Economical Battery Solution

[Dick Welty]

At the last Tulare, Ca. Farm equipment show Ken and Larry Evans told me about the batteries out of a Harbor Freight Tools 1,000,000 candle power rechargable spotlight.

I had bought several to use around home and had very good luck with them.

Larry stated that he just slid open the battery compartment and removed the battery to use for Ignition on Hit and Miss and Igniter coil engines.

He further stated that he used the built in battery charger to recharge the batteries either from the 110 volt transformer or the 12 volt cigarette plug that came with the spotlight.

My original spot light that I have been using for at least 2 years has gone thru probably 100 charge cycles has finally gotten long in the tooth and does not last as long as it once did, so I purchased a new one today for $9.95 on sale at Harbor Freight.

When I opened it I immediatly saw a sliding battery door that was not on the spotlights that I had previously purchased. When Larry originally told me about the spotlights that he had bought I thought that he had purchased a different one than I had.

It turns out that the new ones have the battery door.

Anyway These batteries will run a Buzz or Igniter coil for several days without recharging but if you are worry wart you can recharge it from your cigarette lighter at the end of each day. The spotlight body working as your charge station.

In addition to a reliable power source they still function as a spotlight. I live in the country and they serve me well if I go out at night to look for something in the barn or to turn off the water.

Being thus used often they are also charged regularly which probably extends there life.

The only problem that I have heard about was told to me by one of my sons who had one that I had given to him. He said that he had left it on the charger for several weeks and that the battery would then no longer hold a charge.

I charge my spotlight in my computer room on the floor where I almost trip over it whenever I come in here. It has a red LED that shines brightly while it is charging and dims when it is charged. I simply unplug the charger when the LED is dim and plug it in after the spotlight begins to dim.

If I am outside away from the house and it begins to dim I simply turn it off and on every time I am unsure of my path and it gives me enough light to get back to the house where I have a second one charged.

Try them you'll like them.

Thanks Larry and Ken.

[Andrew Mackey]

Your batteries are probably NiCad's. They have a memory, and if used short time and recharged, will not hold a long charge. They work best if run until dead and then recharged, that way you get a full charge out of them. If overheated, or left on charger long term, they will go bad. Once in a while, they should be run nearly totally dead in order to preserve the charge memory
Andrew

[Elden DuRand]

Now, if the batteries in the spotlight are gel-cells, they are happiest if always fully charged. They have no memory like nicads. Also, if the spotlignt charger is smart, it will allow the light to be continually plugged-in and float charging. You get the longest battery life that way.

The way to tell if the charger is for gel-cells (lead-acid) is smart is to let the battery charge for a couple of days then measure the voltage. A 6-Volt lead-acid is happiest between 6.6 and 6.9 Volts. A 12 Volt lead-acid battery is happiest at between 13.2 and 13.8 Volts. If this is the case, you can leave it charging all the time you're not using it. If the voltage is over about 14.1 Volts, it might be best to unplug it when it reaches this voltage, otherwise, it might dry out.

Look on the battery inside the light. It should say if it's a gel-cell or a nicad.

I never thought about it but I bet a pair of Radio Shack binding posts mounted on the light would be the trick! Then, you wouldn't have to remove the battery to run your engine and you'd always know where the flashlight is.

Take care - Elden

[Larry Evans]

Hi...........

The flashlight I mentioned to Dick actually is only 500,000 candlepower. Take a look at:
http://www.oldengine.org/members/levans/battery/
to see some pictures of it. This particular light has a 6 volt gel cell and the back of the light unscrews to give easy access to the battery. As you can see the charger is on a small board inside the light housing. The battery does a fine job of powering the ignition of an air cooled Domestic with igniter and low voltage coil. A small Gade with buzz coil and sparkplug seems to be happier with a 12 volt battery but does run with the small 6 volt battery.

Dick...What voltage is the battery in the light you just bought? If it is 12 volts I just might get a couple to have available.

