36 volt bulbs?

tazassape

Is anybody using 36 volt bulbs for their headlights? I was thinking of swapping my wife's cc lights to 36 volts for brighter light and using all the batteries. Any experiences with this? Yey-Nay? Why? Thanks
Taz

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gornoman

They exist, but are kinda special items. Not all headlights use the same bulbs. If you find 36v bulbs, will they fit your headlights???

tazassape

I work in the oil industry and was looking through a supplier's book and found several bulbs that would fit my lights. That's when it dawned on me to try 36 volt bulbs. I could have better light and use the whole pack to power them. The light set up on the cart is kinda unique and I really want to keep it. The lights on the cart are used maybe once or twice a week, and only for 10-15 minutes at a time. I think I'll order some and give them a try. The prices ranged from $3-4 a bulb to $8-9 plus shipping of $3. When I get them in I'll post the findings.
Taz

GLEEMO

The brightness of the bulbs is more about wattage than Voltage , the more watts the brighter (in theory).

tazassape

You are right GLEEMO about the wattage. In the 36 volt bulb I can get a higher wattage with lower amperage also. I am far from being an electrician but if I'm figuring right I should get more light with less juice being used from my whole battery pack. The fact that I can do this without the added cost of a voltage reducer (and more wires under the seat) is a plus in my opinion. (and we all know what opinions are like) If I am off with my theory I hope someone will shed some light on the subject.
Taz

gornoman

What about tail lights?

tazassape

I should be able to use the same type of bulbs. It's my wife's cart and isn't driven much at night so I don't have tail lights yet. It's got an enclosure and heater in it and used mostly to go to and from the barn in nasty weather. I think it's worth looking into and comparing the cost of the bulbs and sockets verses the cost of a voltage reducer. Plus the benefit of using the whole battery pack. We shall see.

OLD MEC

Any turn signals, brake lights, other accessories? If so you would need 36 volt flasher unit also and resistors to cut down power for accessories? You can do same thing by putting head lights in series with parralel feed to tail lights to equal 36 volts? Problem any bulb one burn out kills all lights?

dougmcp

36v bulbs are available, maybe even yours but won't give you any brighter light plus they are a PITA if you burn one out because they're hard to find and auto stores don't carry them.
Oldmec's series wiring idea will only work if you have 4 lights, with 2 you would overdrive the voltage to flashbulb status.
If you want more light there are myriad ways of making that happen without changing to 36v.
There is no benefit to using the whole 36v battery pack.
What bulbs do you have now (bulb number)?