DIY small car lights instead
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DIY small car lights instead
Hey all: I was in a car parts store this week and was looking at their lights. They have a couple of small 35 and 55 W lights with switches, wires etc. Has anyone just hooked these up to a battery and handlebars. They were really cheap(under 20usd). I figure 50.00 for a decent battery and you have a 55W lighting system for $70.00. Am I wrong here? I see folks making system with less W for more. Do these lights drain batteries too quickly? Thoughts? Charlie
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They will drain the battery pretty quickly. A friend of mine purchased a pair of them and made a bulb holder for them to replace the halogen bulbs with lower wattage bulbs. Just copy the design of the original halogen bulb so the filament in the replacement bulb is the same distance so the pattern of the light is the same. Type T bulbs for low voltage landscaping light fixtures work pretty well and are cheap. There are rated for 5,000 hours. They come in 3-and 7-watt versions. He got a socket to fit them at an automotive parts store and hot glued it to a washer so it would clip into the socket of the light.
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Yeah, it'll work, just don't expect a very long runtime with most batteries. Look for a small deep-cycle marine battery. Also, don't forget to buy a battery charger, too.
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Originally Posted by jeff-o
Yeah, it'll work, just don't expect a very long runtime with most batteries. Look for a small deep-cycle marine battery. Also, don't forget to buy a battery charger, too.
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You really want a gel cell. Marine or motorcycle battery might pour sulfuric acid on you or your bike or stuff in an accident or even if it falls while stationary.
If you're DIYing anyway, IMHO it's worth just biting the bullet and paying $120 for the TrailTech HID at Battery Space. Puts out as much light as those 55W things, is probably built a lot better, and only draw 13W, so you don't have to go with a silly-huge battery and have to charge it all the time.
Otherwise, for me a 20W DIY halogen was sufficient and OK runtimes.
If you're DIYing anyway, IMHO it's worth just biting the bullet and paying $120 for the TrailTech HID at Battery Space. Puts out as much light as those 55W things, is probably built a lot better, and only draw 13W, so you don't have to go with a silly-huge battery and have to charge it all the time.
Otherwise, for me a 20W DIY halogen was sufficient and OK runtimes.
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Search the total geekiness thread for "optronics." They make automotive driving lights that a log of people (myself included) use on bikes. You can often get them on Ebay for a couple of bucks. For example:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WHOLE...33885447QQrdZ1
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WHOLE...33885447QQrdZ1
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Ive actually been toying with this idea as well lately. I have a small set of fog lights left over from a project that have 35w H3 bulbs in them. One mounts perfectly to the handlebars and I was thinking this might work well as a bike light with the proper battery, but I dont know how much battery I would need to run a 35w bulb for about and hour.
Any know?
Any know?
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Originally Posted by FlatFender
Ive actually been toying with this idea as well lately. I have a small set of fog lights left over from a project that have 35w H3 bulbs in them. One mounts perfectly to the handlebars and I was thinking this might work well as a bike light with the proper battery, but I dont know how much battery I would need to run a 35w bulb for about and hour.
Any know?
Any know?
If you want to go longer than an hour, and this applies to the other posts above, just add more packs wired in parallel. Using this system and a helmet light, I did a 50 miler in the dark one night. Had good light all the way, just not all of them blazing at once
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Originally Posted by balto charlie
Hey all: I was in a car parts store this week and was looking at their lights. They have a couple of small 35 and 55 W lights with switches, wires etc. Has anyone just hooked these up to a battery and handlebars. They were really cheap(under 20usd). I figure 50.00 for a decent battery and you have a 55W lighting system for $70.00. Am I wrong here? I see folks making system with less W for more. Do these lights drain batteries too quickly? Thoughts? Charlie
They work fine, but you need to consider what run time you need. Did you add in the price of a battery charger and a switch?
They do drain batteries quickly.
The down side with high wattage is you either need to spend a lot for a better battery and charger, or spend less and have a huge heavy battery. Either one works.
