4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review

NeSSuS-GTE

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I recently became a customer of Newark Electronics (aka Farnell) and noticed they exclusively offered an interesting family of LED arrays by BridgeLux.
Consequently, I noticed a surprising lack of information on CPF or even the web in general.



I decided to evaluate these and share my findings and feelings with my fellow CPF crew!
I spent about a week testing, photographing, exploding TaskLED drivers, etc.. etc..

Enjoy!

[SIZE=+1]BridgeLux LED Arrays - Cool White [/SIZE]
(Left to Right)
6 die - 440 Lumens @ 600ma 9.8Vf
12 die - 880 Lumens @ 1300ma 13.0Vf
16 die - 1320 Lumens @ 1600ma 13.2Vf
25 die - 2200 Lumens @ 1750ma 16.6Vf - My Favorite!!!


[SIZE=+1]Color Temps[/SIZE]
These four LEDs are Cool White with a 5600K color temp.

They are also available in:
Neutral White (4100K)
Warm White (3000K)

Both types cause considerable loss in output efficacy.

The 2200 Lumen array is only available in Cool White.

INITIAL THOUGHTS:

  • BridgeLux designed these LEDs to be very bright and low cost. Cost is reduced by excluding optics from the package unlike almost all other LEDs. They are clearly the best 'Lumen/per $' package currently available even versus SSC P7 and Cree MC-E. They destroy the 6-die OSRAM OSTAR in that regard!
  • The lack of an optic and the wide surface area will make these a perfect candidate for wide area flood lighting but a poor candidate for tightly focused beam patterns.
  • The resin dome is gummy and sticky. It was VERY DIFFICULT to take pictures without dust and fibers clinging to it.
CLOSE-UP:
[SIZE=-1](NOTE - These pictures were taken after extensive testing, soldering, clamping, etc... and demonstrate wear characteristics.)[/SIZE]

Click ANY Close-Up picture for BIG ZOOM!

Model #BXRA-C0400 - 440 Lumens





Model #BXRA-C0800 - 880 Lumens





Model #BXRA-C1200 - 1320 Lumens





Model #BXRA-C2000 - 2200 Lumens





[SIZE=+2]LIGHT 'EM UP![/SIZE]
This set of pictures is of the 1320 Lumen array. The camera has difficulty capturing the true apparent brightness
of these LEDs, especially since there are no optics to generate beam shots. Because of this I took very few
photos to demonstrate brightness.


Relative Brightness - This is roughly the apparent brightness.
In this photo the array is being UNDERDRIVEN at 1000ma output rated at 1052 Lumens!
1200distance.JPG



16 Dies w/ Fuzzies
You'll have fuzzies all over it without meticulous and persistent cleaning.



Underexposed
This photo is greatly underexposed to show the very thin power leads going from die to die.



Blinded By The Light
Opps! This picture was accidental. I was making adjustments when the camera timer ran out. It was too bright to see what I was doing!
1200me.jpg

[SIZE=-1]Indeed... I was using a LuxLuthor 15.6v pack for that test.[/SIZE]


THE 4000 LUMEN MONSTER
I decided to push the 2200 Lumen array as far is it could go! The following pictures are the result of that experiment.


A 25 Die LED Is Pretty Crazy





Test Setup
Here is the test bed. To safely push this LED to the extreme I chose to use Peltier cooling to keep temps
as low as possible and keep emitter efficiency as high as possible. The Peltier is powered by a separate 15A power supply.

