DIY Canister Light and Lighthead

[Diver0001]

More questions....

I'm jsut about decided on a light. I can get a Solux 50w tungstun halogen light in MR16 package where I live that has a colour temp of 4700. I'm almost settled on 50W because i need the burn-time.

Question is this. I have a choice of beam angles ranging from 10-degrees to 36-degrees. Anyone have advice?

R..

 

[Padipro]

More questions....

I'm jsut about decided on a light. I can get a Solux 50w tungstun halogen light in MR16 package where I live that has a colour temp of 4700. I'm almost settled on 50W because i need the burn-time.

Question is this. I have a choice of beam angles ranging from 10-degrees to 36-degrees. Anyone have advice?

R..

I like a wide angle beem myself. I'm not sure exactly what degree they are, just standard wide angle MR-16 bulbs from Home Depot, but I tried the spot beem once and IMO the wide angle is much better.

 

[jtsmith]

Ditto...I like the wide beam too. The only time I have switched over to a tight beam was in very poor vis. I also use a tight beam when I dive a particular barge where I like to look way in the holes.

 

[Diver0001]

I like a wide angle beem myself. I'm not sure exactly what degree they are, just standard wide angle MR-16 bulbs from Home Depot, but I tried the spot beem once and IMO the wide angle is much better.

How's your viz normally? I need to use this light in average 3 metre viz.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

More questions.....

Something you didn't get into in your article, Scott, but that Jason's pictures got me thinking about is the sort of charger you'll need. You guys have any experience to share on that? I will need to buy a stock charger and modify it. I don't feel confident about building one from scratch.

R..

 

[Padipro]

The vis here in South Florida averages about 15 metres. Some days are in the 30 to 40 metre range others are only 3 or 4. It all depends on the currents.

 

[Diver0001]

And something else.....

You guys have any formula's that I can use to get a rough idea of the battery capacity I need for a 2 hour burn time on the 50w bulb? I'm looking in to getting a custom made battery-pack for the PVC pipe (believe it or not there's an affordable shop just around the corner that will do this for me - it's like a cosmic hint) and I need to have an idea of the capacity beforehand.

R..

 

[jtsmith]

Here in Destin Florida it varies. On average we have about 30 foot vis or better. Mostly depending on when tropical storms come through.

I use the Maha 777 charger on Nimh. Its fast and automatic. I have a bunch of other battery packs and it charges them all.

 

[jtsmith]

If memory serves:

Wattage = Voltage * amperage

50 watts = 12 * 4.1666

So you bulb pulls 4.1666 amps. Your battery will be rated in amp hours. A battery rated at 5 amp hours will power a 5 amp load at full charge for one hour and be at 10.8 volts (when you should quit using it). So if you need a 2 hour burn time you would need around a 10 amp hour battery pack.

Keep in mind that you can go past that 10.8 volt area in emergencies but it is very hard on your batteries....this is especially true of Lead Acid (mainly due to charging it back up when they are that low).

 

[Diver0001]

You guys are great. I'll have to revisit the recharger thing once I've gotten more information about my batterypack. Thanks for the help so far. Stay tuned.

R..