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I bought a fog lamp set from J.C. Whitney catalog, came with a 55 watt halogen. I swapped it out with an mr16 10 watt 12v spot halogen from Home Depot and hooked it up to a 12 volt gell cell I got from Interstate Batteries. The guy said the battery was originally tasked for a back up for emergency exit lights it's 2.6 amp hours. It's about 5" long, 2.5" wide and about 2" deep and about two pounds. The battery lights up the 10 watt for about 2.5 hours without any noticiable drop in light quality.
I would think the 55 watt light would need a pretty serious battery for any kind of decent run time. Just as an example, a 55 watt on my rig would last about .33 minutes, by my admitedly shakey math. I would also strongly urge you use an inline fuse of some sort to protect the battery just in case.
A 7.5 amp hour gell cell battery would give you about 1.3 hour run time at 55 watt but weighs in about 6 pounds.
To run a 35 watt bulb 1.2 hours, you would need about 4.5 amp hours and about a 3.5 pound gell cell battery. I doubled the run time I needed, just in case.
My math comes from https://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm wich has some pretty good ideas. The equation is Light run time = ( Battery Amp-hour Rating / (Watts / volts) ) x .8.
The .8 is a fudge factor. The math's been pretty darn accurate in my messing around.
Battery stats come from https://www.interstatebatteries.com/ and search for 12 volt gell cell.
good luck
I would think the 55 watt light would need a pretty serious battery for any kind of decent run time. Just as an example, a 55 watt on my rig would last about .33 minutes, by my admitedly shakey math. I would also strongly urge you use an inline fuse of some sort to protect the battery just in case.
A 7.5 amp hour gell cell battery would give you about 1.3 hour run time at 55 watt but weighs in about 6 pounds.
To run a 35 watt bulb 1.2 hours, you would need about 4.5 amp hours and about a 3.5 pound gell cell battery. I doubled the run time I needed, just in case.
My math comes from https://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm wich has some pretty good ideas. The equation is Light run time = ( Battery Amp-hour Rating / (Watts / volts) ) x .8.
The .8 is a fudge factor. The math's been pretty darn accurate in my messing around.
Battery stats come from https://www.interstatebatteries.com/ and search for 12 volt gell cell.
good luck
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I made a homemade lighting system out of a 20-watt halogen MR16 spotlight, some red LED clearance lights for taillights, and a five amp-hour battery which is rather heavy. I get two hours of burn time before the headlight starts to go dim. That is a confirmed test, but only in warm weather.
If you figure out a nice way to mount a sealed lead-acid battery on your bike, let us know. I used a wooden box bolted to the water-bottle-holder mounting point. Super dorky.
By the way, in full darkness, a 20-watt light is really bright. You would impress with 35-55 watts, but you might not really need it.
If you figure out a nice way to mount a sealed lead-acid battery on your bike, let us know. I used a wooden box bolted to the water-bottle-holder mounting point. Super dorky.
By the way, in full darkness, a 20-watt light is really bright. You would impress with 35-55 watts, but you might not really need it.
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
...
IMHO it's worth just biting the bullet and paying $120 for the TrailTech HID at Battery Space.
...
IMHO it's worth just biting the bullet and paying $120 for the TrailTech HID at Battery Space.
...
On a more constructive note, I've seen lots of "trailer" lights at Northern Tool.
https://www.northerntool.com/
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Originally Posted by CigTech
This is how it is as far as run time.
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7 amp hour SLA gel cells are often a lot cheaper than smaller batteries because of their ubiquity in alarm systems. I get mine for about US$7, whereas a 4ah would cost me $US15-17.
These will run for 2 hours with a 35w bulb and will provide enough light to ride off road in the forest at night as if you were in daylight. I run just such a system.
Total overkill for commuting though. 6v halogen bulbs and SLA batteries are better suited as the amp hour to pound ratio is much better. There is a lot of ambient light in the city so you don't need a blinder of a lamp. My dual 6v system has cars thinking that I am a motorbike as it is....
Also, the amp hour rating is only good when draining at a current that will take 12 hours to drain the battery. Draining a 4ah sla battery in 1 hour is right on the limit of what you can do without cooking the battery. As the gel inside boils, the battery can split resulting in acidic gel dripping out.
