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I have an old Lupine 'Nightmare' halogen light thats been unused for a few years but i would like to repair/upgrade rather than bin it as i like the lamp unit. I was thinking of trying to get a modern battery pack from Smudge.
The heavy bottle cage battery seems to charge but i think the bulb has gone. I think its 25w in old money and i recall the beam was quite good but its been a while.
So, lighting experts is this a worthwhile exercise and should i replace the bulb with an LED and get a battery pack?- Like a 'triggers broom' of the lighting world!
A while back I asked Troutie to take a look at my lupine HID head to see if it could be upgraded to LED, turned out they had glued/sealed everything in so well that it wasn't worth the bother (basically needed machining out!).
[PS: I bought a trout mini instead which has turned out to be the best light I've invested money in]
TBH your on to a loser cost wise, and as much as you might like to upgrade it, the sensible option is to simply buy a new light.
Torchy has his [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Torchy-Oriole-2x-XM-L-T6-1000-lumen-led-bike-light-/121470576745?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item1c4835e869 ]dual XML light on at £40[/url] again, [i]really just buy one[/i], as it'll have a decent battery and the light will have more output than you get out of a single reflector unit
Fair enough. I've had a couple of the single XMLs in recent years, (last one exploded on impact, not whilst charging!) but the Lupine was a nice bit of kit.
I might still have a tinker with it as a backup..or put it back in the cupboard and bin it in 2 years time
I don't see a problem about using different batteries, if that's what you are talking about. But to switch out the driver circuit as above may cost more than a new light.
I was just thinking in terms of new bulb/new battery. 'Upgrading' the battery really, as the original Nimh one is quite hefty.
TBH your on to a loser cost wise, and as much as you might like to upgrade it, the sensible option is to simply buy a new light.
The HIDs were very different construction to the halogens, I'd not assume that. That said, a halogen lamp isn't worth that much now frankly, I'd sooner have LED.
Keep thinking I should do something with my old Edison HID!
I wouldn't bother, if you only intend to replace the halogen bulb with another one and get a new battery.
Halogens use a lot of power compared to LED so you are going to need a decent sized battery - hence why your original Lupine is quite hefty.
For comparison, I converted my Lumicycle Halogens to LED and with the original 'marathon' battery the run time went from about 3.5-4hrs with both halogens on, to >12hrs with both cans running LEDS at full power. And the LEDs were brighter.