~22kL, 450W

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[Walt175]

In memory of those members whose lights will shine forever...

Walter H. Dubas (Walt175)
5/28/1971 -  6/15/2008

Stephen L. Appelman (3rd_shift)
9/3/1968 -  8/25/2008

[TigerhawkT3]

I'm working on a hotwire build with a Philips 23177 bulb, three 12V 10Ah SLAs, and an ellipsoidal reflector. Instead of creating parallel rays, this kind of reflector creates an image of the filament at the ellipse's other focus. This should make for a small spot at a few inches away, with very high lux. I plan to mount the bulb in a C Kiu socket, and hold that with a sort of "wand" made from a wooden dowel. I hope to also make a wood enclosure for the battery. I believe I have all the materials, so I'll probably start putting it together soon.

[nightcrawler]

Interesting project...my first question is about the wooden holder for the Kiu socket. Will it take the heat that the bulb will generate? I know the socket is ceramic (at least I think it is), but wonlt it still transfer some heat to the holder?

And second question...is this light for practical use, or as more of a 'fire-starter/crowd-pleaser/YouTube video' sort of light.

After all, 450 watts is a ridiculous (and I mean that in a good way) amount of power!

[TigerhawkT3]

Wood is flammable, but it's a decent insulator of both heat and electricity, so my hope is that it'll be able to handle the short runs I plan on. For my high-powered hotwires, I only do 2-3m runs at the most, which shouldn't abuse this setup too badly. It won't have the advantage of guaranteed limited runtime like the 1.8Ah NiMH pack I had, so I'll have to exercise caution.

Practical use... heh heh. If, perhaps, it was self-contained in a single unit, or at most a robust handheld unit and battery pack, and with a normal parabolic reflector, it could be reasonable. I think your "fire-starter/crowd-pleaser/YouTube video" description is about right.

Seriously, though, these high-powered incans are not useful to me for my purposes. If I need high output and reasonable runtime, along with less worrisome bulb wattages, I go with HID (MH in particular). Besides their simplicity, ruggedness, and large size (i.e., much larger than LEDs and their drivers), I like the hotwires because their low efficiency allows for easy firestarting. They're plain ol' fun to build and play with.

[will]

T3
I have worked with a lot of different types of wood over the years. The two main destroyers of wood are heat and moisture. Cured wood generally has a moisture content of under 10%. When you heat wood, it drives the moisture out. This can result in cracking or splitting of the wood. Some wood types are probably better suited to applications where heat is involved. I will do some checking around.

[nightcrawler]

T3
I have worked with a lot of different types of wood over the years. The two main destroyers of wood are heat and moisture. Cured wood generally has a moisture content of under 10%. When you heat wood, it drives the moisture out. This can result in cracking or splitting of the wood. Some wood types are probably better suited to applications wher heat is involved. I will do some checking around.

Just a quick idea (I just woke up so take it for what it's worth)...a couple of small screw clamps, the kind you use for hoses, would keep the dowel from splitting along its length. Assuming, of course, that you would have room for them.

[Heyimjack]

For the record, you guys might as well be speaking Japanese cause I got no idea what you're talking about. These types of threads are the ones I leave up on my laptop on "accident" when chicks come over so it looks like I know stuff...jP

[TigerhawkT3]

Oh yeah... like when wooden knife handles split after years of dishwasher cycles.

Well, the dowel is slightly narrower than the "pocket" under the Kiu socket, so I was planning on bulking it up with JB Stik Weld, which is very heat-resistant. Would it help seal in the moisture and preserve structural integrity if I Duracoated it?

Thanks for your post, Jack... made me laugh.

[will]

sealing the wood helps.

[TigerhawkT3]

I made the connection wires today, and cut a length of dowel to use as the handle. I'll have to find the charger for my cordless drill before I drill the hole for the wires. Perhaps tomorrow I'll make the battery enclosure.

[nightcrawler]

Can you post any pics of the process?

I'm curious as to how this thing is going to actually look.

[TigerhawkT3]

...
I'm curious as to how this thing is going to actually look.

Me too.

Just to give you the basic idea, here's what it'll have: a hinged poplar box about 10x8x7.5" with three 12V SLAs, with wires leading to a small poplar dowel with a hole drilled down the middle, secured to a Kiu socket, which holds the bulb, which is focused by a big ol' reflector. That's pretty much it. I'll try to snap some pics tomorrow.

Actually, now that I think of it, I don't really need to have the wires go down the middle of the dowel. It'll work just as well to have them resting along the outside.

[TigerhawkT3]

The work in progress is just to the right of the small, black-handled nippy cutters near the bottom.


Now it's near the center. Just follow the wires.


Where's Waldo now?


Next up is the battery enclosure. Its special feature is a hinge!

[Heyimjack]

I swear I hope the FBI doesn't stumble across these images because it looks like some stuff you're gonna strap to your chest...And could you possibly make any uglier?! Geez....UGLY!  ....But of course I....still want one...jP 

[TigerhawkT3]

Heh heh. Thanks.

I made a slight miscalculation on how much lumber I needed for the battery case, so I got some more earlier tonight. I might be able to assemble it tomorrow.

[TigerhawkT3]

I nailed it all together, but it's too late at night to shape some wood to fit the hinge. Perhaps if I manage to wake up real early tomorrow morning, I'll be able to get it done. Otherwise, I'll probably have to save it for when I get back from Mexico.

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