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.


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?

you can find a pretty decent site here
read over this, and then do a google search for DIY bike lights, or homebrew bicycle lights. you should get plenty of examples.

Quality of the light itself is important as well. At 35w you should be ok with a cheapy. Plus, you can buy different bulbs with varying degrees of spread to test out.

1 AH = 1,000 MAH

A 35w MR16 will last longer and the high efficiency ones put out as much light as a 50w.

From what I have read on this forum: 50W tends to melt the PVC fixtures. If you are using something other than that you should be fine. I can tell you that 35W spot is fine. I run 35 spot and 20w flood which works fine. I usually only use the 35W

My 35W is plenty. In fact, even if I didn't have to use more battery, I probably wouldn't switch for a 50W. Then again, I overvolt by a lot.

I have a slight mounting problem with my lights. They jiggle. A picture is worth a thousand words so here goes a thousand words(no camera ) I have a stiff, old(80's) front reflector bracket. I bolted a piece of aluminum to this bracket to form a T. I attached a clamp around my PVC lights(2) to an 'L' shaped flat aluminum strip bolted to the top of the T coming off flat.
So: I have a bracket bolted to an AL strip bolted to an 'L' Al strip and lights clamped to each L strip. If this is clear as mud please let me know and I will try and get a pic up. How do I eliminate the jiggle. Thanks

Recharing polarity of SLA
Both leads of my recharger are identical. Does it make a difference which lead I apply to which terminal ?

I have a
6v 3.4AHr SLA with terminals marked + and -
Reacharger unit has bulk and float automatic switching
output is 6.9v DC 0.3A.

Any suggestions. ps I have a multimeter but I dont know what to measure.

Balto -- that is a difficult situation, especially if it is a small wiggle. My first suggestion would be to try and determine what part is responsible for the jiggle.

If I understand your description correctly, I would guess the jiggle comes from the connection between the pipe clamp around your light and the L-shaped aluminum angle. If that is the problem maybe you could put a large U-bolt over your PVC light and down through the angle iron piece. Tightening that down should eliminate that jiggle.

If the jiggle is coming from elsewhere then you might consider using aluminum angle iron for everything since that will be stiffer than flat bar stock. I hope that helps, but if not send along a pic so we can make better guesses.

Balto -- one other thought if the jiggle does not originate in the hose clamp -- angle stock connection. You could try fastening the pieces together using both JB Weld and bolts to make sure there is no jiggle in those connections. Except of course for the bracket attachment to your bike -- you might want to be able to remove that at some point in the future.

Here is a link to some instructions I created for my Homebrew light. (not dial up friendly)



https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=245737

Thanks for that write-up. I think I may use that same light for my setup.

I'm having a problem with my light working it's way out of the socket as I ride.



It's an MR16 lamp, and there's a fair bit of room inside the housing. I was considering packing it with fiberglass insulation or some sort of retaining spring, but I'm not sure how I'd mount it inside.

Any ideas?

I have by no means whatsoever read this entire thread so I am wondering if anyone has tried using 12v (or even 13.6v) battery packs from power drills? Seems like I could pick up some on ebay for cheap. Could even run a few in parallel

Or how about a battery from a small UPS. Those are cheap on ebay as well. Only problem is weight



Question also:
What has proven to be the best option for smart charger for SLA batteries

interesting cfl idea could work.

Try using a cfl flood reflector so at least one could concentrate the light somewhat.

It should not be hard to get over 1100 lumens of light output with a heavily reflectorized cfl floodlight.

Give it a go as its downright inexpensive; just go down to the local Home Depot.

Let me know how you make out and if it meets your expectations.

Some folks use caulk.

Some have used them. You'll have to search to find what/who/where

Here's a link for a SLA charger that I use. It's cheap and fast enough
https://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...OD&ProdID=2518

Very nicely done

Looking at it last night I think the problem is the 'L' bracket is not stiff enough. I decided to give it some viargra to stiffen it a bit Actually, I'm looking at this handlebar bracket to improve the system. Thanks Newbie
https://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...OD&ProdID=2080

When I built my Optronics/MR16 system, I popped open an APC UPS I had just lying around. (Plugged in of course, to keep the battery from dying.) I peeled off the sticker APC put over the original battery manufacturer's labeling and found out it was a 7AH 12V battery - exactly what I wanted. It rides in my rack trunk and I just throw it back in the UPS to charge it. When I get a bit more cash I might get a different charger just for the convenience, but at the moment I'm recovering from gearing up to commute. Ouch. >.<

I was just at home depot scoping out parts for my new light and noticed they have 4 packs of 1.2v AA nihm batteries for $6.99 (some packs were marked down to $5.99). Could anyone point me in the direction of a how-to on creating a battery pack out of these, or advise if it is even feasible? Thanks, I am a total battery/electricity n00b.

Among other places RadioShack sells plastic cases with the clips, springs, and wiring to make battery packs. I have seen AAA to D sizes.

Easiest way is to use a battery holder. Something like this:
https://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLX82&P=7

I just had to add this (it's about high-capacity batteries, so very relevant to this thread):

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A 'memento mori' for any of us who pride ourselves on speaking 2 or more human languages.