Strange MB light components

[Tinker1980]

I've been searching for a bright, durable, yet inexpensive lighting system for Gizmo, and I think I have the last parts I need...

...My question is this: How big a battery do I need? I have a single 12 volt 3.5 Ah SLA battery, it's fairly small. For my lights, I got lucky. One of the lift trucks in the warehouse I work in had a headlight damaged, the light itself was OK, but the bracket was bent and broken. Standard procedure, when a light bracket gets damaged, is to simply remove the entire light and bracket and replace it with a new one. I asked the repair guys to save me one next time it happened. It's a 6" diameter glass Fresnel lens over what looks to be an H4 bulb. Uses 12 volts, stepped down from the 36v battery that the truck uses for motive power. "Blinding" would not be too harsh a word for this light. It can turn light into day, it's waterproof and shock resistant. For the rear light, I took another cue from work, and found a LED trailer/semi brake light, flat round thing with a bunch of blinding red LEDs, costs about $15. Wal-marx has one that uses 12 volts.

Could I wire my 3.5 AH batteries in parallel? Or would I be better off sinking the $50 or so into a SLA battery for an ATV? Thoughts?

-Mark

 

[NiteSpy]

by the sound of it you'd be alright with the current setup. You said the headlight was 12v and was being supplied by 36v being stepped down to 12v?

 

[Tinker1980]

I think I may have been unintentionally confusing. The light, originally, was supplied by a 36v 1450 Ah battery, stepped down to 12v. On the bicycle, I was going to try to use a 12v 3.5 ah battery that I have lying around.

 

[SirJakesus]

Considering the light is probably 55w you're only going to get a good 30 or so minutes off your current battery before the voltage starts to sag and things will start to get dim. If you're only planning on short runs at night of less than 40 minutes your current parts should work just fine. If you want longer runs get a 5ah or 7ah sla.

Personally I like This LiPo Pack and use it myself with great delight. It's much lighter/better form factor and better protected from fault and damage than an SLA. It'll last more than twice as long BUT it's more expensive and requires a special lithium charger.

 

[Tinker1980]

Considering the light is probably 55w you're only going to get a good 30 or so minutes off your current battery before the voltage starts to sag and things will start to get dim. If you're only planning on short runs at night of less than 40 minutes your current parts should work just fine. If you want longer runs get a 5ah or 7ah sla.

Personally I like This LiPo Pack and use it myself with great delight. It's much lighter/better form factor and better protected from fault and damage than an SLA. It'll last more than twice as long BUT it's more expensive and requires a special lithium charger.

I found some spillproof SLA batteries at wal mart for ATV's, I can get a 12 ah battery for about 30-45 bucks - already have a charger that would work for that, I'd use the battery charger that I have for my polaris ATV.

-Mark

 

[Tinker1980]

A question popped into my head today at work, Could someone tell me if it's the dumbest thing they've heard this week, or if it could work?

I can get a fan from wal-marx that plugs into the 12v outlet in a car. Wouldn't that just be a permanent magnet 12v motor? How much current would one of those make, do ya think?

-Mark

 

[SirJakesus]

It probably would only put out a couple amps at most but what you're thinking probably WOULD work if implemented properly. You just have to be careful to keep from overcharging your battery. A small coleman solar charge controller would probably work.

 

[Tinker1980]

I finally got around to installing my lighting setup. I use the forklift headlight, and my 3.5 ah SLA battery, with a switch and fuse... It's so very bright. It's like a motorcycle headlight, I'm for sure visible now. I've tried to see how long the battery will run the light, and after about 45 minutes, it does start to dim. My commute home from work at 3 am consists of a dark portion 15 minutes long, a well lit part about 20 minutes long, and another dark part about 10 minutes long. I notice that I ride much slower at night, due to the fact that I can't @#$%& see with the crummy ineffective LED headlight I have.

Even after the 45 minutes the light is still very bright, it just isn't the blazing actinic light that you get at first. It is still about 10 times brighter than the LED for another 15 minutes, after which time I worry I may damage the battery.

-Mark

 

[cabinfever1977]

you wont damage the battery,but you will wear it out faster,they only can be recharged a certain number of times(60-300 times) before replacing them.