the GE website, the 20 W MR16 bulbs are rated at 200-225 lumens at-spec. With voltage sag and resistance losses, you might be getting 300 lumens or so.

Initial rated color temp of the GE 20W MR16's all seem to be 2900K. You might have pushed the temp a little over 3000K.

Initial life, depending on exactly which GE MR16 20W bulb you have, is 2000-3000 hours. That long life is usually a clue that the bulb can stand up to some serious overdrive. My calculated bulb life for my 18V experiment is ~15 hours. 

Watch out for heat build-up. The 20W isn't that bad, but the 50W overdriven at 18V puts out a LOT of heat in that relatively small bulb/reflector assembly. I really don't think PVC is the right material for the 50W. In open air, I started to smell toasty plastic smell while running the 50W (course it -was- running at 90W) for a few minutes. And the only plastic was the wire insulation and heat-shrink!

Kudos to actually putting it all together though! Mine is still in the loose experiment stage (hey, I put a real switch in so I'm not arcing to the battery terminal anymore when I close the circuit!).

The 20W GE Edison MR16 12V overdriven to 18V goes from 200 lumens to 930 lumens(calculated). The 20W turns into 35W.

The 50W GE Edison MR16 12V overdriven to 18V goes from 750 lumens to 3100 lumens(calculated). The 50W turns into 90W.

And about the 120V version experiment? I'd serious say to skip that one. The voltage has jumped from "12V-range hobby and generally safe" to "line voltage". Not to mention all the energy contained in that many cells stacked in series, if just one cell flakes out then all the rest will reverse-charge-AND-vent-with-Flame the slacker and then likely the rest of the stack will vent as well.


----------



## underdust (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Call it "The PV-zooka".


----------



## yazzur (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

I'm new and it's my first post here and I'm trying to avoid flashaholicism, but I seem to be getting sucked in.

I assembled a similar light for an overnight canoe race that I participated in last year, but didn't actually use the light. It had a 10 watt MR-11, 12 volt, and I ended up using 10 D size alkalines to drive it. It was similar in output to an Ikelite C-8 dive light that I ended up using. I was concerned the MR-11 setup wasn't waterproof enough.

I used PVC pipe for the battery case, and mounted the MR-11 in a plastic pipe on the bow. I was looking at doing something similar for this years race, I'd like to have more light than last year, so I was thinking of one of Phillips MR16 IRC 20 watt bulbs, and driving with either 11 D size NIMH or four sets of 8 AA lithiums. It's supposed to be equal to a 35 watt light, which would be great, but I'm not sure if that will last the 8 1/2 hours I need without a really heavy batterys system.

I'm also considering a HID system, but durability and cost make me think it might not be best. I've also thought about a Sten LED light, but it has less output than my Ikelite.

Has anybody looked at the Phillips 20MRC16/IRC/SP8?

Yazzur


----------



## greenLED (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

:kewlpics:
That looks like Gandalf's staff.


----------



## zehnmm (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

How about the Vito Spatafore Pool Cue? :naughty:


----------



## Robban (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

I hope you don't take this the wrong way or are offended by this but... the very first thing that popped into my mind was "UglyStick"


----------



## loalight (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



coldsolderjoint said:


> i need one of those to mount as a weapon light on my potato gun.


hahahah, this is exactly what I thought!

I love this lil creation of yours. thanks for posting!


----------



## kelmo (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

Your on to something greenLED. We'll call it the "Shire Shiner."


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

HAHAHHHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHH

I'm seriously sitting here with the biggest grin and serious chuckling lafter going on here... You all are awsom!!! the name ideas are just hilarious!!!

FirstDsent: Awsom list of ideas..

I like McPipe, and Blumb-Bright the best!!!

Shire Shiner!! also awsom... idunno... these are all such great names... 


Moonrise: Thankyou for the detailed overview of what these lights are capable of... I'm going to go add some more cells now... I'm thinking 14 rested cells should result in about 17-17.5V at the bulb with these tenergy cells... i'll measure voltage exactly and take beam shots again tonight.. (the ~14.6V I measured before was at the bulb while running)


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

just cut a longer piece of PVC- we're now at 14 cells, 16.9V at the bulb on rested cells, with 1.88amps.... at nearly 32 watts now... it's a slight bit whiter, and noticably brighter now... I think 15 cells would work with a higher wattage lamp..


