Struggling to find 12 or 24 volt floodlights. Any suggestions?

[MEDWARD]

I'm struggling to find some reasonably priced 12 volt or 24 volt floodlights. 

Anybody got any suggestions?

I wondered if truck floodlights like the ones on the back of a pickup truck or other works vehicles are the solution, but I haven't found any online yet.

[Stuart]

there called work lamps, plenty on fleabay, even LED ones 

[MEDWARD]

Any ideas how many I'd need for an area of approx 5metres x 5 Metres?

[camillitech]

Good morning Medward,

These people http://www.macleanmarine.com/ do emergency and flood lighting in 12, 24 and other odd voltages for ships, we have several powerful 24v lights on the ferry I work on made by this company http://www.chalmit.com/ but of course they're bound to cost an arm and a leg 

Good luck, Paul

[Stuart]

Metward, that depends on what lux level your trying to achive, doubt all but the most expensive would give you the photometric data to work it out.

Id go with two in opposite corners, so you avoid working in shadow. If its still a bit dim put another two in the other corners 

[billi]

.... is  energy consumption not an issue ? I guess its for your PV - battery  idea ? Or

Why not search for a "normal" 230 volt  flood light housing and put 12 volt CFL bulbs in ? ( if the housing can survive the Amps  )

like http://www.phocos.com/datasheet_dl_cfl_30w.html      or
 http://www.megaman.de/megamanenergiesparlampen/roehrenform/12vgleichstromesl/index.html

Just a thought

Billi

[MEDWARD]

Good idea Billi, this might be the cheapest way of doing it also.  I've seen some floods that house 2 CFLs with a wide angled spread.  I could try one first to see if it is sufficient enough, before splashing out on anymore.  

Therefore my 2 x sealed lead acid 12V 100ah batteries that I was given will need to be in parallel to maintain 12 Volts.

I will have to see if I can buy the flood without the supplied bulbs to see if I can get a chepaer price.  

I've seen some 12V 20W cfl bulbs equivalent to 100W. They do bayonnet or screw fitting, not sure what floodlight usually except.  So if I had 2 of these in the one floodlight am I right that the light will draw approx 3.33 amps.  (P=VxI 40W=12x3.33)

SAFETY 1ST... Please ensure the correct rating of cabling is used throughout when installing DC circuits. Long cable runs may require high grade, high amperage cables in order to prevent excessive voltage loss, especially when using multiple lamps on the same cable.
All circuits should be fitted with a suitably rated safety fuse in order to prevent fire in the event of short circuits.
Use of proprietary lamp fittings is recommended wherever possible to protect and prevent the ingress of flying insects, spiders and damp where lamps may be exposed.

[billi]

That is what i meant  with

if the housing can survive the Amps  Tongue

I agree you have to do your wiring correct
But for example  the phocos 30 Watt bulb  draws (only) 2.4 Ampere at 12 volt  depending on the wire length from Battery  i am not the expert on that and others know better , but with a 4.5 mm2 cable you can run quite a distance


you can calculate your wire-size here

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Line-Losses-Calculator.htm

Billi

[MEDWARD]

What do you think to 2 of these

http://www.all-lighting.co.uk/p7367/massive-energy-saving-floodlight.htm

They house 2 x 22w PLCE E27 CFL Lamps, so in theory I could just buy 4 replacement 12V E27 20W bulbs.

[billi]

Looks good to me , but hope others will comment  as well  

Just for information your 210 watt panel  will provide on an average day  in central England   to power 80 watt (Bulbs)

in Winter only about 2-3 hour  light on average upto 7-8 hours in summer

Billi

replacement 12V E27 20W bulb

did you find 20 watt CFL ?

[MEDWARD]

Just rang the manufacturer 'MASSIVE' to see if they provide the floodlight without lamps to see if I can save some money, however, NO joy.  Looks like I'll be buying them at approx £40 each.  Then approx £40 for 4x 12 volt bulbs.

When I wire them from the battery because of my layout I might need an external switch.

[MEDWARD]

I contacted phocos to see what their 30W bulb was equivalent to and their reply was The AC incandescent equivalent is around 75 W

[MEDWARD]

Characteristic luminous power (lumens)        CFL power (W)           Incandescent power (W)

450                                                                     9–13                                  40
800                                                                     13–15                                 60
1,100                                                                   18–25                                 75
1,600                                                                   23–30                                100
2,600                                                                   30–52                                150

[billi]

Just to remind you  if you go for a 24 volt set-up you can use a smaller version of the MPPT chargecontroller and have lesser cable size issues  (to save some pounds)

Sure you are more limited to the available light bulbs

the phocos 15 watt 24 volt CLF is costing about 16 euro

As well you should think of an idea to avoid deep discharging of the battery

Billi