How long do you suppose it'll be before someone calls in a report that he's lugging a pipe bomb?:D

I really want to thank everyone who has contributed to this heroic thread. Tons of great information and inspiration.

Looking back at page 54, I see that Novakane is assembling halogen lights in plastic pipe, but doesn't have them running yet. Are those plastic housings going to melt, or are they up to that task?

I would worry about two things. THe first is having the lights blocked by the front wheel, brake cables, etc. The second is your eyes not being shielded from the light, or the reflection from the items blocking it. But try it, geekiness is all about experimentation. And report back.

No update on that yet, sorry - I haven't ordered the batteries yet. I was building a custom enclosure for them based on the idea that they would be 8 x AA batteries equaling 12 volts (1.5v each). However, I've since been informed and verified that the 2500mAh rechargeable NIMh batteries I was intending to use only put out 1.2v each, unlike the alkaline (non-rechargeable) batteries. So, now I'm sourcing a cheap supply of these and a charger but haven't gotten around to how I'm going to re-design the housing yet. Hopefully I shall have something to report in the next week or two.

As to the heat inside the PVC housing from the MR16 bulb - I'm hoping that the airflow across the front glass and the housing itself will cool the light adequately. Anyone ever tried this? It's not something I'd overly worried about but maybe I should? I have a small square black-aluminum heatsink from a PC processor that I could cut into and mount into the casing should it get too hot, I suppose...

I have a 35 watt bulb running in my living room right now in a pvc pipe. Just testing time run on my battery and have had no problem so far.

ok, after about a half hour things started getting very hot. so, if you keep moving, my guess is you will be ok.


ok, my lights are complete. I will have pics as soon as I get the camera up and running. Unfortunately, my tail lights dont match perfectly. When I mounted the LEDs in the reflectors, I did the left light vertical and the right light horizontal. DOH!!! Ill feed a little more wire in and see if I can rotate the right one to make it vertical or the left horizontal. The vellman strobe is nice, and both headlights work without problem so far. When I have the cash, im going to buy some Nimhs and overvolt the headlights, but then ill have to put in a voltage limiting chip in the tail lights to protect them.

The terminal strips work wonderfully as sockets for the MR16s

I've read most of this thread and it's been very helpful. I'm building a system with a 7.5 aH SLA battery, Optronics driving lights and a Vellerman strobe. I'm going to use a 20W spot and a 20W flood Philips Energy Advantage bulb. I am going to use two switches and a diode to allow independent use of the two headlights, with the taillights on with either headlight. My one concern is connecting all the wires. Right now I intend to connect everything in a black plastic box using wire nuts. It seems to me there might be a better way, but I can't figure out what it is.

Paul

Racking up my bike this morning, I just answered my own question. This wouldn't be a good place to mount lights if you ever use an inverted U or wave rack. You'd have to be very careful not to smash the light every time you leaned the bike against the rack.

turn signal wiring diagram
 

Could you post a wiring diagram of your project?

I assume this is a response to me. Here is the diagram. I am not an electrical engineer or electrician, so pardon any sloppy symbology.

Paul

I think there's an error in the flood part of the diagram, both leads to the bulb are attached to the same side of the battery. I imagine you built it right and just mis-transcribed it.

I think lights are more easily seen the higher up they are. This setup would put them kinda low. No??

Yes, and that was sort of the point. Having them down low and shining againt the wheels would let motorists see that it was a bike.

There's a tradeoff for high/low light placement. The lower the lights are to the ground, the better you can see road debris and other things to avoid. The higher the ligts are, the more visible you are to drivers. I solve this by mounting my lights low (under my front rack) and also using a helmet light.

Best of both worlds...I love this year's version of my setup. No complaints to date.

In case you're still looking, I found a plastic container with a screw-on lid (something the tennis ball container was lacking) at home depot that was full of assorted bungee cables. Since I needed some bungees anyway, I gave this a try for a battery housing. It's a little bigger in diameter than the tennis ball container, so I had to slightly modify my bottle cage but it worked great for the week I used it.

I've since placed the batteries in my rear panniers for now as I decided that I get too thirsty to give up a cage to batteries.

headlights should be set low to the ground, and blinkies should be set high

I would advise that you not try to assign both of these important duties to your headlight alone... pick up a blinkie and put it on your helmet or bar even if it's just the $10 kind.

My 12v Nimh bit the dirt after my parked bike was knocked over by high wind. :<(

I've got my eye on a BatterySpace.com 13.2 stick, (primairly because I can fit it in a water bottle), but wanted to know if this will kill my 12v Velleman strobe.

What do you experts advise?

I've been running the velleman strobe on a 14.4v pack for over a year, no ill effects.

Well, when I went into the Battery store last summer my intention was to get a 7ah SLA. I guess when I had all the candidates lined up I bought a 5ah battery instead. I guess the smaller size and weight seemed ok at the time. But I really thought I had bought a 7.

