I am in the process of building a canister light proposing a 2SxP pack. I wanted a 22mm driver to run at somewhere above 2.5amp for a single XM-L.
Checking out available drivers from KD and DX my first choice was the "KD Super Output SSC P7 LED Driver Board" as the simple three modes appealed more to me than the various flashing options on most others. However after ordering I started looking at posts and found that others had experienced overheating issues. I realised that this driver had been around since 2008 and wondered if any newer drivers would be better.
The only other option from KD was "8.4V 3-Mode Circuit Driver for 1 x Cree XM-L Bike Light" but this incorporated a clickey switch within the driver and I was uncertain how I would adapt this to my proposed Hall switch.
Looking at DX I found three drivers, SKU128269, 162784 and 351550 with not a lot to differentiate between them......so I just bought one of each and tested them all.
The test was basic, voltages were measured with a budget DMM and the amps by voltages across two 0.1 ohm 10% wirewound resistors. The supply was the batteries I had to hand and therefore varied with the state of charge and drawdown due to internal resistance. The test was only taken at a single point.
On the plus side the two resistors were from the same source and swapping them round produced the same results. I then measured the SKU 162784 output with my DMM on the 10A scale and read 2.29A again which would suggest that the resistors were close to their nominal values.
This is not a scientific test, just my observation to help me select the best driver for my purpose (SKU 162784).
Although the output is a bit lower than I had originally intended, if the XP-L I have ordered is a genuine V6 it would output over 1000lumen at 2.3 amps and that is more than a T6 would have given from 2.8 amps not so long ago.(and IMHO ample for a well focused dive light).
If I need another driver I am tempted to build my own based on a LED2001. Anyone had any experience?
Rod
Checking out available drivers from KD and DX my first choice was the "KD Super Output SSC P7 LED Driver Board" as the simple three modes appealed more to me than the various flashing options on most others. However after ordering I started looking at posts and found that others had experienced overheating issues. I realised that this driver had been around since 2008 and wondered if any newer drivers would be better.
The only other option from KD was "8.4V 3-Mode Circuit Driver for 1 x Cree XM-L Bike Light" but this incorporated a clickey switch within the driver and I was uncertain how I would adapt this to my proposed Hall switch.
Looking at DX I found three drivers, SKU128269, 162784 and 351550 with not a lot to differentiate between them......so I just bought one of each and tested them all.
| Driver | KD Super Output SSC P7 LED Driver Board | KD 8.4V 3-Mode Circuit Driver HX-1182a3 | DX SKU128269 | DX SKU162784 | DX SKU351550 |
| Claimed output on High (A) | 3.0A | 2.8A | 2.5-3.0A | 2.5A | 2.6A |
| Measured output on High (A) | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.32A | 2.29 | 2.47 |
| Volts out of driver | 3.65 | 3.52 | 3.55 | 3.55 | 3.57 |
| Watts out | 10.22 | 6.69 | 8.24 | 8.13 | 8.82 |
| Measured input (A) | 2.0 | 1.18 | 1.78 | 1.45 | 1.79 |
| Measured input (V) | 5.99 | 6.7 | 6.29 | 6.12 | 6.2 |
| Watts in | 11.98 | 7.91 | 11.2 | 8.87 | 11.1 |
| Observed Efficiency | 85% | 85% | 74% | 92% | 79% |
| Heat to be dissipated(W) | 1.76 | 1.22 | 2.96 | 0.74 | 2.28 |
The test was basic, voltages were measured with a budget DMM and the amps by voltages across two 0.1 ohm 10% wirewound resistors. The supply was the batteries I had to hand and therefore varied with the state of charge and drawdown due to internal resistance. The test was only taken at a single point.
On the plus side the two resistors were from the same source and swapping them round produced the same results. I then measured the SKU 162784 output with my DMM on the 10A scale and read 2.29A again which would suggest that the resistors were close to their nominal values.
This is not a scientific test, just my observation to help me select the best driver for my purpose (SKU 162784).
Although the output is a bit lower than I had originally intended, if the XP-L I have ordered is a genuine V6 it would output over 1000lumen at 2.3 amps and that is more than a T6 would have given from 2.8 amps not so long ago.(and IMHO ample for a well focused dive light).
If I need another driver I am tempted to build my own based on a LED2001. Anyone had any experience?
Rod
