I found this site, does this like a decent discharge setup? Can I use copper wire instead of brass?

http://www.rccaraction.com/rc/articles/htBuildDischarger_1.asp

It will work fine....
I used some 12AWG solid house wire and mounted mine straight up and down.
So the bulbs point up.

like tres said.. up and down, like this one...

http://www.balakracing.com/bulbdischarger.htm

Was going to repost that.. but why reinvent the wheel.... =)

you can do this too :P http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=95402&highlight=bulb+discharger

or.. just go out and buy a deans discharger for like 30$ from your local hobby shop.

http://www.wsdeans.com/products/discharger/Discharger.jpg

just be sure to buy a cut off device so that it doesnt over discharger..

Am I correct in assuming this will discharge quickly enough where I would only need to buy one. And do bulbs burn put often? Would seem like a good idea to have one where the bulb can just be twisted out and replaced without any soldering .

I did come up with a cool way to solder them.....

Trying to solder several round things together can be a real pain...

Use a foam lined batery box, like the Saiko or Promatch type.

Stick the bulbs in upside down, this holds the bulbs and allows you position them nice and neat before you solder them.

Solder the POS part of the bulb first. I used a 5x2 pattern(5 bulbs in 2 rows.)

Then get a 8" X 8" aluminum flashing from a hardware store and bend a shield around it. Cut a 1/2" wide tab in the center on each end, CUt is in long enough to bend it up to make a small surface to mount it on and use shoe goo to hold it in place.
It will stay cool on the outside because it reflect the heat VERY well.
The DEANS gets REAL hot.

Interesting article, they say use the 1157 (dual filament) bulbs, but in the accompanying photos they use a single filament bulb..... :rolleyes:

Oh well. I made my discharger with a piece of coathanger bent into a rectangle, 5 bulbs on each side of the rectangle and 1 on the end for good measure (22amp discharge) with an MPH cutoff switch.

You can configure your bulbs however you want, but consider how you will carry them and where. If you do a long "stick", will it fit safely in your gear bag/box and not get broken easily? Same with a rectangular one.

As for bulbs burning out, they do burn out, but not very often. It's not really an issue. Now with the no memory feature of NiMh batteries, the bulb discharger isn't as important as it used to be. The only time I use mine now is when I want to cycle a pack to check discharge time and voltage (by hooking a volt meter to it).

I've never liked how "long" bulb dischargers are when assembled side-by-side. Attached is how I soldered mine together.

oh and FYI, if you can, stay away from Kragen/Shucks/Autozone etc stores to buy the 1157 dual fil bulbs.. more expensive. Hit up a Napa, or your local smaller family owned shops.

about 3 years ago..at a VW bug shop, I saw a "pack" or 10 1157's for 7.99 on sale which was awesome!

Autozone wanted 3.85 for 2 1157's.
My -Family Auto- wanted 1.99 for 4 1157's.

Might be diff in your area.. but It'll save you a couple of bucks for a soda and fries later ;)

Oh.. and I've seen colored 1157's too, red, green, orange, blue.. makes for a more "soothing" look when you use blue.. heh.

Ps... (my dim bulb in my head just went ding ding!)

since this is a project, now you got me thinking!! grr... If you want a easy device.. I *wonder* if you can cut a block of wood, then stick in 10 bulb holders off of car tailights (from the junkyard). and wire those in a series. now you got easily replaceable bulbs in a handy dandy discharger. Yea... never mind.. it might get bulky! HAHA

our club has a racer who is a mechanic for the nissan dearlership, he used the twist out housing from a discounted car shoegooed them together now if a bulb burns out he twists out the bulb and installs another.

NOTE: I found if you happen to be running 4 cell, instead of using the 1157 bulbs you want to use the 1154 bulbs. They are a 6 volt bulb and will discharge at a much higher rate for 4 cell packs. (CAUTION: If you use this same discharger for both 4 cell and 6 cell...be careful, they will get VERY VERY HOT w/ 6 cell)

I have some 2057 bulbs with 10 of them hooked together also give me a 20 amp discharge?

I have some 2057 bulbs with 10 of them hooked together also give me a 20 amp discharge?
dont quote me on this but..

The amperage for the bulbs were close to this..

2057
Low 0.50 High 2.10

1157
Low 0.60 High 2.10

So yes, as long as both filaments are burning.. you'll get about 20 amps...

am i right guys?

Thanks, mabe I'll put one together with 1157s does anybody have one with a 30 amp discharge? Or is this not recomended?

Sprintman,

I set mine up for 35 amps, it's packed away in my tool box and I don't remember how many bulbs it has on it...but I run 4 cell, and use the 1154's.

Also, when I'm discharging I have a clamp on inductive amp meter going and watch the discharge curve. This is actually what I do when cycling my batteries, and I also hook a voltmeter to the jumpers at the battery and write down the voltages every 15 seconds during the discharge.