DIY Cree LED bike light

[heyadamhey]

Thanks for the info Andrew!

 

I found a very nice example of what I want to achieve:

http://fourtitude.rely.net/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/6/1113

 

[Saffer]

 

Some may remember my post in Willehond's DIY light thread featuring a very nice heat sink.

 

I decided this heat sink deserves to be used in a killer light.

Something like a triple Cree XR-E Q5. Luxeon IIIs are old hat...

 

So I sourced some Cree LEDs and lenses from China:

 

 

I found that the lenses & LEDs were a good fit in 22mm brass end caps.

Heavy' date=' but good heat sink and easy to construct (lathe not required), so I built this monster:

 

 

 

 

Very bright light (much better than the Luxeons) and the beam distribution is not bad either; some useful spill light to light up the side of the trail.  (Beam shots to follow in another post).

 

So this experiment proved to be a success and I now had a bright light to use while figuring out how to turn the PC heat sink into a killer bike light.

 

 

[/quote']

 

 

Dude, these look awesome making any for sale? If so how much?

 

[mountain_lion]

 

Dude' date=' these look awesome making any for sale? If so how much?

[/quote']

 

Thanks, but no unfortunately not; My day job pays much better.

 

This is a DIY project and the fun in DIY is in making it for yourself.

If I were to make these for sale, the price will have to be in the same league as Brighter-Lights (R4000) to make it worth while.

 

There are other Hubbers who might be interested in helping you (PM night tider or Droo).

 

 

[mountain_lion]

 

Have you ever bought from Rabtron?

Yes; ordered from them for my earlier projects and had good service. Unfortunately they do not stock Cree LEDs.

 

 

do you reckon your driver would handle the (fluctuating) current from a car battery?

 

 

 

I'd be aiming for 2x min 1000 lumen headlights.

 

I assume you mean fluctuating voltage.

I think the bflex driver will be fine with that, but I would not use a Taskled bflex driver in a car. There are many other more suitable drivers for that application.

 

You could email George at Taskled; he is a very helpful guy and has various other drivers too.

Else as Droo suggested, look at the Luxdrive range of drivers.

 

 

[heyadamhey]

thanks a lot guys - much appreciated

once again - excellent work on your lights, mountain lion.

 

now I must just look at your lights again, and other peoples' and try and work out how many lumens I'll need

 

I'll be sure to post my build when I get round to it

 

[ENZO]

hi mountain lion,

 

i have studied your diy 3 x cree light instructions carefully. my cree lenses arrived today. the q5 led's arrive in 12 days or so. george is sending the bflex drivers as i write.

 

can you please advise on batteries. i have sourced a battery pack from a guy in randburg, similiar pack to your picture in blue, however he can't source a charger. he can only find a 12 v. charger. i understand we need at least 17 volt charger. i have not yet purchased battery pack.

 

how are you charging your battery pack (the one in the pic - blue.) even better where did you get batteries and charger?

 

hold thumbs, never soldered a drop before - determined to make mountain lion light.

 

thanks

enzo  

[ENZO]

i see you have covered batteries on forum before - sorry did not see these.

the battery guy in randburg is graham, have not yet got battery pack - but he seems to know his stuff.

i am waiting for his charger solution before i buy his battery pack.

his battery site: www.akita.co.za

 

[parabola]

Hi guys, could you advise me on where I could get my hands on some Cree Q5 LED's? they seem to be the best for this type of application.

Thanks

 

[JPW#]

 

In Germany they have law's against lights that put out too much oomf!    )

JPW#2009-03-27 06:43:38

[Willehond]

I see it's that time of the year again, light building time!!!  Enjoy the darkness suckers!

[droo]

hi mountain lion' date='

 

?

 

i have studied your diy 3 x cree light instructions carefully. my cree lenses arrived today. the q5 led's?arrive?in 12 days or so. george is sending the?bflex drivers as i write.

 

?

 

can you?please advise on batteries. i?have sourced a?battery pack from a guy?in randburg,?similiar pack to?your picture in blue, however he can't source a charger. he can only find a 12 v. charger.?i understand we need at least 17 volt charger. i have not yet purchased battery pack.

 

?

 

how are you charging your battery pack (the one in the pic - blue.) even better where did you get batteries and charger?

 

?

 

hold thumbs, never soldered a drop before - determined to make mountain lion light.

 

?

 

thanks

 

enzo??

[/quote']

 

Chargers are almost impossible to find locally, your best bet is to import. PM me for more info if you need.

[ENZO]

follow mountain lion's instructions carefully, they are excellent. i am 80% from switching on my 3 x cree q5 in plumbing stopper lights. all stock arrive 100% from dealextreme i.e. cree led's, lenses, batteries, charger. well done to our postal system. just waiting for george's bflex.  

[Cassie]

Enzo, what were your costs?

 

Thanks

Cassie

[Canaris]

I have found an easy and elegant manner to make bicycle lights.

 

I use a 3 x2w cree downlight available from sunfor technologies ?(210 - 270lm Cree - P3). ?these are available for about R300 each. ?They are wired to operate at 12volts. ?I place the downlight in a energiser torch, which is slightly modified (cut short ext) ?I then use a lead acid battery. ?1.5amp hour battery is very small and costs abour R100 from a electronics shop. ?You could use a bigger battery for longer light. ?However a 1.5AH battery should last about 3 hours, so for shorter rides it is more than enough. ?For longer rides I would use a 2.6AH or 3 Ah battery. ?(I use my car battery charger to charge the battery). ? Total cost and effort is less than R500.

[Dragson]

Dude Post some pics of your light.......

[ENZO]

1 x Cree XR-E Q5 Emitter on Premium Star (228LM at 1A) = 5.37*

23.36mm Optics/Light Diffusers for Cree Emitters (5  PACK) =  5.54*

TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery (2500mAh 2-Pack) = 8.84*

 

DSD 18650 CR123A Charger = 6.71*

 

George's TaskLED bflex driver (still waiting for these to arrive) = 30

 

* = all dealextreme, you may wait week or two for some stock items.

 

All in dollars. VAT paid at post office 14% on collection. Order extra 1 or 2 items - may need them as spares.

 

Copper 22 mm stoppers are about R12 each. Downside, they are darn heavy - I am playing with aluminum pipe 22mm, old tv arial mast and bostik gasket sealer.

 

battery pack, 18650's fit perfectly in a 20 mm irrigation pipe use gardina hose pipe fittings to close ends.

 

Note: I've not put lights on yet, waiting for Bflex driver. Order that last, should be here in 2 weeks.

 

Testing if this all works soon.

 

My time: so far 6 hours of fun, priceless....