inexpensive V Mt batteries for 160W lights?

L

LennyLevy

Veteran
I need to finally buy a set of V mount batteries and charger to be able to run my 160W Intellytech LC-160. Up till now I've gotten away with Sony L batteries (including dual L to V mt adapters) for my smaller LED lights and Sony EX type batteries for there FS7. Unfortunately I realize there's no way its going to be cheap.

Any suggestions for relatively inexpensive but reliable batteries that I could also fly with that can handle a 160W load?

I gather that 98WH or less batts are the easiest solution for travel though up to 160 WH can be transported with some limitations . Part of a solution might include the Intellytech dual V mount adapter that can double up smaller batteries (98WH) to handle the higher load. 2 of those though are probably more expensive than 1 160WH batt.

Whatever the solution the batteries need to be rated for high load as well as the requisite WH's.


Also I'm a bit confused about how to read the specs for these batteries - Some will list the maximum Watts that can be drawn - that's easy to get. Others list a Amp maximum but I'm not sure how that translates to light at 160 Watts. That should be simple math but I'm not sure if the lights are actually drawing 12V or 14.8 V.
 
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I always suggest IDX because they have worked very well for me for the last 15 years. I think they have some stacking batteries to get around the flight regulations (IPL98 and IPL150) might b worth looking into. Neither say how much you can safely draw (as maximum), only say 80 watts from the Dtap. They do say 10.5 amps (single for the 98 and 11.x (single) for the 150. At the average of 14.4 volts this would be close on the 98, better if two were stacked.

I would probably contact the light manufacturer and ask them how much these really draw from a V mount battery and see what they say. The light spec. only says maximum 160 watts which could be right before they catch fire and not under normal conditions.
 
Intellytech says you need 10.8 A to fully power their 160W light so the IDX would work. Intellytech also has these new compact Pocket-V 98WH batts that are rated 12V and onely $200 each and 1 lb. Might be a great deal. They'll run the LC-160 at full power ( which I rarely use for 50 min).
 
What run times are you used to with your sony batteries? I'd personally go larger than 98Wh for the LC-160s. For local productions I'd rather fewer batteries with higher capacity than many batteries that need charging.

If travel is most important go smaller first and add larger Wh if needed. Or if you're staying local go larger first and add smaller Wh if you need to fly.

Though like you said if you don't use much juice for extended periods then maybe the 98Wh will work really well for you.
 
LennyLevy said:
That should be simple math but I'm not sure if the lights are actually drawing 12V or 14.8 V.
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Fully charged 14.8 will be drawn and less as the batt discharges down to about 11 at which point the light will conk out.

Best calulate on 12 and give yourself a 25% margin. ie if you think a light will run for 1 hour, assume 45 mins.

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Its really important to understand a batteries ability to deliver current.

For example my Hwoods batts can only deliver 50w, while being 100w/hr batteries.

They can therefore run a 50w device for 2 hours but if you plug in a 100w device they will trip.
 
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Hey Lenny - I purchased this cheap one about two years ago on a lightning deal at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RN76282/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It runs my LC-160 just fine (haven't done any tests on how long it will run at 100%). Wait for it to go on sale if you can.
I also agree with Greg though above and have used IDX repeatedly from a trusted gaffer (they have smaller size with near same output). In fact, I am currently looking at possibly getting 2 higher power (>190Wh) batts if I pull the trigger on the 300DII.
 
markfpv said:
Hey Lenny - I purchased this cheap one about two years ago on a lightning deal at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RN76282/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It runs my LC-160 just fine (haven't done any tests on how long it will run at 100%). Wait for it to go on sale if you can.
I also agree with Greg though above and have used IDX repeatedly from a trusted gaffer (they have smaller size with near same output). In fact, I am currently looking at possibly getting 2 higher power (>190Wh) batts if I pull the trigger on the 300DII.
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I have one of those MaxOaks, they're not bad for the money. I did have a PA on a shoot accidentally drop one, about two feet onto a linoleum floor and it died. But other than don't drop them, the MaxOaks are a pretty great deal.
 
puredrifting said:
I have one of those MaxOaks, they're not bad for the money. I did have a PA on a shoot accidentally drop one, about two feet onto a linoleum floor and it died. But other than don't drop them, the MaxOaks are a pretty great deal.
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At least it didn't explode! Yikes. I wonder what it would take, especially with the cheaper batteries that wouldn't necessarily have whatever tech to mitigate the risk.
 
I decided to purchase the Intellytech 98WH 12A Pocket -V's. The price was good ($199@), the size and weight very small for travel, and I'm going by their own estimate that one would run an LC-160 at full bore for 50 min. Presumably they would know and 12A is very good max draw as most 98WH batts are rated at about half that, so they should have no problem running 160W. The MaxOaK looks good ( specs says current draw max is 10A so its close to what Intellytech says is needed) but In general I'd rather have 2 smaller batts than 1 big one and 177WH is too big to fly with at all.
I'll post how they work out.
 
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puredrifting said:
I have one of those MaxOaks, they're not bad for the money. I did have a PA on a shoot accidentally drop one, about two feet onto a linoleum floor and it died. But other than don't drop them, the MaxOaks are a pretty great deal.
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Really? I can't tell you how many times I've dropped one of our batteries on the concrete and industrial tile floors at work. Thankfully never had a failure from it it.
 
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