Ceiling bounce lux figures (TK70, DRY and HIDs)

LED Flashlights – General Info Other Battery Type Flashlights
1

TK70 - 218 OTF (out the front). Sustainable for quite a while. 2200L ANSI

DRY triple XM-L direct drive, Sky Ray SR3800 drive drive - 250 OTF after 5 seconds, and very slowly sliding down

Ebay 65W with about 5300k bulb - 389 OTF (3" reflector) (takes at least 5 mins to slowly warm up to this level, initial about 330 only after 20 seconds)

Amondotech 3152 (6" reflector) 55W ballast measured at 58W input (not to the bulb) and the same 35W 4300k bulb which was provided with the light back in 2005 - 380 OTF

Sanmak SM5200 with 100W ballast (measured 98W in) with China 55W 4300k bulb - 545 OTF. This bulb is deformed though.

I think with correct wattage bulbs it would be brighter. But less throw due to longer arc length.

2

Changed out to the 100W bulb on the Sanmak SM5200(it states 100W, not 75W, but same white ceramic base), got 660 OTF (previous was 55W bulb - overdriven). WOW! That's approx 6600 lumens OTF from just a 12V 5.5AH SLA. At the bulb is like 8.2k lumens? As expected the longer arc length increases efficiency somewhat.

With a 12V 7AH battery, output is 681. That's about 3% more than the 5.5AH battery. I guess factors like more sag are major factors. But still it's not really visible.

3

Nice!

I wonder how much lux this Leben 75W / 7800mAh would produce?

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/491486252-Free-shipping-rechargeable-flashligh-7500Lumen-flashlight-Tactical-flashlight-HID-flashlight-HID-torch-wholesalers.html

4

Used 2 x 12V 7AH to power, so that's 24V 7AH and the current gets cut into half. The talk is that the ballast would be more efficient, give more power etc.

BTW my auto ballast is 9V-30V, so do not try this on your 12V ballast, check the label.

Anyway with 24V 7AH I got 718 OTF. That's ~ 7180 lumens OTF. That's an increase of 9% over a single 12V 5.5AH. I bypassed the relay and hardwired everything, coz this SM5200 has a faulty relay. The other SM5200 is ok.

That's probably like 9000 lumens at the bulb. Not too bad for $125 shipped. $83 for host, $85 for dual ballast/bulb kit. Could be a little more expensive for your country. 9000 lumens / 125 = 72 lumens per dollar. This is including the stock 5.5AH SLA.

5

Fusion_m8 just got it, he just said it's bright. heh... But if the current draw is correct, it should be decent and very very close to 4000 lumens OTF at the very worst case. There are 2 version, 6600mAh and 7800mAh, get the higher capacity pack. As demonstrated, the juice provided by the pack makes a difference.

But if you really want to have fun, get the Sanmak SM5200. Or any cheap host you can find in your country.

It's a shame that USPS lost cd520's 2 x 100W ballast shipment! DHL passed to USPS for the last leg....

6

Yeah, to bad about cd520's package. I was looking forward to comparing my mod results. My 2 x 100W HID automotive kit is still in transit on the slow boat from china. Hopefully I'll see it in a week or two. I wish I had gone the DHL route - but forgot to click it when I got caught up in my haste to complete the order... thanks to 2100.

The host I selected is an old Coleman searchlight that plugs into a cigarette lighter plug. I'll be using a 15 pound AGM (absorbed glass mat) deep cycle aircraft battery, slung in a small backpack to power it remotely. Low runtime or sore arms will never be an issue! The stock Osram H1 100W incandescent bulb puts out an amazing amount of light and throw... for what it is. The output and range appear to be about twice that of my friends 100W Brinkman searchlight which also has a 7" reflector. I suspect the advantage is all in the Coleman's 7" visually perfect aluminum reflector. The light was built in the days when a good amount of quality went into the product... not like the plastic junk we see today in many products. Im more than excited to HID this thing.

I just hope the slow boat doesnt sink before it gets here.

Thanks for the comparative tests 2100. I think we need to start conspiring to acquire another portable xenon short-arc.

