Can't you tell? Lights.

Hi guys, Been following this thread for quite a while and it's great. In my own pvc light I built I've been using a 20-watt 17 deg. MR-16 bulb. The 17 deg. spread seems about right for me, but was just wondering if a Solux 3500K 35-watt 17 deg. bulb would be better. I tried a 35-watt 'GE' MR-16 with a 24 deg. spread and it did'nt seem any better than my 20-watt 17 deg. bulb. Just wondering if the Solux would make the difference? 3500K? 4100K? Thanks

4100K will give a whiter white, and may indeed appear brighter.

See if the manufacturer will tell you the operating temperature of the "Solux 3500K 35-watt 17 deg.bulb". I melted a bulb holder once when I increased the wattage of the bulb. If anyone else has used a plastic (PVC) holder at 35 watts you may be ok. I now use an old NightSun metal headlight holder for a 50 watt MR16.

Is anybody still using the Malibu lights that started this whole thread? How are they working out?

Also, does anybody have a source for buying just one of the Optronics lights? They seem to be better, but I can't find them for less than about $30/pair shipped, and then I need new bulbs as well. Since I only plan on mounting one light, that amounts to throwing away $15.

Check out eBay for "Optronics Fog Lamps". I got a set of two on a Buy It Now for $8 shipped. They take the MR-16 bulbs.

Ken

I'm looking at Optilux car fog lights... Man, these things look perfect! Well, except that I'd need a 10 amp-hour battery to run them at 55 WATTS.

I've redone my lights again. Go my bicycle's web page and scroll to the bottom to see pictures and a 18 second movie (3mb file size) of Becca's Lights v3.0.

OK Becca, those lights are awesome. Got any more details, aside from a drool-worthy movie? What did you use for the blinkers?

Sure, Jeff! I went to eBay and bought this tail/brake light. Plus four of these clearance marker lights for use as turn signals. I got the pigtails, chrome surface mounts, and rubber grommets for the markers from the same seller.

I used a 5 watt Luxeon bulb with a diffuser lens for my headlight, and a buckpuck with that. Both of those are mounted inside a plumbing tailpiece - it looks a bit like a pipe bomb, no?

For the flasher, I used one similar to this automotive turn signal flasher. It is specifically designed to handle LED bulbs.

The control box is from Radio Shack, as is the power switch which is illuminated to let me know the system is on.

This sealed on-off-on DPDT switch controls my turn signals.

Finally, I am currently using a 12v 5Ah SLA battery for power. So far it has run about 2 - 2 1/2 hours without needing recharged. The problem is that the battery weighs in at 4.1 lbs!! So I have purchased a li-poly (lithium-polymer) battery which is 14.8v and 3.2Ah. It weighs in at about 12 oz, so it will be far lighter! The only concern I have is that there are lots of warnings surrounding these batteries of fire hazard. Scary, but I think I'll be okay.

I've been working on mine, and found it really frustrating trying to source parts. Here is where I got my stuff:

Home Depot for the PVC and silicone to hold the bulb in
Batteryspace.com for the battery and charger
RadioShack for the switches

The one thing I had a super hard time finding was ceramic sockets for the MR11, I could only find MR16 sockets, I finally found some that do both, and ordered a bunch of them so they ended up cheaper. I have 4 on eBay right now if anyone is interested.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Combination-MR11...QQcmdZViewItem

I'll post pics of my setup as soon as I finish putting it all together. I'm using clamps to hold the lights on so I can remove them any time, which is great, because I only need them for night riding, no point in having them on the bike when in full sunlight!

I got the MR11 going, man is it bright! I can even go through the woods with it! I'm going to get the MR16 on soon, then get some pics up.

Your link isn't working. Just tell us the item number, and we can cut-n-paste.

Hey, Jeff-o - I forgot to mention a couple of things. I'm using Minoura Swing Grips to hold my front turn signals. Plus my old Minoura Space Bar (think old-style Swing Grip) holds my headlight. The headlight is held onto the Space Bar using hose clamps.

For the brakes, I actually epoxied a small square of 1/4" plexiglass to the top of my brake frames on the handlebars, and then epoxied these switches with roller levers onto the plexiglass. It allows total access to the brakes if I need to service them, yet the switches allow the brake handle to operate smoothly while activating the brake lights.

I fixed the link (I think), and the item number is 4456808285. If you search for MR16 socket it comes up also.

Is anybody still using the Malibu lights that started this whole thread? How are they working out?

I am using the housings putting in mr16 bulbs i have three bikes each with two lights,i can not belive anyone would use anything else

Cool, thanks for the info. My implementation will be a little different, as I am planning lights for a trike, but I'll be sure to look for those signal lights!

Ok bare with me because I am new to this.

I got a 12v 3.3Ah SLA and right now it is powering a single 20w MR16.

As you can see this is a pretty ghetto setup right now. I am using a RCA cable as a power cord and some crimped fittings to attach to the battery.

Right now I am not even thinking about water proofing since I will only be commuting in the dry weather.

Once I can figure out how to do it I am going to add an on/off switch and some more lights.

I just got the SLA battery tonight. On my previous commute I just used 8 double As to power the light just to see if I could do it.

What I dont understand is how I go about adding more then one light to a setup like this. Do I just solder/attach all the positive wires to the other positive wires and the same with negative and then hook them up to the battery?

any advice suggestions are welcome.

You got it. Then you would just put the switch inline in either the positive or the negative of the light you want to switch on/off.

It would go like this:

Neg - > Switch - > Light
Pos - > Light

or

Neg - > Light
Pos - > Switch - > Light

That's what I figured thanks.

Now If I am going to add a second 35w light do I need to do anything else special other then a 3 way switch? Do I need fuses or anything. Also what kind of wiring should I get for this. Obviously that audio cable is not the greatest idea.

Depends on how you want it to work. I would rather have two regular SPST switches over a 3way so that I can have either light on, or both. I actually feel the audio cable should be fine. Mine is, thats what I used :-) I would put a fuse at the battery.

Is a fuse absolutely needed? I am really a newb with this stuff so I dont know. I will probably do the two switch thing as well. Just not sure If I will use a 20 and 35 or 20 and 10. I need to figure out what bulbs to use for each wattage. flood of spot, angle of degree, etc.

thanks!

I would use a fuse. Its a safety thing. With just a 3.3ah battery I can't imagine much hard would be done if you had a short, but regardless it's still safer with a fuse.

You could burn out a switch or possibly ruin your battery, but the chances of that are pretty slim. Just put a fuse in line with the battery before you connect anything else and you won't have to worry about it.

Ken

Can I Just get a fuse at radio shack? Is it something I just solder in before anything connects to the battery? Does anyone have any photos of thier fuse setup? Do I need a certain type/size?

sorry for all the questions.