|
How to Make it Through the Night
This discussion is offered as a public service. These opinions are not meant as a deffinative "How-To" and are not sanctioned by the Texas Water Safari Corporation.
LITHIUM BATTERY PACKS 
Lithium Battery packs can be purchased from EXCELL Batteries. Contact Bob Fay at
bfay500@swbell.net or 281-599-9827 or
713-213-3554. Amp/hour capacities up to 30 hours are available in 12 volt or 6 volt. These are professionally assembled packs that can
withstand the rigors of the Water Safari. The cells are connected and encased in a fiberglass tube that is sealed on both ends. The
protruding wires include a waterproof fuse holder and super quick action fuse (essential to prevent internal tripping of a cell if a problem
develops). The picture shows the assembled pack. It is just over 22 inches long and weighs 2.5 lbs. David Bartell
The following is results of a lantern battery run-time test done in response to a billboard question by Tom Pope. I thought the details would be best explained here rather than on the billboard. I ran a run-time test of two Duracell 6 volt lantern batteries in series with an MR11 12v12w bulb (showed a current draw of just over .8 amps). I pulled the plug at 14.5 hours at which point the bulb showed just faint yellow illumination (pack voltage at 4 volts). I would say that the effective illumination was 10 hours (when the voltage dropped under 8). 3 hours after starting the test the voltage had dropped under 9. The test was stopped twice for at least 5 hours and after restart the batteries showed recovery of approximately .5 volts (under load) as a result of the rest time. This is a pack that weighs 3 lbs. and would probably be 3.5 to 4 with protection and mounting material. The voltage is an issue because you never get to realize the full potential of this bulb - it apparently likes better than 12 volts under load and I know that the illumination at that level is brilliant by comparison. The bulb would perform much better with 3 lantern batteries in series, no doubt. Most professional applications, such as mountain bike setups, provide 13.2 volts with a nickel metal hydride pack. They only run for about 3 hours but they hold the voltage much higher before exhaustion and the light is much more white and brilliant. Certainly the MR11 is a very tolerant bulb and will even glow down to 4 (or less) volts. Next week I will run two tests. One with 10 alkaline D cells in series and one with 8 lithium cells ( 2 paralleled sets of 4 cells in series). The lithium pack, with packaging should weigh right at 2 lbs., run the MR11 for 26 hours and hold close to the loaded voltage of 13.2. We will see.
I have completed a run time test of 8 Duracell "D" cells in series powering an MR11 12v12w bulb. This is a battery pack that weighs 2.7 lbs. without packaging. Run time to the point where the pack drops below 8 volts was approx. 7 hours. This is consistent with comparison to the lantern battery test (the lanterns have higher amp hour capacity) where the drop down point below 8 volts was some 3 hours later. The surprising result was that the voltage for the first 3 hours on the D cells stayed above 10 - better than the lanterns. My opinion is that this is a pack capable of just under 1 night with the last few hours of the night barely adequate - most likely requiring supplemental illumination. If you can find an MR11 12v with a 10 watt rating perhaps it will stretch sufficiently for a full night. I would recommend that if you choose this battery option that the cells be soldered together in the series configuration, rather than placed in a typical battery box, to maximize their efficiency. If you don't have the tools or experience doing this - don't - use the battery box.
David Bartell
Excellent article on Safari Lights by Jay Daniel. Jay Daniel is the Owner and Operator of Rainmaker Canoes and a 7-time Finisher of the TWS. Rainmaker has spent over $2000 researching Lithium Batteries and testing them to failure. Rainmaker has built the winning boat in Every TWS since 1995 and worked on the winner since 1992. Every winner since 1992 has had their lights powered by battery packs from Rainmaker. In 2001 the top 5 boats had Rainmaker Battery Packs
Jay Daniel-Rainmaker Canoes
Two mag lights wired to close cell foam that can be easily carved to fit the bow of any boat. Should last two nights if you conserve. Take the foam off during the day and attach it under your seat for floatation.
