BIKE LIGHT "Commuter" under 5 bucks By Veggiecycle

So this light really gets you respect. I call it the commuter cuz it really doesn't put light down on the ground like the other light. ..But the visibality is great. Perfect for in the city when you need to be seen. A car driver sees you coming and they can't figure out if your a motorcycle or scooter..or a car with a headlight out.. even a train (sez my friend)and it (the light) can be made for under 5 bucks at Home Cheapo. The battery pack is still gonna run you a bit 20 to 30 bucks(use the same battery pack as last light) 10 AA Ni-MH at 1.2 volts thats 12 volts 2500 mAh in the cute little plastic holder from Radio shack or some other electronic place.
This light is 11 watts so on this battery pack it should run just under 3 hours. I did a late night city ride last Friday night and it held strong for the 2 1/2 hours we rode.
Another of my bike lights http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/9129E65EFFBE102880EC001143E7E506/edit.jsp

Step 1 Get the light "bulb"

First we get a Malibu ML11P2 sealed beam light at Home Depot. It comes in a 2 pack. so...you should make 2. NOTE: Chicks dig guys who make them bike lights.

Comments

[ilikepieinmyshoe]

so your saying, after 3 hours of riding i need to buy 10 more AA batteries?

[l8nite]

no you need to recharge the batteries after about 3hrs of continuous use

[jchambers1]

could you use a bi pin base connector?

[bikebum1975]

Hmmm wondering if something like this would work off of a remote control car battery I happen to have laying around dunno the specs on it would have to check.

[peterlonz]

Veggiecycle,

Congrats a nice simple project quite well executed & documented.
I live in Australia so no "Home Depots" as with many other countries I suppose.

So can you say exactly what a "Malibu ML11P2 sealed beam" is. I guess it's a sealed halogen luminary, off maybe some small vehicle, motorbike maybe??
Can you please provide some more detail so we can seek out alternatives, size, originally used for .......... etc.

Also the suggestion to use a regulator seems sound, only about 1.0 amp draw for 12 V/11watts, this could be home brewed & put in the battery pack. What do you think.  Downside I see is that even a sealed lead/acid battery quickly drops from 13.8 to about 12V so you might ever only be able to access say 60% of available charge.
Was your "ride test with the NIMH 10 cell setup you recommend?

Thanks
Peter O

[pgamache]

These lights are low voltage outdoor lighting used along paths/walkways. They can be run off transformers or battery/solar systems and are intended for use around the home/garden. Sticking one on a bike is a clever re-purposing, though!

[mista.v]

Why not just use a straight up 12 volt like this?
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=12+volt+battery&um=1&hl=en&biw=1436&bih=807&ie=UTF-8&cid=2415590567703803192&ei=Ce40TYu2LMGs8AaB3vTwCA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CH8Q8wIwAg#
(or the giantass ones in the hardware store)

[solomon.duke52]

how nice!

[junits15]

WOOO incandescent lights!!

[soundmotor]

Crude but effective; I like your style!

[roboslob]

sick

[fixxieCorazon]

This looks badass! I can't wait to try it. My old light was a cateye and it was really weak. Thanks for the instructable. I'll post pics when I finish it.

[bullzebub]

You should get a battery pack from http://cheapbatterypacks.com/main.asp
it would give you better "bang for the buck" and it would be easier to make :-)

or maybe a batterypack from a cordless powertool.

[54X16]

you might check out batteryspace.com forum for all kinds of stuff about over volting, batteries, supplies, etc. also check out the Masterline mr16 lamps made by Philips. these have higher outputs then standard lamps. i ride with 5 riders in the AM and they can turn off their lights when i run one 45watt masterline. this lamp has a equivalent output of a 75watt. of course i have to lug around a 4 pound battery but i have no problems seeing anything.

[Woodalia]

nice and simple but curious about a few things. say we wanna up the ante, would li-ion (say at 14.8v work with mr16 or cause probs? i've heard that over volting halogen really boosts beam??? also, is there any possibility of regulating current so beam is always same brightness? love the idea, just curious what would happen if we threw some money at it. thanks veggiecycle

[ironsmiter]

Nice... My recumbent bikes are much more weight tolerant, so I modified your design a little. got a foglamp and montunt for $2, from the local junkyard. Then, i spent a couple bucks($7US) and got one of the sealed lead-acid batteries designed for motorized kid cars(old Razor scooter's are a good source too, plus you get the motor for other projects like the Bike Wheel windmill) Sure, it consumes a lot more power than tan leds, but i can ALWAYS see, and be seen. Next, gonna try with a sealed hi/low beam headlight from an older volkswagon. not sure where I'll mount my off/low/hi switch yet... as a "water resistant" agent, I fill my PVC caps with die-electric grease before hot-glueing it on.(my mod uses the bulb "frame" mounting method, so the issue is holding the cap to the bulb, instead of the other way round. the mounting system is then strap-mounted onto the headstock.)

[Shamigo]

brilliant! i love your ideas man a question and a comment about LED's however: comment: some websites sell LEDs for pocket change...i normally buy for between 20 and 40 cents with really cheap shipping so its not such an expensive idea question: do LED's really not use much power? I'm not sure if hooking up an LED to a battery pack is a good idea...i mean the resistor u'd most probably have to attach would kill the battery life...or am I wrong? I've been keeping away from battery power for LED's because this is my preconceived notion.

[veggiecycle]

The easy/cheep way to do LED ( I know this isnt very DIY) is buy a cheap led flash light..lol .. The leds that cost less then a buck are not the leds that can put off tons of light. You can see them from far away so its good to use them to be seen...but not so good for putting light on the ground cheap..
If you want to check out the type of LEDs that really put light out http://www.luxeon.com/index.html
I ordered some 1 and 3 watt emitters to the electronic dumbby they were imposible to use. I burn them all out hooking them straight to batteries or I couldnt get any light out of them under voltaged... Look at that web site those are "The" LEDs

[maxwell]

The luxeons need driver circuitry, but you can get mr-16 luxeons with the driver built in, such as here:

http://www.theledlight.com/dcbulbs.html

[Shamigo]

hmm...i suppose the ones at luxeon are much brighter...but i'm guessing a cluster of like 10 7000mcd LEDs would be pretty damn bright...and at www.123leds.com u can get LEDs that bright for change...the 5mm white ones are 36cents each.

[veggiecycle]

NEWS FLASH.. I did a late night group ride in LA Fri and it poured rain for 2 hours.. The light worked fine in the rain... no shorts or nothn