Last night had my first ride in the dark on unlit two lane road. The lights worked great. First time I've ridden at night and really enjoyed it. Unfortuanately the 5 just doesn't have the oomph to drive the dual 20watt lamps very long. I definitely experience the battery current limitation effects. Guess I'm going to have to rethink the battery/battery box compnents.

On the other hand, the Whelan TIR3 connected to the 12v battery is an eye blinding experience. It's so bright that when I take a lane cars stay 40-50ft back. Very impressive. Maybe I'll add another.

Well that 12V, 7amphr SLA is a beast. I get good run time but that sucker is a lead weight on the rear rack. What do y'all think is the best location for weight distribution onto the bike. I had a flat yesterday and dealing with that,while removing the battery AND making my train on time was not fun. I see some people put it in a frame bag other on a front rack. What are the pros and cons of either system. Thanks

I started reading this thread...i'm on page 10 i think...plus i read the new stuff...
has anyone doe any testing in real cold weather yet...if so, what page. I plan on reading until I'm caught up, but who knows how long that will take :rolleyes:

as far as wiring, and please forgive me if this was covered, are the wires running bare along the frame? is anyone using any sort of covering to keep it neat (rubber tube, wire loom)?

i'm going to start commuting in the winter (i live in Minneapolis, work in a northern suburb 10 miles away), and i'd like to know how the extreme cold will effect light run time. I'm planning on using a 7aH SLA (or 2) and LEDs I get from work (i work at a NAPA, so the truck lights mentioned earlier might be my lights of choice...still looking into it).

go for the 10ah and just suck it up!! :) I run with a 10ah SLA on my rear rack, and its really giving my legs a sweet workout on my hilly 10mile one way commute. Go for it, get the run time and build those legs. Also works the glutes quite nicely.

Ok, I read this entire thread along with the numerous write-ups and info linked to from here. Do I get a prize? :) Seriously, thanks to all that have imparted knowledge here. I am looking forward to perusing my local hardware store for parts. I do have a question though:

EDIT:
Answered my own question by searching for and finding this:
http://autolumination.com/bike.htm

$5.99 is pretty nice price.

My 1st attempt at a DIY light
 

Have just under $20 invested in the light head. MR16 bulb powered with a 14.4V 5ah Ni-MH pack. $70 for battery pack and smart charger.

http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/diy_light.jpg

Wow! Beautiful light. JB, would you mind posting your bill of materials for the light. I really like the mount!

Do you or someone you know have a CNC mill? Reminds me, I've got a buddy with one at home and need to give him a call. :D

Thanks for the compliments. No CNC, just a dremel, a hacksaw, and a handfile. I am working on some detailed instructions with a bill of materials. Will post soon.

I'm sure this one will get answered with a one word reply, search didn't show anything I could use without 4 hours of reading.

I have a rechargeable battery with 18.8v, can I use this for an Mr16 10w bulb to build a light? The light I have works fine with 10 AA rechargeable batteries, but only lasts an hour or so and I thought this bigger battery would last longer.
I don't know much about electrical theory, but am handy with some strippers and tape ;)

im pretty sure that battery is too strong unless you use a voltage regulator. do a google search for lightbrain, and that should hwlp you out. before doing that though, you may want to make sure of how many amp hours that battery is. you may find that it doesnt store a whole lot and could end up giving you low run time.

What battery would one suggest for trying to get a few good hours of run time out of a 10w mr16 bulb? (good few hours = 3-5)
I'd hate to drop money right now on a full on lighting system when I could just rig a battery up to what I have. The case is waterproof and actually looks pretty darned good.
Next year I'll get something "real" but for now just want something to suffice.
The batter I was thinking of using BTW was from my power tools.

you could get by with a 4.5ah sla here, and get a charger from your local soul swallowing, small business wrecking super store, or just order one with your battery. you could get a bigger battery, incase you decide to add a second light or go for a higher watt bulb. I run a 35watt halogen on my setup and run a 10ah battery. weighs quite a bit, but it just adds to the workout. I also have a 20watt lamp on my bike, but I rarely run it. If I was riding on a mup at night, I would use the small one, but I prefer the 35 on the roads.

So, a 35watt halogen lamp is fine for roads? I just might opt for that instead of a 50watt.

sorry for my newbness, but I too am interested in building one of these contraptions for as cheap as I can. I love the challenge.



I saw this in a website for only $2.50. It's a 50w halogen spot MR-16, 12V narrow spot, bi-pin base.
http://www.allelectronics.com/images...ll/HLP-503.jpg

Will this be bright enough?



If so, is it just a matter of putting this lamp into a housing and connecting it to a gel cell (sealed lead acid) battery like these?



I'm very comfortable with soldering as I have tinkered with upgrading xboxes (lighting, etc).

Thanks!



BTW, what does the AH rating on those batteries mean? Is it the same as MAH on NiMH batteries?