Mike Stinson
I picked up fog lamps at a car yard for $10 each and they put out a nice wide flat pattern. If you need batteries different than D cells check out the radio Shack catalog. They carry gel cells that can be placed in any position.
Tim Schlapp
Glenn Deitiker's looks like an A++ solution: a VERY bright light, waterproof, "bullet proof." 5 lbs is not unreasonable for an excellent light for 2-3 nights. Noting that, in the modest number of Safarists I know, 3 seasoned veterans were unhappy with their lights last year and still casting about for a best solution for this year. And, a very strong solo paddler was greatly handicapped by having 2 2-cells flastlights on the bow of his boat... and came in second. The Princeton diving light is also waterproof, rugged, and gives off a +++ beam. 8 c-cells have to be changed some time each night.
John Stockwell
Not sure if this really belongs on the page of recommendations for lighting systems, but this is what we used with extraordinary results. This light system generates more light than most automotive halogen lights on high beam and weighs <5 lbs with batteries. The downside is cost. The system below is not cheap: For starters, I am not a Safari expert by any means, but I finished last year on my second attempt. The failure of the first attempt was partially to blame on the lighting system, so we spent much time effort and in the end money making sure that was not our problem last year. I'm an engineer by trade, so determining the max lumen/mass ratio we could afford was not too tough. Here is what we came up with: 18 Watt HID lighting system. HID will give more light/amp than any commercially available system. This version is water proof: http://www.sarind.com/hid.html The 18 watt system generates 1300+ lumens, about that of a 120 watt halogen bulb. There is also a 25 Watt version of this light available by special order. Spiral wound lithium batteries: http://www.greatbatch.com/WGL/electrochem-csc.html We used product 3B36, and used 6 batteries. 3 would be enough for 2 nights, just depends on how long you intend to be out. If you use 6 batteries, set the packs up as parallel sets of 3 batteries in series. The light is adjustable flood/spot, and easily mounted on a boat. Hope this helps someone.
Glenn Deitiker
Check out these articles on Safari lights by John Stockwell. John Stockwell
John Dupont is our team electrician, that's because my lights were the cause of knowing that you can still keep a good pace up no lights. He gets two 6 volt screw top drycells (for 12 volts)and seals the edges with silicone so water doesn't enter the battery. The reflector comes from cheap-o fog lights from any Wal-Mart--auto store (lens stays off) He mounts the bulb holder on blocks of wood to get the filament in the focal point. the reflector is mounted on a hinge hooked to a small bungee towards the front of the boat be cause we crack lots of brush with it. wiring is permanent on battery and bulb, the contact is made with those rubber car/trailer contacts. Oh, yeah he also likes to use 9.65 bulb that screw in to the mount. I like Kryptons better but he's doing the work and when you run a bulb hotter than it's rated they can burn out quickly so the screw mount is pretty convenient.
John Mark Harras
Me and the girls mounted 3 bicycle lights on a tripod so we could adjust the angle of each. It used 'regular' batteries that lasted about 4 hours so we had to change out. Worked great! Nothing fancy. Nothing we couldn't fix. Cindy Meurer
John Dupont is our team electrician, that's because my lights were the cause of knowing that you can still keep a good pace up no lights. He gets two 6 volt screw top drycells (for 12 volts)and seals the edges with silicone so water doesn't enter the battery. The reflector comes from cheap-o fog lights from any Wal-Mart--auto store (lens stays off) He mounts the bulb holder on blocks of wood to get the filament in the focal point. the reflector is mounted on a hinge hooked to a small bungee towards the front of the boat be cause we crack lots of brush with it. wiring is permanent on battery and bulb, the contact is made with those rubber car/trailer contacts. Oh, yeah he also likes to use 9.65 bulb that screw in to the mount. I like Kryptons better but he's doing the work and when you run a bulb hotter than it's rated they can burn out quickly so the screw mount is pretty convenient.
John Mark Harras
Last Modified: May 1, 2002 |