12W LED Can light

[mitsuguy]

So, I basically borrowed a bunch of plans from everyone else and have most everything ordered to build a 12watt, 700+ lumen light...

here's some details, I'll give more info when I get it a little more together...

canister:
couple ideas here, but it's really going to be quite small, the batteries will be Lithium Ion and 4000mah each at 7.4 volts each, so, 8000mah at 7.4 volts:
Li-Ion 18650 7.4V 4000mah ( 4x18650 2S2P Square) with PCB (LCH1P2S2B2WR) - LCH1P2S2B2WR
then, a charger for them:
Smart Charger ( 1.2A) for 7.4V LI-ION/POLYMER BATTERY -- UL listed - CH-UNLI7412
I also ordered a switch with boot, canister clips and watertight cable glands from Mcmaster Carr: (mcmastercarr.com)
1590A43 - draw latches, 6907K14 - cable glands, 8002K43 - toggle switch, 70205K85 - toggle switch boot

The batteries are quite small, so I'm thinking maybe a 2" pvc tube... we'll see shortly...

for the head itself:
the light itself
DealExtreme: $34.90 SSC P7-C 2800mA LED Module with Copper Base (3.6V~8.4V)
then a D cell size mag lite from the local wal-mart
DealExtreme: $1.31 52mm x 1.8mm Glass Lens x2 will take care of the pressure on the front lens of the light

I'll supply more info when all the junk actually shows up!

[skdvr]

Sounds good, definately keep us up on how it is going... I would love to build one for the hell of it but I just do not think I have the skill to deal with wireing of everything... I will be interested to see how yours turns out though.

Good luck

Phil

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by skdvr

Sounds good, definately keep us up on how it is going... I would love to build one for the hell of it but I just do not think I have the skill to deal with wireing of everything... I will be interested to see how yours turns out though.

Good luck

Phil

man,definitely don't be put off by the wiring - that'll really be the easiest part of this whole thing... I matched voltage of the batteries to voltage of the pre-built emitter so that I wouldn't have to worry about any special wiring, relays, and whatnot...

really all it is going to be is one wire from the negative terminal of the batteries directly to the emitter, then one wire from the positive terminal of the batteries to the switch, then from the switch to the emitter... three wires on the whole thing...

[Reg]

All the best on your mod, The SSC P7 looks to be a great led. I would really like to mount 3 of them on heatsink : )

I've always thought the switch is the hardest part of the mod (keeping water out) here is link to a DIY mod that use a Piezo switch, as an option.

Dive Light - Diy underwater canister scuba torch.

Would be great if you can post some pics of your progress.

What are you using to hold the battery pack?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Reg

All the best on your mod, The SSC P7 looks to be a great led. I would really like to mount 3 of them on heatsink : )

I've always thought the switch is the hardest part of the mod (keeping water out) here is link to a DIY mod that use a Piezo switch, as an option.

Dive Light - Diy underwater canister scuba torch.

Would be great if you can post some pics of your progress.

What are you using to hold the battery pack?

No progress yet, the cable glands, canister lid retainers, and switch are all here, but the batteries, emitter and glass lenses are not here yet...

I thought about the Piezo switch, but I am trying to keep the wiring as simple as possible... adding a piezo switch adds additional electronics that I want to stay away from - I figure if Diverite and others can use a standard switch, there's no reason I can't...

As far as the canister, I'll probably use 2" pvc, run a couple hose clamps around it and that will hook via two small bolt snaps to my BC between my back and the bladder (there are small d-rings stuffed back in there)

[divepapi]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

So, I basically borrowed a bunch of plans from everyone else and have most everything ordered to build a 12watt, 700+ lumen light...

here's some details, I'll give more info when I get it a little more together...

canister:
couple ideas here, but it's really going to be quite small, the batteries will be Lithium Ion and 4000mah each at 7.4 volts each, so, 8000mah at 7.4 volts:
Li-Ion 18650 7.4V 4000mah ( 4x18650 2S2P Square) with PCB (LCH1P2S2B2WR) - LCH1P2S2B2WR
then, a charger for them:
Smart Charger ( 1.2A) for 7.4V LI-ION/POLYMER BATTERY -- UL listed - CH-UNLI7412
I also ordered a switch with boot, canister clips and watertight cable glands from Mcmaster Carr: (mcmastercarr.com)
1590A43 - draw latches, 6907K14 - cable glands, 8002K43 - toggle switch, 70205K85 - toggle switch boot

The batteries are quite small, so I'm thinking maybe a 2" pvc tube... we'll see shortly...

for the head itself:
the light itself
DealExtreme: $34.90 SSC P7-C 2800mA LED Module with Copper Base (3.6V~8.4V)
then a D cell size mag lite from the local wal-mart
DealExtreme: $1.31 52mm x 1.8mm Glass Lens x2 will take care of the pressure on the front lens of the light

I'll supply more info when all the junk actually shows up!

Be carefull feeding the SSC P7 that much voltage. These things get hot quick. The loose P7 that comes mounted on an aluminum star board is rated at 2800mA and recommended to run at less than 5 volts. I am using 4D batteries in series or 8 AA both NiMH in series/parallel configuration to feed mine. I just fired my set up today and it gets hot in 5 seconds. By feeding it 7 volts, it would get hot sooner. I'm no expert, but I am told that any excess voltage will be regulated by the driver at the expense of heat being created. So anything higher than 4 volts and you are wasting energy as heat. I am going with 4.8 volts due to my battery set up.
Great choice in LED, it is bright...

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by divepapi

Be carefull feeding the SSC P7 that much voltage. These things get hot quick. The loose P7 that comes mounted on an aluminum star board is rated at 2800mA and recommended to run at less than 5 volts. I am using 4D batteries in series or 8 AA both NiMH in series/parallel configuration to feed mine. I just fired my set up today and it gets hot in 5 seconds. By feeding it 7 volts, it would get hot sooner. I'm no expert, but I am told that any excess voltage will be regulated by the driver at the expense of heat being created. So anything higher than 4 volts and you are wasting energy as heat. I am going with 4.8 volts due to my battery set up.
Great choice in LED, it is bright...

Actually, the way I understand it is that there is a little excess heat made, but that extra voltage doesn't just disappear completely as heat energy...

V=I*R

so, if the driver board is designed to output 4.8 volts (and it accepts up to 9 volts), and I feed it 7.4 volts, that means for every 1 AH at 7.4 volts, I'll get pretty close to 1.5 AH after the driver reduces it to 4.8 volts... Again, some heat produced, but nothing like what will comes from the emitter itself... underwater, its not gonna matter a whole lot anyways...

[mitsuguy]

Got all of the parts so far, but decided while I'm working on modding the light head, I would go ahead and change one little thing... I don't like the fact that the driver included in the emitter head is only on/off, so I am tearing it out and just ordered one from Kaidomain that is low/med/high...

this thing is sooooo bright... and it's a pretty focused beam as well - the beam is about the size of a princeton tec miniwave, but 3-4x as bright...

[Black-Gorrilla]

what are you gonna use for the head?
how do you plan on sealing it?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Black-Gorrilla

what are you gonna use for the head?
how do you plan on sealing it?

I'm going to cut down a 3 or 4 cell D mag lite... replace the plastic lens with a glass lens, add an o-ring or two, and some sealant and jb weld... as I'm putting it together, I'll take numerous pictures...