The brown wire held by the alligator clip is the thermocouple that will allow me to track the case temperature.
2000testSetup.jpg



LED Case Temperature Before Test
The Peltier cooler brings the LED temperature below freezing before the test begins.
2000beforeTemp.jpg



Crank It Up!
In Constant Current mode I set the LED current to a steady 4 Amps.
This is 500mA beyond its absolute maximum rated current!
2000powerDraw.jpg




LED Case Temperature During Test
Even with the Peltier at maximum cooling the case temp still reaches over 200 deg F.
2000afterTemp.jpg



4000+ LUMENS!
At 4000mA the LED output is literally off the chart!
My best interpolation is a Normalized Luminous Flux of 1.9 which calculates to [SIZE=+1]4180 Lumens![/SIZE]

This photo was taken during the day. The shadow cast on the wall is testament to its ridiculous brightness!
2000ultraTest.jpg



FINAL THOUGHTS:

Personally, I was impressed by these LEDs, enough so that I wanted to take the time to document and share what I was seeing.

The format precludes the use of tight beam optics, but reflectors are likely to still be somewhat effective.
I certainly am willing to bet that we'll see some potent flood monsters from guys like Mac showing up here and there using these LEDs.

You can rest assured you'll see these in a flashlight from me at least! Sometime very soon... :thumbsup:

Here is the <DATASHEET> for those of you interested in more technical detail.
 
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Zeruel

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint:

Holy momma.... I think I just peed my pants.

This power must be used for good and should not befall unto evil hands.

Wonder if it can be modded onto my Surefire. As the first post, am I entitled to a sample? :duh2:
Nice job, Nessus! :thumbsup:
 

vestureofblood

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

Wow! Thanks NeSSuS,

This is a great review. The pics give a clear picture of what these emitters are really like. Ie the realative size, and what kind of effort is going to be needed to properly heat sink one of these.
 

jeffosborne

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

Thanks for the detailed review!

Your quote:

BridgeLux designed these LEDs to be very bright and low cost. Cost is reduced by excluding optics from the package unlike almost all other LEDs. They are clearly the best 'Lumen/per $' package currently available even versus SSC P7 and Cree MC-E. They destroy the 6-die OSRAM OSTAR in that regard!

A question: How much did you pay for these various LED's?

Thanks,

Jeff O.
 

NeSSuS-GTE

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

You are welcome guys!

Thanks for the detailed review!

A question: How much did you pay for these various LED's?

I will add the price I paid for each to the specs near the top...

Wow! Thanks NeSSuS,

This is a great review. The pics give a clear picture of what these emitters are really like. Ie the realative size, and what kind of effort is going to be needed to properly heat sink one of these.

Heat management in general isn't bad at all with these. I have them installed in two applications that I will post in the automotive section.
I only had to go to such extremes with cooling because I was pushing almost 15% beyond the absolute maximum current rating. There is no conceivable practical reason why anyone would ever need to do that.

My tests with TaskLED's hipFlex driver really showed that pushing the 2200 lumen LED at 2.8A gives you huge brightness rated at about 3300 Lumens and manageable heat. Anything more doesn't really payback.
 
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Th232

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

:faint::faint::faint:

:bow::bow::bow:

That is insane!

I might have to get myself one of the stars to play around with. Thanks for sharing them.

Edit: Maybe not... Farnell Australia is selling the 440 lumen ones for 41AUD... 12USD <=> 41AUD?!? I get this sneaking feeling that it'd be cheaper to buy a couple from the US site and have them ship it over here. Wonder if they'll allow that, or just redirect me to the Aussie site?
 
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NeSSuS-GTE

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

BridgeLux is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. So I guess it makes sense that they are cheaper domestically in the US.

I did also notice that Farnell UK was selling them at substantially higher cost. Hopefully those prices will normalize soon.
 

EngrPaul

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! BridgeLux LED Review & 4000+ Lumen Test!! <-·´¯`·.

There goes the neighborhood! :popcorn:
 

Greg G

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Holy Mackerel! :hitit:

I think I now know what my next Mag mod will be. I wonder how this LED would work with a FiveMega OP reflector?

Edit: I ordered one of the 2200 lumen LED's. Heh Heh.....can't wait to put it in something....hopefully it will work in a Mag.
 
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csshih

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

80 watts???!! :faint:
 

bullettproof

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Freakin awesome!!!!! I would love to see what it looks like behind a reflector!!!!!
 

