that_guy

Dr Pig Dog, The modded HID Blitz I linked to above isn't mine - it's by someone in the US. I don't actually own any HID lights, although I do have one on order from the US and hope to one day mod my Blitz to HID as done in the link above if I ever get the money. I also don't hunt - I came across this forum while searching for information on Nighteater spotlights, so I can't give you any real life experience, sorry. Given the same reflector HID throws further than halogen. A HID Blitz would probably have twice the range as its halogen equivalent. This means that you could use a smaller 170 or 140mm reflector and still get the same range as the Blitz if you want a smaller light. The colour temperature of HID is higher (its whiter) which is probably a bad thing for hunting. More glare, the beam will be more visible (looks cool but obscures the view of the target) and less relative red output which means that a red filter will reduce light output by a larger % than with halogen. The main advantage of HID isn't that it is brighter than halogen but that it is more efficient. A standard 35w HID doesn't put out much more light than a well driven 100w halogen. A 35w HID is 3200 lumens, the bulb used in the Blitz (62138) is rated at 2800 lumens and the 64625 is 3600 lumens. In reality a 35w HID is a good deal brighter, but only because the Blitz is under driven (see my previous post). The modded HID Blitz linked to earlier is actually a 35w bulb "boosted" to 50w which is why it is so much brighter than the halogen version (over 5000 lumens for the 50w HID). A 35w HID consumes 42w of power, so run time will be 2 - 3 times as long as a 100w halogen, which means that you can use a smaller, lighter battery with the same runtime if you want smaller size. Using two different bulbs wouldn't work because only one could be focused, which means that the other would be a flood. It could work if you could somehow make a mechanism to move the bulbs in and out of the focal point, but that would be very difficult to do. There's also the problem of no red tinted bulbs, and I don’t think it’s possible to make one (as far as I know the glass is dyed, not coated).

A large range of Osram bulbs are available from www.lamps.com.au including the 62138 (100w axial filament used in the Blitz) and the 64625 for $5.85 each. Shipping is $7.50 so they're still kinda pricy unless you order a few, still cheaper than ordering from the US though. The 64625 isn't brighter than the 62138 because it is a "better" / more efficient bulb but because it is driven harder and is a bigger bulb (even though they are both marked 100w the 62625 is actually a little higher). If you were to drive both bulbs just as hard the 62138 would be just as efficient as the 64265, although it would still be a little dimmer because the wattage would be lower. I haven't seen the 64625 myself but I don't really think it would be worth it. It would be a little bit brighter than the 62138, but not significantly so (maybe 25%) but due to its larger transverse filament it would actually throw less far than the 62138. I don't know why the Thomo noticed such a dramatic difference. The difference between the two bulbs has nothing to do with xenon. Both bulbs are xenon. All Osram HLX bulbs are xenon. This shouldn't be confused with the "xenon HID" bulbs on luxury cars, or dodgy blue-tinted "xenon" replacement car headlight bulbs. These have nothing to do with the Osram xenon HLX bulbs. The 64625 will last much longer than 50 hours because it is being significantly under driven in the Blitz. It actually lasts just as long as the 62138 (which is also rated at 50 hours). When running off a 12V SLA battery the bulb in the Blitz only sees around 10V due to the long, thin cable. This is to allow the light to run off a 14.4V car alternator without blowing. A better mod would be to replace the curly cord with a chunky cable to allow the bulb to be driven closer to spec, which will make it more efficient, brighter and whiter. This would only be a good idea if you’re running it off a 12V SLA battery, if you plug it into a car alternator you will either blow the bulb or dramatically shorten its life. Dr Pig Dog mentioned doing this mod earlier in the thread, and the reason for the very short bulb life he experienced is because he was running it off 14.4V which is too much for the bulb. If you stick to 12V life will be shortened, but will still be pretty long (around 100 hours). Normally life would be over 1000 hours. If anyone is interested I did a long write-up of this mod here. Also if anyone wants to see a really bright Blitz mod look here.