These will run for 2 hours with a 35w bulb and will provide enough light to ride off road in the forest at night as if you were in daylight. I run just such a system.
Total overkill for commuting though. 6v halogen bulbs and SLA batteries are better suited as the amp hour to pound ratio is much better. There is a lot of ambient light in the city so you don't need a blinder of a lamp. My dual 6v system has cars thinking that I am a motorbike as it is....
Also, the amp hour rating is only good when draining at a current that will take 12 hours to drain the battery. Draining a 4ah sla battery in 1 hour is right on the limit of what you can do without cooking the battery. As the gel inside boils, the battery can split resulting in acidic gel dripping out.
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I agree with Radical Ed. One other thing to remember about battery ratings is that their amp/hour rating is based on the draw being no more than 50% of the max possible. For example, a 7 amp hour (ah) is supposed to be able to supply 7 amps for 1 hour by this system, but will fall short at that high of an output. Most batteries will start to fall short as they go over the 50 to 60% mark. Gel cells will get boiled dry if they run too high or are charged with too high of a current.
My personal light is a 45W halogen Phillps energy saver which only draws 35W. I use a 7 ah gel cell battery which gives me just over 2 hours of retina burning intensity. It is great in the forest at night and nobody can claim they didnt see you on the road. I built the whole thing for about $75.
Andy
My personal light is a 45W halogen Phillps energy saver which only draws 35W. I use a 7 ah gel cell battery which gives me just over 2 hours of retina burning intensity. It is great in the forest at night and nobody can claim they didnt see you on the road. I built the whole thing for about $75.
Andy
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Originally Posted by swwhite
I made a homemade lighting system out of a 20-watt halogen MR16 spotlight, some red LED clearance lights for taillights, and a five amp-hour battery which is rather heavy. I get two hours of burn time before the headlight starts to go dim. That is a confirmed test, but only in warm weather.
If you figure out a nice way to mount a sealed lead-acid battery on your bike, let us know. I used a wooden box bolted to the water-bottle-holder mounting point. Super dorky.
By the way, in full darkness, a 20-watt light is really bright. You would impress with 35-55 watts, but you might not really need it.
If you figure out a nice way to mount a sealed lead-acid battery on your bike, let us know. I used a wooden box bolted to the water-bottle-holder mounting point. Super dorky.
By the way, in full darkness, a 20-watt light is really bright. You would impress with 35-55 watts, but you might not really need it.
Yeah, aint that the truth!!
I also made a homemade bike light, but out of pvc with a 20-watt 12V MR-16 landscape light. The bulb/reflector is 15 deg. spread, and with my cheap Sealed Lead Acid battery (5 aH) it gives me two hours run time for my nightly commute. The MR-16 bulb really lights up the road, and provides plenty of bright light even for 20 mph fast rides. Total cost for my system was less than $50. The battery weighs 4 lbs, and I shove it in my back pack.
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Originally Posted by squeakywheel
Gag...Um...Sir...anyway....$120 would be biting something...You don't understand DIY I think.
And I don't see where buying an HID fixture then hooking it up to your own electrical system and making your own mounts out of aluminum stock is any less "DIY" than buying an Optronics fixture and doing exactly the same thing. Price does not define DIY.
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Track light fixtures are cheap at building supply stores and are made for MR-11 and MR-16 halogen bulbs. Removing the part that attaches to the track is pretty easy. You can buy an EMT conduit clamp that will fit your handlebar for less than a buck for attaching the track light. Make sure you purchase the bulbs with a front glass so the halogen bulb is sealed from the weather. Autolumination has a good selection of 12-volt DC MR-16 LED bulbs that draw very little current. https://autolumination.com/mr16.htm They also have a very good selection of Blinkie lights on there site as well. Below is a picture of a modified MR-16 track light fixture almost ready for mounting with a 20-watt MR-16 halogen bulb. I found it in a thrift store for $2.