Greg G

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

I'll find out soon! If it doesn't look good behind a reflector I'll get an aspheric lens for it.

Gotta order a piece of copper to make a good heatsink tomorrow.
 

saabluster

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Good luck collimating that! Its cool anyway to see these ultra high output LEDs coming on the market. However the LEDs here have no place in a flashlight unless all you want is flood. Thank you so much for doing the testing though. Great work.:thumbsup:
 

Greg G

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

If it doesn't work in a flashlight I'll buy a second one and put them in my headlights, then go find Luke A and tailgate him! :crackup:
 

Gryloc

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Nessus,

Really quick, I just wanted to tell you that you placed the wrong test current numbers next to the forward voltage in your original post (next to price). I looked at the datasheet and it notes that the 880 typical lumen emitter was tested at 900mA (not 1300mA), and the 1200 typical lumen emitter was tested at 1300mA (not 1600mA). If I misread things, tell me and I will edit this post.

With those revised current figures, it makes sense because each emitter is operating at around 75lm/W at it rated currents (the current for which they are binned/identified). I was worried because with the other numbers that you used, one had an efficiency of 52lm/W and the other 62lm/W (while the other two were at 75lm/W).

Great review! It is great seeing other power junkies who like to push limits. Well, with the part being only $40, I could see myself do the same! Thank you for sharing this product. I will have to come back here for more info and discussion. This looks like a decent product to be used in general lighting (oh so cheap too).

EDIT: I take back what I said about its low price for the neutral and warm white models (tints suitable for general lighting). These are not as cheap as the cool whites (which are still a great bargain). I wonder now what the tint looks like on the cool whites. If they do not look too blue, then they could still be used for general lighting (work and cargo lights, emergency lighting, camp lights and such). END EDIT.

-Tony
 
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LuxLuthor

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Now you're talking. Wonderful to see these.

Like Saabluster says, I do wonder what the extent of useful focussed LED output is in general, considering the layout of these, power requirement, and heat. Makes me wonder about a freznel setup.
 

maxspeeds

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

YES Please!!!

This is a flashaholic's dream! Thank you very much! Now I am going to take a cold shower

lovecpf
 

NeSSuS-GTE

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Nessus,

I looked at the datasheet and it notes that the 880 typical lumen emitter was tested at 900mA (not 1300mA), and the 1200 typical lumen emitter was tested at 1300mA (not 1600mA). If I misread things, tell me and I will edit this post.

With those revised current figures, it makes sense because each emitter is operating at around 75lm/W at it rated currents (the current for which they are binned/identified). I was worried because with the other numbers that you used, one had an efficiency of 52lm/W and the other 62lm/W (while the other two were at 75lm/W).

You are correct I had the wrong numbers in there for the Cool White arrays. Actually, those two numbers were for Warm White. Which goes to show how much of an efficiency drop there is at lower color temps. I'll edit it. Thanks for the correction!

Good luck collimating that! Its cool anyway to see these ultra high output LEDs coming on the market. However the LEDs here have no place in a flashlight unless all you want is flood. Thank you so much for doing the testing though. Great work.

It was clear from the outset that tightly collimating these was not going to happen. Hence, my Initial Thought:

  • The lack of an optic and the wide surface area will make these a perfect candidate for wide area flood lighting but a poor candidate for tightly focused beam patterns.
However, Lux has a very smart idea about using a freznel lense! That is an intriguing experiment I am willing to try!
 

Zeruel

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

However, Lux has a very smart idea about using a freznel lense! That is an intriguing experiment I am willing to try!

:party: :popcorn: Do share with us once attempted :)
 

Hamburger

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Re: .·´¯`·-> !! 4000+ Lumen Test & BridgeLux LED Review!! <-·´¯`·.

Uhhh that makes 29,05Watts that means 73,33lumens per watt which is still quite nice and that for fourty bucks is awesome.

At farnell germany it costs 43,80€ which are like $60 arrr damn it :)
 
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