# Thanks CPF! NEW 200W HID!!!



## big4x4 (Feb 11, 2010)

Hi Everybody, 
Just Wanted to say thanks for all of the ideas and about building your own HID's. My persistence paid off and I finally located a VEC 192 twin HID! I quickly swapped out the Halogen bulbs and put in two 100W HID bulbs/ballasts supposedly made for Trains. All I can say is that it's AWESOME!!! Much, Much brighter than the 35W Stanley HID (which I love). Look at the pics below set on the same Exposure to see the difference between the two. 

The first is the Stanley 35W HID:











The second is my "Lightstorm" VEC 192 200W HID:









These are a few pics of what the light looks like:




















I really love this light. It is not a "true" 200W- that is the input power. Mfg. (conservative) rated lumens is 7000+ for each light for a total of 14000+ lumens! Bulb is 5000K color temp. I used to have a XeRay 50W (Great Light BTW, very professional piece) but I didn't much care for the 4300k yellowish color. However, it is amazing how much more useful it is over a 6000k bulb- Your eyes just pick up way more colors and detail... So I bridged the gap and went with a 5000k. On one bulb, this light was noticeably brighter and could throw a bit farther than my old XeRay, both bulbs running, it was no comparison. I plan to modify it later on with some LiPo batteries with BMS left over from my electric bike business... I am a very happy camper for now!


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## big4x4 (Feb 11, 2010)




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## cccpull (Feb 11, 2010)

Click on the 5th icon from the right on top of the message box and insert url.

BTW where did you locate the Vector 192?


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## KLowD9x (Feb 11, 2010)

I would really like to see pictures of this.

However, can you provide more information on the ballasts and bulbs that you used for this light?


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## liteitup (Feb 11, 2010)

nice. im also curious where you found the 100 watt bulbs and ballasts. have you verified the input power vs the claimed power?


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## BVH (Feb 11, 2010)

The ballast I tested that looks identical to the one here (although I don't see the power level setting pair of wires that are on the one I tested) did output better than 100 watts to the bulb. However, it was modded by the factory to do so so this one may or may not output 100 Watts.


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## liteitup (Feb 12, 2010)

thanks for the pics! where did you guys find these ballasts? havnt seen them before. look pretty nice as they have some heat sinking on them! 

Also im gonna assume this isnt just any regular automotive bulb?


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## KartRacer31 (Feb 12, 2010)

Awesome build! Congrats big4x4, you built a hyper-light!


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## kramer5150 (Feb 12, 2010)

Thats a GREAT looking build!! 5000K is a great color temp IMHO. No where near as blue as the more typical HIDs (6-8k), yet still much more white than a standard halogen lamp.

Are you running that beast off a 12V SLA? How are the run times?

thanks for sharing


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## sqchram (Feb 12, 2010)

Holy wow!

Build me one?


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## big4x4 (Feb 12, 2010)

Thanks for the responses. I can't even tell you where I got it from. I emailed so many people and waited for someone to email me back if they had 100W HID bulb/ballasts. A few people had 100W HID's- I then asked for pics, and then settled on the ones that looked the most robust in my opinion. Do NOT get duped like I did and pay $80 or so for a "slim" 100W It doesn't exist!!! If it sounds to good to be true, it is! A good 100W system will probably run at least 4x the price of common 50W Chinese HID bulb/ballast. At least that is what I roughly observed. 

Also, if anyone does want to do a project with this light, you will find that buying a 10 pack of 5/8 inch hose washers from the plumbing section in home depot will come in handy for an H3 type HID bulb. Use three washers on each side, and the focus will be nearly perfect and the bulb will be nice and snug.


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## cccpull (Feb 12, 2010)

How do those rubber washers handle the heat?


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## 276 (Feb 12, 2010)

That's awesome!


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## Parker VH (Feb 12, 2010)

Big 4x4, How far away is the fence that your lights are aimed at in the beamshots?


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## liteitup (Feb 12, 2010)

ohhh come on you gotta remember where you picked these up, keep us from being duped  i want to grab one and do some tweaking on it like i did with the 55 watt ballasts. ive had the 55 watt ballasts up to 90 watts but they just arnt designed to handle that much heat for prolonged running.


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## andyw513 (Feb 12, 2010)

Niiiice.


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## andromeda.73 (Feb 14, 2010)

good Job! very impressive!


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## Mr. Tone (Feb 14, 2010)

Wow, that's bad to the bone! Thanks for the pics!


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## SirJMD (Feb 14, 2010)

What type of batteries are you using ?


