How to Run 12V Light Bulbs on 18V tool batteries

I test several light bulbs on 12 volts up to 30 volts to see if they will run off a Ryobi 18V battery.
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This is a follow-up to the video I made showing off the Ryobi 18V battery to LED light adapter. Some people didn't quite understand how a light-bulb could be powered from the battery and assumed it must to a 120V bulb - which it's not.
I tested two different bulbs for running on 18VDC, and both worked great:
LeMing 7 watt 12/24V LED Bulbs: amzn.to/3DXk3rj
Bluex 6 Watt LED Bulbs: amzn.to/3Jnevb0
The Ryobi Adapters I made are available for sale at: 300mpg.org/shop/
I also made a lamp-shade for the project. Watch that video at: • 3D-Printed Ryobi Light...
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Music by:
"Shaving Mirror" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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[@derpoids2868]

Ben ill be honest this is the first comment i have ever made in 24 years of my life but you are very informative and im very happy with everything you have done for electricity and attempting to educate people on electricity and that you are never mean to people even when they are wrong and i hope that you have a very long life and you continue doing what you are doing bless you

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Thank you! That means a lot!

[@MrDwsteen]

Excellent video. Straight to the good information is appreciated.

[@tims8603]

The first video you made about this was interesting to me. I don't have a 3D printer so I looked for a way to build something similar. I have a different battery so I couldn't buy one from you. I found some stuff laying around and made something that works. I also made a shade out of a bleach bottle and one of those old fashioned clip-on shades. The only thing I had to buy was bulbs. Cost was about $5. It's not pretty but it works well.

[@aleksisdeagle4800]

Thank you, I never had problems with physics In school, but I always struggled with understanding electricity, it always seemed like some sort of magic to me. This was very informative, thank you. Gonna watch more of your videos now.

[@GMC.Sprint]

Did work with electric vehicles in the past running a 24v dc to dc converter. We found out the led lights with wide ranges use multiple transformers inside, and switch between transformers as the voltage increases. You can see this in your test of the 11-30v bulb as the current had steps where it jumps. On the lights we had, our dc-dc converter was at one of these transformer steps and it caused the lights to flicker.

[@andrewjones9223]

Thanks, you have just saved me a lot me a lot of testing... I am going to standardise my off the grid lighting system on the 18v Roboi ... Awesome!

[@russveinot5754]

Great video Ben :>) 3 thoughts here, first, the bulbs come in a variety of thread sizes and maybe you should mention that you used the E26 fitting. This will help others to find the right size threaded bulb to get. Also, for those of us that can't/don't 3D print, you can find a Ryobi adaptor to save the 3D printing issue. Third, I have on my channel, a couple of videos about how to make your own adaptor easily with some PVC, scrap plywood, and the ryobi battery clip. The Ryobi clip and the adaptors are available on Amazon, Aliexpress, & Ebay. If you can't find them, I can help you find them. I would also tell you that I appreciate channels like yours and mine that give helpful info for others. Keep up the great content, Ben.

[@bobjones9727]

Interesting video. Learned a lot

[@jamesglenn2006]

Good info Ben, thanks for sharing 👍

[@tcfox10]

Great video. Can you run a normal 120V AC lightbulb off of these battery's?

[@ewicky]

I can see how some viewers and commenters could make that mistake; it's (incorrect, but) easy to assume everything with an E26 screw base is/should be 120VAC if one hasn't seen it used at any other voltage before.

[@MikesTropicalTech]

Way to go back to First Principles Ben!

[@ewicky]

I wonder how many ppl blow out their 12VDC bulbs but accidentally screwing them into a 120VAC socket. Maybe make a video testing over voltage protection...? Have a fire extinguisher handy haha

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Fire extinguisher always handy! (See background of video!) My best guess is that screwing in a 12V bulb into a 120V socket will just be a good waste of the bulb!

