Hi, I have an older 6 volt, 15 watt niterider light with a ni-cd water bottle battery pack. The light is quite yellow & not too bright after a full charge. The charge only lasts about 1.5 hours.
I assume the battery pack is worn out. Is it possible to get new cells? Is it cheaper to just buy a new light? It seems like a waste to replace it all since I have the bulb, wiring, and container.
"Bryan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Hi, I have an older 6 volt, 15 watt niterider light with a ni-cd water bottle battery pack. The light is quite yellow & not too bright after a full charge. The charge only lasts about 1.5 hours.
I assume the battery pack is worn out. Is it possible to get new cells? Is it cheaper to just buy a new light? It seems like a waste to replace it all since I have the bulb, wiring, and container.
Robert, Thanks for the link. $30 for a new battery pack is definitely the way to go. I am fairly ignorant regarding electricity, however. The pack you linked to says will run 3 hours at 12 watts. Will this work with my 15 watt bulb? Will it be underpowered/dim?
The pack you linked to says will run 3 hours at 12 watts. Will this work with my 15 watt bulb? Will it be underpowered/dim?
Battery packs and bulbs work together if the _voltage_ matches.
If it will run a 12 wat bulb for 180 minutes, THEORETICALLY it will run a 15 watt bulb for 144 minutes. (180 X 12 / 15 = 144, simple arithmetic.)
In practice these claims are often a bit optimistic.
Sheldon "Electrons" Brown +--------------------------------------+ | Now, more than ever, America needs | | the strong moral leadership of the | | Nixon-Agnew team! --CREP | +--------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.comhttp://sheldonbrown.com
Robert, Thanks for the link. $30 for a new battery pack is definitely the way
to go.
Quoted message said:
I am fairly ignorant regarding electricity, however. The pack you linked to says will run 3 hours at 12 watts. Will this
work
Quoted message said:
with my 15 watt bulb? Will it be underpowered/dim?
Thanks again.
Note that the referenced battery pack will not work with Niterider lights, which use a male connector on the battery pack.
I recently had a couple Niterider battery packs rebuilt by The NiCad Lady: http://nicdlady.com/ . I sent her my packs and she rebuilt them and sent them back. I didn't have to crack them open or anything. Highly recommended.
I recently had a couple Niterider battery packs rebuilt by The NiCad Lady: http://nicdlady.com/ . I sent her my packs and she rebuilt them and sent them back. I didn't have to crack them open or anything. Highly recommended.
Highly recommended indeed. I've built plenty of battery packs, but TNL's prices are good enough that it's not worth bothering with anymore. And I get free stuff from battery companies too. I just ordered a new pack for my Sunsport from TNL.
A couple of my friends are cinematographers, and get their battery packs from TNL too, rather than pay movie camera brand prices. If you think bike stuff is marked up... wow...
FWIW, someone's selling bike light packs on eBay, with chargers, and connectors for all the major brands. Search for username "opticaspace" I can't vouch for the quality, but the prices seem good.
Note that the referenced battery pack will not work with Niterider lights, which use a male connector on the battery pack.
I recently had a couple Niterider battery packs rebuilt by The NiCad Lady: http://nicdlady.com/ . I sent her my packs and she rebuilt them and sent them back. I didn't have to crack them open or anything. Highly recommended.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. I contacted Ms. NiCad & got a $52 quote to rebuild. This seems like an even better deal since the rebuild will be in the same packaging, use the original wiring, etc. Plus, she can build a 5ah pack which is better than the original!
Thanks for the contact. I'll let you know how it turns out.