Lamp help please!

[North Wales Hunter 6]

Hi all,

I went out last night with my light force 170 and a fully charged 12v 7aH battery and it lasted me about an hour on altogether is that good or bad or normal any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

ATB

 

Jake

[markha 99]

If it doesnt match these specs take it back and change it mate: (does sound about right though)

 

http://www.tracerpower.com/battery-packs.html

[matt_hooks 188]

Does the literature tell you what wattage the light draws? As we all know, power (watts) = voltage x current (volts x amps). The battery is rated in amp-hours, so if the lamp worked for 1 hour, and the battery is rated at 7 amp-hours, then the current drawn should be 7 amps. Of course, not all of the battery nominal capacity is available for use. In fact, you probably have about 5 amp-hours, so your current would be 5 amps. So a 12 volt lamp, drawing 5 amps, would give you a power rating of 60 watts, which sounds about right.

[North Wales Hunter 6]

So bascily I need a bigger battery with more amps per hour?

 

Thanks alot guys

 

ATB

 

Jake

[matt_hooks 188]

More amp hours (not amps per hour) will give you a longer run time, so yes, what you need is a battery with a higher amp.hour rating.

[North Wales Hunter 6]

Ok thanks alot do you think 10 or 12aH would be good?

 

Thanks

 

Jake

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Hi all,

I went out last night with my light force 170 and a fully charged 12v 7aH battery and it lasted me about an hour on altogether is that good or bad or normal any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

ATB

 

Jake

 

There's either a 75 W or 100 W bulb in that Striker. A 7ah battery, oh dear, that's not much of a battery for having the lamp on all the time.

 

I've a Striker, can't remember what bulb I have in it now. I use a 28amp battery I got off fleabay, need the time out come lambing time. Had a 33amp battery but it didn't last for some reason.

 

More amps = more time = more weight. It's just a matter of how long you'd like to stay out balanced with how much weight you can tolerate (if you don't buy one of those fancy lithium ion batteries).

 

I started out with a 14amp battery running a lance with a 50W bulb, then moved onto 18amp batteries. Wouldn't go below a 20amp battery for my lamping.

[dogvixen01 34]

if you use a 100 watt bulb at 12 v = 8,5 amps / hour .so if you are using a 7 amp/hour sealed lead acid battery battery it should theoretically last you approx 49 mins .these figures are when everything is perfect ie bulb,connections,battery fully charged etc.in reality near the end it will become too dim and unuseable( so about 35 mins would be about it ) .either use a 50 watt bulb or go up to at least a 20 amp battery.as previously mentioned if weight is an issue but cost isn,t buy a lithium battery.atb.

[North Wales Hunter 6]

Ok thanks, Ive just read on the bulbb it says `osram 12v 100w 62138HL GER 508` could I posibly upgrade to a better bulb, the only battery I could find which was 12v 28aH was £50 and weighed 8.6K!!

 

Thanks

 

ATB

 

Jake

[JohnGalway 1,043]

You can downgrade to a lesser W bulb. That'll consume less power and give you a longer time out, but it'll throw less of a beam compared to what you have now. There are 75W and 50W bulbs and other lesser W bulbs too, just remember you're going to get less light.

 

If the bulb you have now is an original bulb, look carefully at how the filament is aligned inside of the bulb. Is it standing up vertical or is it laying down horizontal? Vertical or horizontal will give different patterns to the spot out of your lamp. I forget which does which, but I'm going to guess that vertical gives the tighter spot and horizontal gives a more oval spot.

 

Also....... (this is a bitch of a subject isn't it )...... Not all bulbs are created equal. The genuine real deal will be costing somewhere around £9-£10 per bulb your money, while you can get what I believe are projector bulbs for £3-£4. The projector bulbs will be inferior, and yet draw the same power as the more expensive ones.

 

It's all a trade off. Depends on what you're personally happy with doing.

 

In my opinion the cheapest and best first option you should consider is to buy a 50W bulb, and then see how happy you are with it's performance and the amount of time you'll have out lamping.

[North Wales Hunter 6]

Oh ok, well the filament points foward out of the lamp, oh and my variable power was working when I bought it of a friend but now it only stay on full? Any ideas? And where can I buy a 50w bulb from of the right make and quality. And is Xneon better than filament?

 

Thanks

 

ATB

 

Jake

[jamie g 17]

with my 170 i use a 18amp one. and last all evening

[North Wales Hunter 6]

Is the 50w bulb off a 140 or is it a different one?

 

Thanks

 

ATB

 

Jake

[paulus 26]

you lads must be getting alot of runs or else are out all night to be using batteries of that size. feck carring that about all night your alot fitter than i am i go for 3 or 4 hours and get away with a couple of 7amp ones on a webbing belt in old army water bottle holders with the wireing running through the belt.

[jamie g 17]

you lads must be getting alot of runs or else are out all night to be using batteries of that size. feck carring that about all night your alot fitter than i am i go for 3 or 4 hours and get away with a couple of 7amp ones on a webbing belt in old army water bottle holders with the wireing running through the belt.

 

the 4x4 carry's my battery

Edited October 30, 2011 by jamie g