7

Did it overheat or was the bulb defective?

8

oh that cracked me up Laughing ...is that the boat your waitin on Foy ...lol..

9

Coleman is good, i have seen a pretty old copy being sold in a h/w store but it is going for $170 I think. What the....

AGM is good too, btw you seem to have more knowledge on SLAs, would it be safe to say that most modern SLA that i can get nowadays (even those cheap ones from China) are AGM? Then can charge at 0.3C or even 0.5C if you are game on the hobby charger.

What i need is really more good hosts. The halogen based ones are very rare here.

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I bought my NOS Coleman spotlight locally from craigslist.com for $10. It was virtually new and came in the original box. I hope the reflector enjoys HID as much as it does incan. If you find something you like in the states, let me know if you need help to acquire and ship it.

SLA's will specify whether or not they are AGM technology. Not all are created equal in quality and performance (regardless of the manufacturers claims and specs). Doesnt that sound familiar? The ones I have used that seem to last are manufactured in the US. I just acquired another one from an aircraft that turned 7 years old and had a mandatory replacement date for the aircraft to remain certified. It still performs well. The small Chinese versions seem to last about 2 years at the most if you use them regularly. Depending on the application, AGM's are often designed to withstand a tremendous amount of vibration and vertical impact. They generally have a much higher storage density than standard gel or lead acid cells. They can also be picky in how deeply you discharge them. Most LA batteries are usually considered dead once they reach 10.5V. I dont let mine go below 11.0V under load before I recharge. I generally trickle charge all of my smaller LA technology batteries whenever possible (its the best way to extend their lives). LAB's reguire bulk, absorption and float modes to charge and maintain properly and each mode must be done correctly. Often considered as the standard for high quality trickle chargers in the US is from a company called "Battery Tender". I have 4 of these. I have never heard of an instance where a Battery Tender overcharging an LAB. Those that use their products usually reach MTBF or far greater. Almost every aircraft hanger has at least one.

11

Lukcily for me it is cheap here. I got my cheap chinese 12V 7AH battery for just usd14. LOL! It seems to be dishing out the amps, at least for my 100 watter. Never done a discharge test, but that's purely academic as I will never get to discharge the 100W for 40 mins and not making something in the light SMOKE. LOL!

These are definitely "for fun" lights. The good thing about HIDs is that they like it hot, so are adapt in operating in the tropics. LEDs like extreme cold winters, esp overdriven multi XM-Ls.

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Amazon.com has many inexpensive AGM SLA's. If they work then GREAT!! The trick is to buy more capacity than you need and recharge before 11V. Also, dont let the cell sit more than a day or two before recharging. The auto 100W HID should go many more hours and run cooler than the halogen it will replace... as long as the ballast is mounted external of the light housing.

So far, you are having far more "fun" than me, as I have no HID lights to play with yet. Im sure you must get tired of your power LED's getting hot in your area. Ive noticed that mine run much cooler as long as they are moving through the air. Walking speed often is all that is needed to keep them much cooler even during hot summer nights.

It still cracks me up when I consider the dynamics of your test range and your selected illumination targets. ie: nearby apartment buildings full of blinded tenants.

13

I need more hosts actually....I still have 2 unused ballasts but i need the light to be able to accept H3.

Or you guys can get the Thor X colossus. $46 + 15 shipping. It costs $77 to Singapore though via USPS Priority!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0018F1CJ4/ref=sr_1_36_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1317814842&sr=8-36&condition=new

14

I was looking at the colossus line-up but couldnt find any info about the reflector or lens. Is the reflector AL or plastic? Is the lens glass or plastic? Have you read from others how well it culminates a powerful HID beam?

15

Guess what came in the mail today?

Thanks 2100. Im very pleased with them.

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Flashpilot, there are some good info over at CPF a couple of years ago. The Thor you'd need to focus it becuase with halogen spotlights the filament / reflector focal point is very close to the base. HIDs are much farther in. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?195549-Thor-X-Colossus-modded-to-HID-v-poor-beam-quality-advice-please

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?98518

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?84459-Thor-focal-point-beam-convergence-limiting-throw

This is not an issue, i got some extra candlepower throw even with the Amondotech 3152. But that one it is somewhat quite focused, need to move back 2mm.

