DIY HID light passes test

[Padipro]

Finally got the chance the other day to test my new DIY 13 watt HID light on an actual dive. We did the wreck of the Roder 25 here in Ft. Lauderdale, I had a max depth of 126 FSW. The light worked great and not a drop of water inside. For less then half the price of my DR 10 watt HID I got exactly the same preformance.

Anyone interested in how it was built can see it on my DIY Site. I've got several more pictures posted of the light in various stages of modification from 12 volt sealed lead acid battery with a 50 watt halogen bulb all the way to 13 volt Nimh battery with 13 watt HID.

 

[KidK9]

Excellent light. Nice work. Out of curiosity, how much in materials does this cost to build?

 

[Spoon]

congrats on that piece of work. im curious as well how much the materials cost. is your lighthead adjustable?

 

[Padipro]

Thanks guys. The light head is not adjustable. It's a fix spot but provides good light in dark places.

The total cost of everything is hard to pin down exactly because I've been building and modifying the light as new ideas and parts become available. The two most expensive parts were the light head at about $65 US (This was custom made by a guy who was making a selling them to people building DIY lights) and the HID bulb and ballast, which is from a Trail Tech ATV light, which cost me just over $100. The rest of the material, PVC for the canister, Plexiglas for the lid, light switch, latches, cord and waterproof feed throughs cost about $100 US and that was for top of the line parts. It could be built cheaper if you found the PVC at a construction site, used a cheaper switch (The one I used cost $20) and used a different type cord, mine is actual Dive Rite light cord which isn't cheap. The battery is another expensive part of the light but I had a couple of extra NiMh battery packs laying around for power tools that I wasn't using so I didn't have to buy a new battery I just used these batteries and built my own pack.

The best part is that I built it myself and it works great.

 

[Spoon]

Thanks guys. The light head is not adjustable. It's a fix spot but provides good light in dark places.

The total cost of everything is hard to pin down exactly because I've been building and modifying the light as new ideas and parts become available. The two most expensive parts were the light head at about $65 US (This was custom made by a guy who was making a selling them to people building DIY lights) and the HID bulb and ballast, which is from a Trail Tech ATV light, which cost me just over $100. The rest of the material, PVC for the canister, Plexiglas for the lid, light switch, latches, cord and waterproof feed throughs cost about $100 US and that was for top of the line parts. It could be built cheaper if you found the PVC at a construction site, used a cheaper switch (The one I used cost $20) and used a different type cord, mine is actual Dive Rite light cord which isn't cheap. The battery is another expensive part of the light but I had a couple of extra NiMh battery packs laying around for power tools that I wasn't using so I didn't have to buy a new battery I just used these batteries and built my own pack.

The best part is that I built it myself and it works great.

lucky for you. been wishing to own my own hid but as of the moment cannot afford one just yet. unfortunately we dont have access to most of those parts here in the Philippines. i would love to have the know how to build my own 21w hid or something smaller but am not quite capable just yet. you should start building hid lights on the side and id be your first customer

 

[Padipro]

If I had a machine shop where I could turn out the parts quickly and cheaply I would but everything I make is built by hand. I have a few power tools like a table saw and a drill press but most parts and done all by hand.

 

[diverryan]

Padipro, great looking light. I plan to fabricate my own in the next few weeks. Congrads.

 

[Padipro]

Padipro, great looking light. I plan to fabricate my own in the next few weeks. Congrads.

Take lots of pictures of the light while you're building it and post them on my DIY site so we can see how it turned out. If you have any questions along the way don't be afraid to post them on the site as well. There are over 800 members and somebody somewhere will have an answer.

Good luck.

 

[Firecracker]

Great looking and working light!

Thanks for the sharing!

 

[mddolson]

Nice job Scott.
Quite typical of most of your DIY projects.

regards

Mike D