Beginners Guide to DIY Homebuilt Cannister Lights.

[CivilE]

Well, I've managed to finish the Illuminator this weekend using ABS pipe, and 12 D-cells over volting a 50watt Halogen. I have to say I'm impressed by the brightness and my wife was even more impressed at the build quality (apparently I have a reputation for Ghetto-rigging). BTW, I found that McMaster carries the same Nielson Sessions latches as Salvo that were mentioned in the guide. If anyone has trouble getting the guide or needs part numbers for any of it feel free to pm and email address to send it off to.

Matt

Any pics? Oh, PM sent too...



CivilE

 

[jeraldjcook]

Does anyone have any experience with 14 cells in series for 16.8v nominal?

 

[mjcoussens]

I'm sure it would work just fine. he only issue I can see is how to go about building the battery pack into the best form factor.

On another note, does anyone have a guesstimate on how long it should take to charge a 14.4v battery pack? Mines been on the charger since Sunday at noon and the charge indicator still has not changed from red to green. FWIW, I have tested the battery pack and it will power the light just fine. I'm just curious about the amount of time needed for a full charge.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[jeraldjcook]

I'm sure it would work just fine. he only issue I can see is how to go about building the battery pack into the best form factor.

I have that all figured out, I was just curious on bulb failure, etc. Battery pack looks like this, but two high. Fits like a glove.

On another note, does anyone have a guesstimate on how long it should take to charge a 14.4v battery pack?

How many amps (or mah) is your battery and how many amps is your charger? A 5,000 mah battery would take about 6 hours on a 1 amp charger. Just divide your battery size by charger output and add 10-20%.

 

[Packhorse]

Most batterys require 140% charge.
eg a 5000 mah will require 7000 ma charge for an hour or 700ma for 10 hours.
If your charger only puts out 70ma then it will take 4 days to charge it.
I use 12 Nicads at 5000mah. The charger I built has 2 charge settings. "fast" charges in 10 hours while "slow" takes 25 or so from flat
I usually never run the battery right down so I charge on Fast for 4 or 5 hours then over night on low to top it up before a dive. This way I never over charge it.
I do intend to make the Fast faster.

 

[mkutyna]

What kind of container are you putting that 16.8v battery pack in or are they not NiMH D's?

 

[jeraldjcook]

It's a 4" pvc and yes they are D cells. It's a bit wider than I hoped for, but it's quite short. I'm planning on running a 50w MR16 so I wanted at least a 10 Ah battery. I almost did 2 C cell 5 Ah batteries and a smaller cannister (1 pack in it at a time) but the Ds won out for a number of reasons. I considered lithium polymer and lithium ion batteries, but even building my own pack they were 2 1/2 times the cost. I'll post some picts in a week or so, I'm waiting for a few parts to come in the mail.

 

[mjcoussens]

Yeah, looks like I need a bigger charger...mine is only .4amps. I did test out the battery pack though and it gave me 2 hours of light before I shut it off, so it will last me for at least a full day of diving. I'll get pics up as soon as I can. Next up is a housing for my video camera.

Matt