These are not really usable in the house so those rings artifacts on the walls are not that bad, other than for taking lux readings at 15m if your house is that big. It absolutely blasts your dark adapted vision away. Correction, they also blast your bright adapted vision away, they just leave pinkish/reddish hotspots in your eyes and you can't detect nothing when you are shining it outside even 400m away. LOL! LEDs don't do that unless you are using a DRY triple XM-L and you need to use them close-up. Those 250 lumen XR-E throwers, not by far any chance at all.

My 6.5" SM5200 copies are great with the 100W and just manages to swallow the 100W ballasts in the cavity, just.... You will need a 9" like the Thor X Colossus or 9" Ti Innovation Mega Illum http://www.batteryjunction.com/mega-illuminator.html The SM5200 are probably the smallest hosts which you can fit the 100W ballasts, because this particular model has a very fat front and short but body. The "pocket rocket" of the plastic HIDs world.

Even though the 100W bulb is like 30% brighter than the 55W bulb, the 55W bulb gives a 80% higher lux (1.6 million cd vs 900k). But this is because it is just front focussed like 2-3mm for the 100W, but i really like the beam pattern as it's wider and transition more even. I will do a shot tonight. When i have more time i will try to buy some keychain rings and fit them on, because the 100W bulb is very wide.

The 100W bulbs are also supposed to be a bit more efficient in lm/W compared to 35-55W.

Actually Flashpilot, a VSS-3 is nice, but if you are crazy you could mount 10-20 of these on any steel surface and be happy. It's remote control as well, so as long as you zero them you can get a decent throw + flood while saving money. Money mouth You will save a bit on the item cost and i guess quite a lot on shipping and i think you can get better dealers from other stores. And it probably would just be a 2-4hrs easy setup with the cabling. Just a heads-up for those interested and who needs HID efficient type of lumens/heat management but not too tight a spot beam.

10pcs = 550W already and lots of lumens.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/487328897-hid-xenon-searchlight-offroad-light-SEARCH-Spot-LIGHT-Driving-4x4-light-REMOTE-CONTROL-35W-55W-HID-wholesalers.html

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Think i need to take a new picture with the 2 x 100W.

This is 75W, but i think in reality it's quite somewhat lower. heh.... lousy china lumens stuff...

asd

UF-980L thrower.

asd

18

Dereelight DBS XR-E aspheric, then TK70, Sanmak SM5200 98W to the ballast. It looks like i am wimping out on the aim and putting out a lousy video, but i can't shoot at the buildings for too long.

Balder BD-4 & Fandyfire STL-V6. DRY Cold-white 3-mode direct driven. Amondotech 3152 and Sanmak SM5200 (ballasts drawing 60W and 98W respectively)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/VNEQ3JYDmKs

19

Those HID's sure do look like a lot of fun! Thanks for all the links, vids and information. Hopefully my spotlight wont be to difficult to focus with the H1 bulb mount. I'll pass on the remote operated spotlights for now. Golight sells several models. I particularly like their FLIR unit. At close to $7k, I think I'll wait for prices to drop. I almost acquired a FLIR unit (along with all the support peripherals, wiring harnesses, but less the generator) from an F15-E on ebay several years ago. To bad the government interceded and reclaimed their property. How was I to know? It was at a time when I was scouring the web for xenon short arc searchlights. Had I got the FLIR, I never would have bought the VS3. What a fun toy that would have been... until it required maintenance (impossible to find parts).

I think you pointed me in the right direction with the 100W since it should produce a thicker beam than the lesser wattage HID's. At this point, Im not to concerned with all out lux, but rather, how useful the light will be. Its great that you've already done so much meticulous research and experimentation.

Im curious... why would you want to mount the ballast inside your spotlight where it cant exchange heat? Aesthetic reasons?

I read up on the Colossus but still didnt find what I was looking for. Is the reflector AL or plastic? Is the lens glass or plastic?