----------



## tebore (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

That's awsome. I wonder if you can use some PVC tubing that would fit D cells. That'd give you some nice run time. I wonder if PVC can support that many D cells, could snap it in half.

VERY COOL! :huh:


----------



## Ty_Bower (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



tebore said:


> ...could snap it in half.


My thinking exactly. Why not snap it in half? Make it a double barrel. Hold the halves together with duct tape or something. It ain't ever gonna be pretty anyway. With a side by side battery configuration, you won't need that long piece of lamp cord running down the length of it, either.

Of course, loading it might get trickier...


----------



## mdocod (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

the whole point was to make something silly and fun.... a 6D mag is already rediculaus in proportions... i'll have new pictures with it's added length tonight... The length makes it more fun imo...

My father in law was looking at it and had an idea that goes along with the "staff" idea...
make the same type of light- but about 6 feet long, so as to be used as a walking staff- and mount the light at a 90 degree angle at the top- 

I was just thinking... 4200MAH 4/3AF sized cells in 3/4" PVC- 16 cells long driving a 50W... maybe build the head out of metal pipe to deal with the heat.. use AWRs hotdriver to reduce the voltage to 18... maybe someday when I have some more money i'll build something like that, lol...


----------



## DonShock (Jun 8, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



mdocod said:


> the whole point was to make something silly and fun.... a 6D mag is already rediculaus in proportions... i'll have new pictures with it's added length tonight... The length makes it more fun imo...


I had the same exact thoughts, here was my solution: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=112052


----------



## mdocod (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

here's some new picts...


















definetally brighter and whiter- maybe getting into the ~400 lumen range now... conidering another cell.. not sure if I want to risk blowing the lamp..


----------



## Lunal_Tic (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

I've got it: The Uber Toober 

-LT


----------



## webley445 (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



DonShock said:


> I could just picture some King in full regalia, sitting on a throne, holding this thing in their hand with the tail end sitting on the floor and a huge shaft of light shooting skyward.


 
I see images of the burger King commercial


----------



## chesterqw (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

make it longer one!!1oneone

then, make it into a staff of light!


----------



## mdocod (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*

I'm thinking about calling it the BFP


----------



## tebore (Jun 9, 2006)

The one with you sitting down reminds me of Gandalf.


----------



## JanCPF (Jun 9, 2006)

*Re: i'm not even sure what to call it.... PVC12? lightstick? roar of the PVC?*



mdocod said:


> how about the LLL (a spinoff of those ideas).. the Long Lumen Launcher.


LOL - awesome. How about LLLL "Ludicrously Long Lumen Launcher" 

Jan


----------



## Navck (Jun 9, 2006)

If I made that thing, I'd find a clean plunger, remove the rubbery part, then attach it to the front of the light.
PlungerLight Mark 1


----------



## MoonRise (Jun 12, 2006)

Pssst,

Freshly charged batteries (three 6V 4AH SLA in series, btw), showing 20.xx V noload (6.8x V each) connected to a 50W GE Edison MR16.

No instaflash, bright white light, loaded voltage rapidly dropping down to 18.xx V.

disclaimer: a sample of one bulb does not a scientific study of the durability of the GE Edison 50W MR16 bulb make, YMMV, etc, etc, etc.


----------



## sween1911 (Jun 12, 2006)

Shotgun = Boom stick (see "Army of Darkness".... )

This PVC Tube thing = Lume Stick

Other suggestions:

The Friki (freaky + tiki) Torch
The Street Sweeper
The "Event Staff"

Awesome. Nice work. I like it!


----------



## mdocod (Jun 12, 2006)

> Freshly charged batteries (three 6V 4AH SLA in series, btw), showing 20.xx V noload (6.8x V each) connected to a 50W GE Edison MR16.
> 
> No instaflash, bright white light, loaded voltage rapidly dropping down to 18.xx V.
> -Moonrise



lol
I think you have me convinced to give it a try... I think I could probably get away with one more cell


----------



## evan9162 (Jun 13, 2006)

I also built an MR-16 light in PVC tubing (2" black tubing). I used SC cells to power it.

After about 5 minutes, the plastic started melting around the bulb, and it started smoking. I'd say for any more than a few minutes, you'll start to have melting plastic.

I later rebuilt it with 2.25" aluminium tubing.


----------



## DUQ (Aug 13, 2007)

Ahhh yet *another* mdocod monster


----------

