the reflector in this light is a joke - see the little tiny recess at the center? THAT is the only part that actually does any reflecting. Even worse, there isn’t much to reflect - claimed output in stock form is 77 lumen.
In stock form, the light can use 2C (2S) or 4C (2S2P) batteries. I was able to bore the battery tube to fit the width of a 26650, but 2x26650 (unprotected flattop Moli IMRs) are too long. Actually, boring the tailcap (completely) makes them fit, but then there’s no room for a return wire.
So, I decided to go with AC power.
components (prices are from memory):
*host from newegg - $10 (shell shocker deal, normally ~$30)
*aluminum heatsink from an amplifier (scavenged. it is pretty heavy and would probably cost $30)
*36V, 60W power supply from DX - $15
*120V AC to 12V, 2x3W LED power supply from DX (powers fans) - $4
*two 50mm x 15mm fans from newegg - $22
*30W cool white emitter plate and reflector (free, texaspyro giveaway, but worth $27)
*30W warm white emitter plate and reflector from DX - $27
*12ft extension cord - $3
*jb weld (about half of a 10 oz kit) - $7
total ~$145 (not including $5 in DX fans that were too weak, and one fudged 12V power supply)
that’s the first time I totaled this up, and it makes me feel kind of stupid :Sp
The build:
I hacked the back of the head off so that the heatsink would touch the head and the reflectors would touch the (plastic) lens
I removed the stock heatsink from the bottom of the driver, tapped the top edge of the amp heatsink and screwed the driver on. I potted the driver with 5 or 6 pours of epoxy/alumina. It is completely encased except the fuse. The 12V power supply is also completely encased, right next to the 60W driver on top of the heatsink.
decided on emitter placement, tapped heatsink, ground center edge of reflectors (so the different tints would mix)
wired everything up, epoxied the fans in place, and covered any exposed wiring with jb weld
fixed the light engine in place with a couple spot ‘welds’ of gorilla glue, then flooded the inside edges with jb weld.
someday I’ll seal up the gap at the bottom edge of the head/heatsink, add a switch and paint the jb weld
The result:
-slightly less light than a typical 500W halogen worklight (if my halogen does 5000 lumen, I’d say this is at least 4000)
-the beam is a bit more directional than a halogen worklight…more/darker shadows
-slight hum from the fans, but it won’t bother me at all
-the clamp holds the light in place despite the huge gain in head mass (unless clamped to something < ~ 1” thick)
-no issues with heat whatsoever. in fact, with slightly better fans, this could be redone as 100W
Nice build! I did something remotely similar with a 500W halogen work light. It now has a 60W module with a fan on the bottom. Not waterproof any more, but just about as bright and 1/10th the power usage.
Thanks, that’s what I was originally thinking of using.
I got the idea when I was painting walls last summer - the halogen worklight was making it WAY to hot in the room.
I was just inspecting walls I’d painted and this light shows defects I couldn’t see with the halogen. I’m not sure why, since I doubt the CRI is higher - but for some reason there is a very noticeable difference.
I think the fans would be my only concern as far as water resistance - but I doubt it will ever be exposed to water anyway…
haha, I wish it had modes. It is a little late to mod the driver w/ a pot
But, I can tell you that it is much more painful and disorienting to look at an mtg2 that is de-domed w/ no phosphor and is eating 20W, than it is to look at this work light.
Why would adding it up make you feel Stupid. You saw something that clearly needed improving and knew you could make it work better for what you wanted it for. You worked out what you needed, sorted any issues and made it Work, that is a Talent. The amount of satisfaction in doing it yourself should far outway the sum of your parts cost. I wish i had your ability to do what you do. Kudo’s Job well done.
it is just that it seems like a lot of money for a work light.
I have a 2x500w halogen set that came with an adjustable collapsible tripod - $20 for the whole thing.
Of course, you could just about bake enamel on with it…
I’m sure it will be immensely useful.
as long as it holds up for awhile, I’m sure I’ll eventually be totally fine with the cost.
I think it could run w/o overheating on one fan, so as long as they don’t both fail at once (or the 12V power supply fails…I almost used two separate 12V supplies for that reason)
I think the LEDs would toast themselves in < 5 minutes w/ no fans.
Test bed projects like these are how we learn. It looks like a very useful utility light to have around the garage. Thanks to you, Im strongly considering building something similar out of a 500W halogen work light. As is, it gets far to hot to be in close proximity, but there are times I just need that much light.
Here are a couple of shots from my 2x10W Worklight build. It was 2x 300W Halogen. For this build, I wanted to maintain waterproof capability, so 10W was as far as I wanted to push it. After running for about 30 minutes, I quickly opened one up and measured 50C at the emitter, so not too bad for no airflow. Outside in winter (when I use them most), heat is not an issue.
With both of them on it’s plenty bright for any room or large outdoor area.
Just an old heatsink from some junk electronics. I sliced it in half and screwed it into the chassis. The driver is foam taped to the chassis on the bottom.
And one final shot with the light on. Warm white works good for me. Cold white is brighter, but warm shows much more detail.
My 60W build looks a lot like this, but single head, bigger emitter, and a fan on the bottom. I could use it in the rain since the water will not flow or get sucked up into the tiny CPU fan I used.