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## stollman (Feb 15, 2010)

I think this is the spec on the Ballast:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/260031868/Super_70W_80W_xenon_HID_conversion.html


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## liteitup (Feb 15, 2010)

i wonder if they are using bulbs that can handle the 80 watts output... or are they the same bulb thats shipped with everyother china kit?


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## liteitup (Feb 15, 2010)

stollman said:


> I think this is the spec on the Ballast:
> http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/260031868/Super_70W_80W_xenon_HID_conversion.html



good find! thanks


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## big4x4 (Feb 16, 2010)

Hello All! That picture seems plausible- BUT... Do not believe everything you see on Alibaba!!! I have a business selling high end electric bikes (Hi-Power Cycles). I was directly involved in the design of a new patented geared hub motor about a year ago. I took a few photos of the product to put on the website. Low and behold, a few weeks later, I found our new motor selling from some Chinese company on Alibaba for literally half of the cost it took to manufacture. The kicker was the photo they used I literally took a month earlier on a bar stool next to an ATV in my own garage! When I looked at the picture for that hub motor, I thought I recognized my garage, and my ATV... I just had to laugh out loud. What crooks there are in this world!

On a side note, The brand of the bulb and ballast according to the box it came in is "Winsun." It is a quality product and I am more than happy with the results!


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## Dioni (Feb 16, 2010)




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## SmurfTacular (Feb 18, 2010)

That is one crazy flashlight. How much did that cost you?


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## Flashanator (Feb 19, 2010)

I was gonna do something similar like this If I got two of Lip's [email protected] ballasts.

big4x4 where you Located?


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## big4x4 (Feb 22, 2010)

Hi guys,
I live in Los Angeles, CA. Total cost was somewhere around $500. I will add some more pics of the throw later...


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## Kestrel (Feb 23, 2010)

That's just amazing. :huh:

More beamshots please.


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## Apollo Cree (Feb 23, 2010)

Now that's what I call FLASHLIGHT PORN!!!!


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## richardcpf (Feb 23, 2010)

Wow... Seems like you could fit a high capacity SLA in there to achieve at least 1 hour runtime.

Where you got the 100w hids? link?


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## NORCAL HUNTER (Feb 24, 2010)

Wow!! very nice


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## petrev (Mar 17, 2010)

Hi

VEC192 for sale on TheBay 

5 available . . . 4 available . . . ? ? ? ?
:devil:

*big4x4 *if you have any more info/links for your ballast supplier then please PM . . .

Cheers
Pete


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## XeRay (Mar 17, 2010)

Based on the Alibaba link (Provided on the previous page of this thread) per the specs it is only 83% efficient, with 16 watts to get rid of in the way of heat out through the case. That may not sound like a lot but it is a lot of heat for that case. It could use more or larger heatsink fins if it has no active cooling (airflow).

96 watts in 80 watts out. That's double what it could be (88-90 input watts) if it were more efficient. The ballast would likely be 50% more expensive though to gain 7-8% efficiency. As long as the ballast aluminum case can be kept around 75C or less and 80C max you should be ok for dependability.

It would have been a BIG mistake to place that (those) ballast(s) inside the light housing without some active cooling.


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## Arnulf (Mar 17, 2010)

petrev said:


> Hi
> 
> VEC192 for sale on TheBay
> 
> ...



$79 +$31 shipping priority mail.:thumbsdow
Save yourself some money...you can find a much lower priced spotlight to convert to HID......or just buy the Sunforce for $89 free shipping.


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## Juggernaut (Mar 17, 2010)

richardcpf said:


> Wow... Seems like you could fit a high capacity SLA in there to achieve at least 1 hour runtime.
> 
> Where you got the 100w hids? link?


 
I don’t know about SLA with one hour of run time, there’s no way he could fit a 18Ah SLA in their and even if he could that would weigh 18 pounds. Besides that there are no other SLA options.


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## stollman (Mar 17, 2010)

I purchased (2) of these ballasts from a source in China for my Vec192 conversion project. I'll be posting more info on the ballasts in a new thread sometime this weekend for those who have an interest in them. The manufacturer advised at 14.8v input from the battery, they put out about 80 watts. I was going to conduct a ballast test myself based on BVH's "how to" thread, but the high voltage exposure scared me off. I did a 30 minute continual run test on the ballast in a 71 degree environment using a 12v power supply, and the ballast reached a temperature of about 130 degrees. I plan to mount them on the side of the light, but install spacers in between the ballasts and host to allow better air flow. As Xeray pointed out, you would not want to mount these internally. I would say these ballasts are no where near the quality of Xevision's.


