Found some other new and cool stuff at our local Dollarama store this past week. ( my favorite dollar store chain by far!
-One of them was these $ 2 dollar LED light bulbs powered by three AAA cells. I picked up half a dozen for camping trips and power outages because i knew i could mod these to more useful lights.
They are close to the size of a standard Incandescent bulb, powered by three AAA cells, and the bulb is turned off or on by pulling the hanging cord.
First tests with the horrible zombie blue tinted 5mm CED that many ultra-budget lights come with (Crap emitting Diode) the output was a dim, zombie grey tint, with 0.14 amp draw from the three AAA cells in series through a resistor. I quickly modded them to one of the Warm White Luxeon Bead LEDs, and a new 47 ohm 1/4 watt resistor, and the light output more than doubled, (close to a 15-watt 120v Incan) with a much, much better tint close to an actual Incandescent, and the amp load on the cells dropped to 0.10 amps. I test ran one on three AAA Ladda NiMH cells and it ran for 14 hours continuous to roughly 50 % charge. (giving 3 - 4 days of usage(4 hours per night) while camping or power outages per charge of the cells.)
These are handy as the cord can be used to hang the bulbs from tree limbs, in tents, etc. and hang from house fixtures, doors, etc. during power outages, and the light is transmitted in all directions ( versus either only down or from the sides with flashlights or traditional lanterns.)
I am thinking of modding one with four 18650, ( by using a wire instead of the rope and connecting the battery pack on the end) and using an XM-L2 Warm White LED in the bulb with a 3-Mode driver. (High/Med/Low) for a more powerful bulb equal to a 40-watt Incan.
- Below showing the bulbs as bought:
- Below showing the modification from the crappy 5mm LED to the Luxeon wide-angle Warm White LED:
- Here below, the modified Bulb on the left showing the output & tint improvement, (while drawing less amps from the cells!) than the original stock 5mm zombie CED:
Actually the ones I’m using are clones of originals made by Luxeon, and suprisingly good LEDs. (Great tint, wide emitting angle, quite efficient, etc.) At a cost or roughly 10 bucks for 50 of them.
I have used many of these in modded lanterns, flashlights, work lights, etc.
With the 18650 cells pack on the end of the cord, i woudl have lots of room inside the socket holder to put a large block of copper, or even a finned NorthBridge Chip heatsink from a computer, that would take care of the head from the emitter. ( also i woudl not drive the XM-L with no more than 1 amp, (using a 3-7135 AK47A driver) to keep the XM-L within its most efficient range for output versus run times. (same as what i did with the Coleman Gas lantern modules i built.
Can you pzl tell me can i use these led bulbs in toys. In these days i am working of a electronic toy an want to add some led lights on it. Led Strip Lights is also available in low prices.