[@thomaseidst3170]

Can you please make a video about how i Can run my indoor growing light that runs on 230 volt down to 12 volt dc Can i just make 12v battery of 18650 cells and plug it in or must i do something else? I cant find eny video in english and you have a lot of knowlege and it wil help the community very much

[@okanaganeryn]

I have installed 1141 compatible LED bulbs in my camper (12V 1.7watts the packaging said). I was thinking of using my makita 18v battery. Would this work safety without having a 18v to 12v converter?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

What range of voltage will those LED bulbs run on? The ones I’m using in the video are designed for 12-24v systems.

[@somemore9784]

Where do you get those little light holders?

[@johnwoody4905]

why have they not stopped making the twist bulbs there are toxic and junk i have had them not last a week. good video i have some led 12 volts only one has went bad. take care, be safe and well.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

The CFL bulb I showed was an old one. I really don't remember seeing any CFLs in the stores lately. They were a step in the right direction in terms of saving energy, but really just a brief bridge until LED lighting.

[@theperfectpaintertoolreview]

So basically it's safe to run 12v lights on 18v battery? I have a 12v led strip light that I want to run on a 18v power tool battery in my kayak, do u think it will be ok? The adapter has a green fuse build in on the red wire?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Most 12V electronics will actually run just fine on a RANGE of voltage. Many will run just fine on an 18V battery. If it's inexpensive electronics, I'd just try it. If it's something more expensive, I'd try to see what components it's built from, and make sure they can all handle up to 20V.

[@theperfectpaintertoolreview]

Ok thanks, they're inexpensive. I'm gonna try it, I'm hoping to run 2 led strips off of it but I'll have to see what happens

[@ricsona3194]

How long would the bulb run before the battery dies out?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

That would depend on the capacity of the battery. The bulb is rated at 7 watts. That's approximately half an amp of draw, so a 4 AH battery could run it about 8 hours.

[@gryzman]

I’d open the bulb and see if it has a constant voltage/current circuit. The last bulb might not last on 30V

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I haven't cracked either bulb open yet. I'm not much of an electronics expert, so it's hard for me to really understand all circuits just by looking at it. I think that 30 probably is kinda high for the Bluex bulb. The LeMeng battery specifically lists 30 right on the box. It also just feels a little higher quality. The diffuser is better.

[@paringatai]

Thats very interesting but I'm sure I'm like most folk who don't happen to have that kind of gear lying about the house,I'm still vague on how I would apply this info..Idk

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

All I'm really showing here is that YES, you can run a 12V LED light bulb off an 18V battery> That is WHY I can 3D print a device that let's me put together a Ryobi battery and a light bulb and have it work.

[@HC4L666]

hi Ben, an 5S lion battery, has fully charged 21Volt?? 5X4.2V

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes. The EXACT top voltage that a particular battery charges to might vary by manufacturer, along with any little trade secrets they have, but "18V" batteries usually have a charger that provides 21VDC.

[@mr.somebody1493]

What about line loss ?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

This very low current. The power isn’t going far at all. There’s very few losses. It’s about as efficient as you can get.

[@mr.somebody1493]

@@BenjaminNelsonX DC has greater line loos than AC, So using an 18volt battery for 12 volts means I can easily use a 50 or even 100 foot extension cord without dropping below 12 volts. Try it, it would make a great video. You can use your bench power supply.

[@JeremyAkersInAustin]

I'm not aware of any light bulbs that actually require AC current. If it will run on 120v AC it would run on 120v DC just as well. LEDs actually require DC. LED stands for "Light Emitting Diode" and diodes only conduct current one direction: Thus DC. The LED bulbs that screw into an AC light socket usually rectify the AC to DC anyway.

[@6666mario]

How much this adapte

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

$10 USD. Link is in the video description. Here it is again. 300mpg.org/shop/

[@JeremyAkersInAustin]

The real question on everyone's mind... How's the tractor coming? :D

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I recently found a battery for it. That video is coming soon.

[@seymourwrasse3321]

so you have a 12 volt dc bulb that will screw in to a standard 110 ac socket, what could possibly go wrong, their will be morons lining up to do that because they won't read the bulb before screwing it in their house socket, any one saying won't happen is dreaming