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## stollman (Mar 17, 2010)

Regarding the 12V, 100W Ballast, I got a 15 minute run time using (1) 12V, 7ah SLA to run (1) ballast. I did the test twice, and they both came out the same. The ballast is rated 10-18v.


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## SmurfTacular (Mar 17, 2010)

stollman said:


> I think this is the spec on the Ballast:
> http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/260031868/Super_70W_80W_xenon_HID_conversion.html



 
does anyone know if this is totally legit? The site seems pretty shady (no pun intended)


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## petrev (Mar 18, 2010)

stollman said:


> Regarding the 12V, 100W Ballast, I got a 15 minute run time using (1) 12V, 7ah SLA to run (1) ballast. I did the test twice, and they both came out the same. The ballast is rated 10-18v.


 
Thanks stollman - looking forward to full info . . .


ps. There is plenty of room for lithium power packs (3) see HERE


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## Haz (Mar 18, 2010)

That's an amazing beamshot!, is it difficult to build this?


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## troller_cpf (Mar 30, 2010)

what's the lamp base? H7, H3 or H4?

thanks!


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## Misan (Apr 3, 2010)

Wow  It's the monster, no - super-projector! :twothumbs


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## XRAYBoY (Apr 3, 2010)

I can only bow down in front of that wonder :bow:


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## big4x4 (Apr 14, 2010)

Some more pics- this time between a tactical HID 35W and the 200W monster.

First up, the tactical HID 35W light pointed at a group of houses .85 miles up the road. It almost looks like part of the house was slightly lit, but it was NOT visible to the eye. This light has a smooth reflector...







And a crop of the same image-






Second up is the 200W HID, All 3 houses were CLEARLY visible by the naked eye, the difference was quite profound in person. 






A crop of the same image-


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 14, 2010)

WOW, that is just incredible.

Where can I buy mine?


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## Dioni (Apr 14, 2010)

Wow.. f*** 

It has almost the power of the sun!


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## windstrings (May 8, 2010)

have to figure out a way to get much more than 15min runtime if its gonna be usable.


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## Bill Idaho (May 8, 2010)

In my best Forrest Gump voice ---" I'm not a smart man...." That being said, I am very new here, and have a vested interest in getting something suitable for my VSS-3 (as I have mentioned in several other threads).
Now, in regards to this: Am I correct in reading you have taken two 100 watt HID bulbs, for a total of 200 watts? Like I said, I have never proclaimed to be very smart, but does adding two bulbs of 100 watts each in the same beam produce the same amount of light (lumens?) as one 200 watt bulb? 
From what I am gathering in my infant stage of illumination knowledge, I am thinking this setup might be the way to go for my VSS-3 conversion. Since in my ignorance I do not know the diameter of your reflector, can I figure the size of the reflector will also greatly affect the "throw"? My reflector is about 14 inches in diameter, would my VSS-3 would cast a similar beam using those components? What about the receptacle for the bulb? 
I hate being new and stupid. 
The more I learn ,the less I know.


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## windstrings (May 8, 2010)

I guess thats all a matter of how efficiently you can produce 200W...

Issues also of course being whether 200W is to the bulb and 100W to the bulb respectively too verses burning up 200W but much of it burning as heat.

Another issue is surface temp of the bulb.

200W applied to a bulb thats made for much less can produce hotter surface temp "and brightness" than hitting a bulb made for that wattage at the sacrifice of lessening bulb life.

Also an issue of how efficient the reflector is at reflecting the light from two bulbs verses two totally independent reflectors "made of one bulb each, reflecting light from one bulb each".

My guess is there will be some efficiency issues in areas when combining two lights into one case.......

But even at that.. . still cool if you can get it all into one hand and not have to carry two lights!

As long as the heat doesn't damage something and the battery has enough runtime, I don't suppose it matters.... final lumens out the front is all that matters in my book as long as the other specs "runtime, longevity etc" are reasonable.


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## IlluminatedOne (Jun 3, 2010)

That's a great mod, the light that thing puts out it amazing. I think i am going to have to build one of those in the future when i have the funds.


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## Painful Chafe (Jun 12, 2010)

big4x4 said:


> Hi guys,
> I live in Los Angeles, CA. Total cost was somewhere around $500. I will add some more pics of the throw later...



Have you thought about starting a little side business selling these? How long would it take you to put one together?


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