Worlds brightest.... Ammo Box

Hey everyone, well if finally had a couple hours to build a project I had been thinking about for awhile. We sell off road LED automotive/tractor lights and about a month ago they changed designs so we had one left over that we couldn't sell. I also had a big 12v battery not being used. I have a friend in construction and the Exit sign was torn out for a re-model so I got a free battery. I was going to mount the light where the switch is and I think it would have looked better but where its placed now is twice as usefull.

The plan was going to go to the goodwill and buy a heavy duty plastic lunch box for the project but I remembered I had an ammo box in the closet! So I guess you would call this more of a Lantern than a flashlight but hopefully its acceptable. It defiantly is budget! It cost me $0 out of pocket. I had all the parts LOL.

Its manufacturer rated at 2000LM 6000K The light it puts out is like a giant flood/cone. This would be the perfect light for working outside or lighting up a campground. It really is a thing of grace and beauty. I'm also going to install a fuse.

I still have some work to do, right the battery is just held in place with some wood boards but I plan on filling some plastic bags with expanding foam insulation. It makes a super tight, strong holder and is fairly easy to remove.

The battery is pretty heavy maybe I should make a 200 cell 18650 pack for it? I plan on using it this weekend so I will have some beam shots

What is in the LED head? You have any specs?

Looks like a fun project, BTW :)

aWesome! Such a tanked box too!

I hadn't thought of using an ammo can like that before; that's a good idea! There is already a handle on it, and it's rugged enough to handle the weight of the battery. Does the weight of the lamp offset the weight of the battery enough to make it balance?

I would hate to drill holes in any of my ammo cans though. Cry

Nice one! I should be waterproof too

Can you give an estimated runtime? My guess would be 6h, maybe more.

Very good work!

Looks like there's between 9 & 11 LEDs in that light. If they are just XR-E Q5's it could easily pump out over 2000 lumen. What you need to do is replace them all with XM-Ls and put out 6000-9000 lumen!!

I'm working on getting my hands on something similar. I work at a location where they have been retrofitting some of their dozers with LED lights, but because of a wiring issue on one of the dozers, several were burned out and not able to be replaced under warranty. Based on the specs, they seem to be about 6x P7-class emitters in a water-tight enclosure similar to the one pictured above, only sqare. If I can get one of these and make a lamp similar to the one above... 6x XML emitters should make a decent portable work-light... Make them switched separately so I can have High-Med-Low modes. Hard-wire a 4$ Harbor-Freight battery maintainer into the box so it can be left plugged in to maintain a full charge when not in use. Add the $2 Harbor Freight battery charge indicator to monitor battery level while in use... I can have fun with this idea!

The HF here stopped carrying the battery charge indicators, and sold them cheaply for closeout... If yours still has them left, might want to grab them now.

I have a couple for lamps (non-LED; 55W halogen) that I mounted to magnets, with a cigarette lighter plug, so I can use them as worklamps, stuck to any metal surface... considered something similar with yours? Put a plug on the side of the ammo can, with a cord on the light, so you can stick the light to the underside of the hood when working on a car or such.

I don't have any really bright ammo cans, but I have a harbor freight toolbox with four of those batteries in it, and an 800W inverter. And both of my cordless air compressors have lights... :)

--Bushytails

I'm not sure exactly what the emitters are. They are sealed units and I haven't wanted to try and pop one apart. They state them as 9 3W Cree Led's. I have no idea what the run time would be The manufacture calls them 30W... I tested them once with my Multi meter and I got 27W so depending on Temp and Voltage 30W is probably the max draw.

We just got in some 72W 4200LM light bars they are kinda big for the ammo box But I may slap one on to see what it looks like

It actually did balance out about perfectly, The lights are pretty heavy since they are a thick cast aluminium. I also had some reservations about drilling the ammo can but I figure I will get 10 times more use out of it as a light rather than storing my fireworks in it.

o dear god, I must do this.

If you ever pop that unit, please post some pics.

Haven´t seen those opened up in anywhere... I´m a bit curious, what emitters / drivers are inside of those things.

damn. i cant believe someone beat me to the punch with this...

just a few days ago i was looking at my ammo can goin "that would make a sweet HID flashlight with a Li-ion array...."

no seriously, i actually was.

xP.1337 maybe we will start a new budget Ammo Can sub group? LOL The more I think about it. The more I think it really is a good cheap idea for a lot of people. Even if you didnt have the parts on hand you could buy a cheap 12v harbor freight work light for 7.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-halogen-vehicle-work-light-93904.html

There are a bunch of options you could use to charge it. It would be pretty slick to have a couple options built into the can.

Saw on aliexpress 240W version. A bit on the big side but doable.