Regards,
Larry

[Dick Welty]

These Batteries are sealed lead batteries 6Volts 5amps.

Larry, This light is rated at 1,000,000 candle power and is Harbor Freight Tools item number 03358.

Elden, Your idea about mounting terminals on the out side is great. I have a lot of brass machine screws, washers and thumb screws. I will mount some on one just to use for around the shop.

When at shows I like to use old oak telephone bell boxes for the battery and coil as they are very similar to the original battery boxes only better quality.

Some pictures below.

[BobRR]

Well just got back from Harbour frieght and they also have a 500,000 candle power that uses the same 6v. battery for 7.99. Cant get much cheaper for a 6v battery and a lite. and you dont even need any tools to take the battery out! BobRR

[BobRR]

Forgot to add this is the same one that Larry has. Larry they do have one that is 1,000,000-3,000,000 candle power that has a 12v bat. but it is 30.00. BobRR

[Elden DuRand]

Dick:

I'm a-gonna take a guess that the chargers in those lights are constant voltage so you can keep them charging all the time you're not using the light.

Greater battery lifetime that way.

Take care - Elden

[BobRR]

Elden the destructions say to take off charger when charging lite goes off and recharge after every use or every 3 months.BobRR

[Elden DuRand]

Originally Posted by BobRR

Elden the destructions say to take off charger when charging lite goes off and recharge after every use or every 3 months.BobRR

Bob:

Go with the instructions.

Take care - Elden
http://home.cybertron.com/~edurand

[Chuck Woycke]

Elden.Liked Your Idea About Mounting Outside Post That Can Short Out If Both Post Touch The Wrong Thing.What I Did Was To Put Phone Jack,Speaker Jack Or Whatever Them Call Them On My Flash Lite.Mount The Female Plug Into Your Flash Lite And Use The Male End Hooked To What Ever You Want To Power.The Plug Looks Like The One You Plug In To Charge The Thing.(I Wonder If You Can Get Voltage Out Of The Plug You Plug In To Charge It With??.)-Chuck

[Farquhar]

Originally Posted by Elden DuRand

Dick:

I'm a-gonna take a guess that the chargers in those lights are constant voltage so you can keep them charging all the time you're not using the light.

Greater battery lifetime that way.

Take care - Elden

Ruined my light by leaving it hooked up to the charger all the time. Could be that some will be OK, but mine sure didn't last long.

[Randy Hart]

I found the 6v jell Battery from a exit light to be handy.. At our local electrical supply house they are $5.75 each and when you couple two together and use a Harbor freight 12v float charger to top them off between shows it works out great.

Randy Hart Ohio

[John Newman, Jr.]

Those massive spotlights from Harbor Freight (I have seen similar ones at Big Lots, too) come in 2 different models. The one with the "Gordon" name has Ni-Cads in it and is generally cheaper. The 'house brand' one has lead acid (gel) cells. Check the shipping weight on them. While the lead acid batteries make it a heavier unit to carry, they are worth it for holding a better charge, lasting longer and the ability to 'top up' the charge any time without the memory problem. Mine has an LED in the charge circuit that fades & goes out when fully charged. This indicates to me that the charger is tapering down to zero once the batteries are full, which will hopefully keep from cooking the batteries.

[Bill Geyer]

Hello All,

If you have the type of charger that must be removed after a few hours or you are not sure, you can use one of those cheap timers for turning lights on and off when you are away to deter robbers. Be sure and get the one with the tabs you can pull out or change. Set the timer to run for one hour at the time of your choice and your battery will always be charged, but not cooked. I think they are about $6 at Radio shack and mabe about $4 at WallMart.

Bill

[John Newman, Jr.]

Bill has a very good idea! I use this same method to control the refrigerator at my shop. The thermostat wiring got chewed by mice (that in itself is a good long story....) so I have the power cord wired directly to the compressor. By cycling it on & off with a timer, it keeps cold without freezing everything in it.