Preparing for a (hopefully) VERY bright headlight build

[willfargo]

Well i've tinkered and goofed around enough with flashlights and headlamps. I do a lot of riding at night, and just dont feel safe with 60 lumens of eveready kyrpton light shining in front of me. I mounted a 6v flashlight lamp and lens onto a 3 inch pvc end cap and mounted that to my handlebars, with a little paint it would look great, but its not bright enough!

So heres what i've got planned!

I've ordered a 12v 5ah sealed acid battery (can be used in any position... perfect)

2: 12v, 4 watt dc LED bulbs rated at 360 lumens a piece.

4w/12v=.33333amps meaning i should theoretically get about 15 hours of lighting on the battery before it needs to be charged


the bulbs have a 2 inch diameter, so i'm hoping they will fit into a 2 inch pvc endcap nicely. i will have a write up and pictures in the middle of the coming week when everything arrives and i have a moment to get to work on it.

I'm not well versed when it comes to lighting. 360 lumens sounds like a lot. is it a lot?

 

[willfargo]

Here is my progress so far. they will be painted black and the bands will be removed (they are just there until the glue sets). also, i need to find somewhere to mount the switch. i got so excited as to how bright they are, i had to put them on the bike and have a ride around tonight. i havent even gotten the 12v battery in the mail yet, so they are running on a dinky little 9v! here are some pictures.

 

[Sgt. Howard]

Use Krylon Fusion spray paint, it bonds better with PVC. Scrub down the pipe first with dishwashing detergent, rinse well and dry. Then Paint. The PVC glue will not work as you have it shown- bolt them together from the inside.
the Old Sgt.

 

[srdavo]

nice project.

can't wait to see it thru.

 

[willfargo]

Its now been painted and the mounting has been changed. as you can see in the pictures, I put longer bolts on the rear to mount to. i then put a washer and nut on and tightened the bolts all the way onto the end. then i took another nut and threaded it about halfway down, stuck the mount piece that connects to the handle bars on, and then put another nut over that. this allows me to pivot the light to shine where i need it to, seeing as mounting it to the handlebars didnt make it shine directly in front of me, it was off to the right a bit. I think this is about as far as im going to go with the particular prototype. I'm going to tinker with other methods as well. i MIGHT add some shielding to the top of the lights to keep them from shining up into drivers faces as they drive towards me. here are the pictures of the finalized product. if you want a parts list let me know

 

[willfargo]

Here are the pictures

 

[double trouble]

nice build

I know your will be tons brighter than mine ,but look in my gallery. I did mine with minimal intrusion and it is very bright .100 foot legal bright. My whole setup weighs ounces and never needs recharging. I could go to a 12 volt battery if I need to ,but for now the watch batteries are good. For the amount of night driving I will be doing , works for me. Plus ,my whole setup cost me $3 .

 

[willfargo]

Got the 12v battery hooked up. I know honestly feel completely 100% safe riding at night! the difference the light makes is incredible! if anybody is interested in making one let me know and i can scrounge up a parts list and rough cost! if you want me to make one for you, let me know as well

 

[double trouble]

lumens

you have the light of a 30-40 watt incandescent bulb, but it really does not compare , because of the focused beam.