Recycled Lighting....Automotive.....

[icebear]

I can get a lot of 'cosmetically' damaged, but otherwise fine looking headlamps/foglamps etc from work. (Like the mounting bracket will be broken or cracked so it has to be replaced, but the bulb and the actual glass casing is perfectly fine, but since you can't buy them separately the whole assy needs replacing, stuff like that)

I don't know if they would be worth keeping. many of the bulbs have plenty of life left in them and the glass housing is solid so i thought if it were feasable to try hooking them up to run like a light fixture, i might have some good sump lights at the least for whatever it will cost me to wire them so they can be plugged in to a regular outlet.

I have no idea how that would be done, but i'm at least gonna post pics to make sure i'm explaining what i would be trying to use.

This fog lamp is off a 2002 Ford Exploder
See the mount bracket in the upper left half, thats why it has to be replaced, but for my purposes i don't think it matters. But rather it taking up more space in a landfill, maybe it can be recycled into something for fishtanks....

[icebear]

specs on the bulb... 25K is that really yellow? its hard to tell when its on the vehicle at night

[icebear]

the bulb itself

[jesspaul]

25K would be a really- really - really blue white light. Sunlight is about 6K. The best way to tell about the color of a lamp w/o measuring it is to shine it on the tank and then go outside and look thru the window at the tank. That seems to keep your eyes from adjusting to the color when you are staring at the tank.

42W is pretty hefty for a 12v system the wire you use should be rated for at least 4 amps

[icebear]

why was i thinking 25K was yellow?

see how dumb i am still when it comes to lighting? i just mix things up really easy thats all.

as far as the amperage and wiring, and i'm not really sure if i'm even asking this right, is there some way to hook a few of these up inline without overloading something....?
i don't know much about electricity at all, so i have no idea what devices are available to play with these things....

[Phishnoob]

You can get a wall transformer maybe at Radio Shack but as was mentioned 4A is a pretty heavy load. If the Radio Shack transformer does not work (they are usually rated at only 500 mA or so off the top of my head) due to not enough current try looking at www.mouser.com or www.digikey.com. Also this lamp might put out a lot of heat which is the byproduct of this energy conversion.

I would use 18 gauge wire to hook it up. The transformer specs will be 12V with 4A or up for the current rating. Also, that headlight is not polarity sensitive so that means there is no way to hook it up backwards.

They have lights on sale for about 35 bucks at Foster and Smith in the right range. The company is going out of business but you are good to go for a year anyway.

Phishnoob

[Phishnoob]

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/617/1102.pdf

Okies here is a link if it works. If you are determined to do this the transformer that puts out 3.8A and 12V is part number 552-PSS-45W-120 at $40.65. You will need a computer type power cord as well. They have part number 173-63101 for $3.15. Unfortunately the power draw of those headlamps is pretty high and powering one up is a lot of cash.

The other thing you can do is look around and see if you have something like an old laptop or printer power supply or something laying around that might have enough amperage to do this. If you find something PM me and I can help you with this. The other alternative is to buy a transformer and find someone to solder it all up to an AC cord with a 12V output and you can save a couple of bucks. Having something with a UL listing on it is better around the fishtank though IMHO.

Phishnoob

[jesspaul]

Theoretically you could hook ten of the bulbs in series – daisy chained – and hook them to a 120-volt wall socket. Each bulb would get its 12-volts but you sure would get a ton of light – and heat. AC and DC don’t mean a lot to standard light bulbs so that shouldn’t be a problem; the current in the circuit should still be around 4 amps. If you decide to try this experiment do it outside on some nice inflammable concrete with an observer near the breaker switch. Of course the big question is how much trust do you have in the setup vs. a house fire, I would try it in a green house or shed but it would take awhile before I left it alone in the house.

[jesspaul]

OTOH I they sell power compact outdoor rated flood lights at the local home depot for ~$30 that are in the 6.5K range. I use them over my sump to grow macro algae.

[Jimbo]

You can also get a computer power supply for about $12 bucks off of yahoo shopping. Some of them have 25amps@12volts

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/str8buy/400wap4andam.html

You will need to wire a switch into the powergood signal to turn the unit on/off.

Thats probally a 2100k bulb very yellow, I would get some xenon bulbs, they are about 4000k-5000k

http://www.sylvania.com/auto/silverstar.htm
http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/BulbsAbout.html

[icebear]

....ok, so maybe i didn't get the K color mixed up.

its not so much that i'm starving for light, its just that i see so many of these fog lamps damaged just enough that they can't be mounted properly back on the cars- but otherwise are perfectly good. it bugs me to throw the whole thing out especially when they really do still work...

so as far as safety, will they really get that hot? or is there a way to hook them up so they won't? i mean, most of these things are sealed in plastic housings and mounted on plastic bumpers, and they don't get hot enough to melt those- even when not being cooled by 65mph breezes

and then there is getting the proper xenon bulbs- cause if i'm going to try assembling a rag-tag group of foggs here, i may have 5 different types at a time to choose from... (thats why i was thinking sump/fuge lights first cause i'm not too concerned with a yellow light on that.....

as far as power efficiency, do they 'use' more power than an incandecent bulb of the same wattage- this is where my true ignorance shows.....

[Phishnoob]

I would disagree with hooking 12 of these in series. The voltage is a measure of electrical potential and the low resistance of each bulb stacked together will not limit current. The current is calculated by dividing the Voltage by the Resistance from Ohm's law and since the resistance is basically a short circuit the current will skyrocket and suck current like crazy. The breaker will trip instantly or something will burn up.

Those cheapo lights at HD seem like the best bet or if you are finicky on the spectrum get the 10,000K/actinic side by side close outs from Fosters and Smith. Flourescents are a lot less heat and draw a lot less power. The headlamps or foglamps in your car drain the most energy following your starter (unless you have one of those stupid booming subwoofer punk ass jerk stereo systems).

I could use a couple of them for my commuter car though..it is foggy all the time here

Phishnoob

[jesspaul]

With each of the bulbs in series they divide the total voltage. Just like any incandescent lamp there will be a large inrush of current till the filaments get hot. Same thing happens each time you turn on a lamp. Christmas tree lights are connected the same way.

[Doug1]

Heather them bulbs or in the 2500K range, I recently switched to Silver Stars and there are still <4000K thio nice and white bright in air, its the light going thru water that brings out the uglies.
Good thought on recycling, but as mentioned getting a 12v power supply to run em is going to eat up any savings quick