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Originally Posted by 2manybikes
They work fine, but you need to consider what run time you need. Did you add in the price of a battery charger and a switch?
They do drain batteries quickly.
The down side with high wattage is you either need to spend a lot for a better battery and charger, or spend less and have a huge heavy battery. Either one works.
They do drain batteries quickly.
The down side with high wattage is you either need to spend a lot for a better battery and charger, or spend less and have a huge heavy battery. Either one works.
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My fellow DIY'ers, I'm impressed by your creativity
However, I'm disturbed by this almost universal lack of awareness of the need to de-rate batteries based on your current draw. Your 7.5 amp-hour battery will only deliver 7.5 amp-hours at a specific and typically very low current draw probably no more than maybe 400milliamps. As we draw higher currents necessary to run our 20 - 55 watt lights the effective amp-hour capacity of our batteries drop dramatically.
This is why the ubiquitous 7.5Ah SLA which I use only delivers about 2hr45min to my 20 watt MR16 bulb before it diminishes to pale yellow. That gives me 4.6 useable amp-hours, with a 55 watt bulb it would be significantly smaller.
How do you know what your effective Ah rating will be in your application? You can get de-rating charts for your battery from the manufacturers, which hold true under ideal temperature and current draw conditions. If you operate in extreme cold or hot you'll lose a little more, and don't forget that as your battery drains and filament bulbs such as MR16 halogens get dimmer their resistance drops and drain the remains of the battery even faster.
Sorry guys, I don't mean to be the wet blanket, just wanted to shed some light on the subject.
However, I'm disturbed by this almost universal lack of awareness of the need to de-rate batteries based on your current draw. Your 7.5 amp-hour battery will only deliver 7.5 amp-hours at a specific and typically very low current draw probably no more than maybe 400milliamps. As we draw higher currents necessary to run our 20 - 55 watt lights the effective amp-hour capacity of our batteries drop dramatically.
This is why the ubiquitous 7.5Ah SLA which I use only delivers about 2hr45min to my 20 watt MR16 bulb before it diminishes to pale yellow. That gives me 4.6 useable amp-hours, with a 55 watt bulb it would be significantly smaller.
How do you know what your effective Ah rating will be in your application? You can get de-rating charts for your battery from the manufacturers, which hold true under ideal temperature and current draw conditions. If you operate in extreme cold or hot you'll lose a little more, and don't forget that as your battery drains and filament bulbs such as MR16 halogens get dimmer their resistance drops and drain the remains of the battery even faster.
Sorry guys, I don't mean to be the wet blanket, just wanted to shed some light on the subject.
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You also need to derate lead-acid batteries because they are not designed for deep discharge. They will not last long if they are frequently discharged all the way. Typical manufacturer ratings are along the order of 1000 charge-discharge cycles at 10% discharge, 100 cycles at 50% discharge, and 10 cycles at 90% discharge.
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Originally Posted by ken cummings
I went the second way. I use a Toys-R-Us 12 volt battery that weighs (drum roll while I go and check) nine pounds. It must be over 10-15 amp-hours as I have run my MR16 50 watt track light headlight for two hours at a time. The battery was ~$40. I have an 'smart' Panasonic charger that takes too long a time to charge it. When I need a fast charge I use 2-6 amp car battery charger and check for state-of-charge every hour or two with the Panasonic. As I have never run out of light or even dimmed in four years with that same battery I am up-grading to a 100 watt spot-light soon for dark back roads and trails.
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A while back, I found 55 watt backup lights available at a local auto parts store for $4.95 US, clamped onto my handle bar with SS hose clamps & combined with front & rear yellow strobe lights from All Electronics & powered with a $15.00 sale motorcycle battery gave me a good "fog" bike. Battery was placed inside in the front 3 inches of a plastic tool box bungee corded to my rack. Results were OK (surprisingly bright light with good all around visibility with a long run time) but I definitely paid a weight penalty. Bike handled awkwardly & I seldom rode the bike except in really bad fog or rain. Cars generally approached with care & passed wide to my side, sometimes going completely over into the oncoming lane on my country road. Don