Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - P7 flashlight remote battery

I'll appoligize in advance. I know this has been discussed, and I even know that I saw someone's setup, but for the life of me I can't find it through search. Anyway, I'm looking to replace my triple P4 headlight, and am thinking that a single P7 head would do nicely. The trick is I need to be able to get ~12 hours runtime, so I'll need to run a remote battery pack.

I would expect to be able to remove most of the battery tube part and just retain the flashlight head and tailcap and solder my leads directly to those. That should be pretty easy.

Does anyone have any specific experience doing this same process? And are they any gotchas that I need to be aware of?

Thanks,
Steve

Check out link in my sig. I've since replaced the DIY 6x18650 pack with one of turboferrets 4 x 18650s.

For 12 hours run time you're going to need either a)A huge battery pack (around 10 18650s) or b) A moderate battery pack and lower output around 200 lumens.

You might want to check out the CPF Bicycle section for some detailed info. Those guys are really serious about their lighting, and love to geek out on stuff like this. They're very helpful too.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=86

MTBR also has a very technical DIY lighting section. http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=124

Wiggle, thanks for the response and the link. I think yours was the initial one that I saw.

I've got a pack with 8 18650s now that I have wired 4S2P for 14.8 volts, but I could change that over easily enough. That would give me ~20Ah capacity, so I should be able to find a level that will run 12 hours on that. I don't need 12 hours all the time, just every now and then.

Steve

Another option too is that new DX bike light. Doesn't look bad especially for people with some DIY skill. Take that light and rewire your battery to 1S8P (think DX one is all parallel but check that out to be sure) and then just keep the stock battery as a backup.

Another option too is that new DX bike light. Doesn't look bad especially for people with some DIY skill. Take that light and rewire your battery to 1S8P (think DX one is all parallel but check that out to be sure) and then just keep the stock battery as a backup.

I've seen several reports of major problems with that light. If you're in the States it would be better to buy it from US based Geoman as he offers a six month guarantee versus 30 days from DX. The price difference between the two is only a few dollars.

Who's this Geoman? That sounds pretty convenient. Main reason I recommended it if you have some DIY skill is that you can't even really build a light that cheap and if you have the skills it looks easy to tighten up the build a good bit. I was thinking about getting one for my other bike.

Who's this Geoman? That sounds pretty convenient. Main reason I recommended it if you have some DIY skill is that you can't even really build a light that cheap and if you have the skills it looks easy to tighten up the build a good bit. I was thinking about getting one for my other bike.

http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=138

Who's this Geoman? That sounds pretty convenient. Main reason I recommended it if you have some DIY skill is that you can't even really build a light that cheap and if you have the skills it looks easy to tighten up the build a good bit. I was thinking about getting one for my other bike.

Geoman is a member here at BF, at: GEOMAN

He has been selling lights, gps units and other items for a few years.. If you PM him he will give you some answers, he also sells some high end lights like the Lupines..

I may look into that bike light. I got my Garmin 305 and remote power source from Geoman about a year ago. I recall the email support and shipping to be first rate.

Thanks again guys for the responses.

Steve