DIY Canister style dive light....

[jj1987]

I'm trying to create a canister style dive light.

I'll be basing my start off of this tutorial-
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.cooper/

My total budget is $150 or less. I'll be using Nimh batteries to stay under this limit, and size isn't a huge issue (not saying I want it to be a 3rd scuba tank, but a decent size isn't going to kill me). I also imagine that I'll be using LED's rather than HID.

Requirements to beat the Dive rite HID one-
Must have more than 500 lum.
Must burn at least 4-8 hours.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gunner12]

3 Cree XR-E Q5 LEDs at 1 amp each should give you around 500 lumen out the front.

Presuming 80% driver efficiency, you'll need a 56 watt pack for 4 hour runtime and a 111 watt pack for 8 hour runtime.

The driver would depend on what your input voltage is and the beam pattern would depend on your needs.

:welcome:

 

[diff_lock2]

Do you have a NiMH pack charger? Cause that could cost you 100$.

How bad would it be if your light went out during a dive as you were using it?

Cause a 20w halogen solution could pump out 500lm. But I believe you really risk the life of the bulb.

 

[jj1987]

3 Cree XR-E Q5 LEDs at 1 amp each should give you around 500 lumen out the front.

Presuming 80% driver efficiency, you'll need a 56 watt pack for 4 hour runtime and a 111 watt pack for 8 hour runtime.

The driver would depend on what your input voltage is and the beam pattern would depend on your needs.

:welcome:

Thanks for the welcome!

I'm 100% new to this, any suggestions on an idiots guide to getting started?

Do you have a NiMH pack charger? Cause that could cost you 100$.

How bad would it be if your light went out during a dive as you were using it?

Cause a 20w halogen solution could pump out 500lm. But I believe you really risk the life of the bulb.

I'll be carrying 2 backup lights and this as my primary. I don't want it to go out during the dive, but it wouldn't kill me if it did.

 

[diff_lock2]

http://www.pcmus.com/Dive-Photos/Dive-Light-DIY-SCUBA.htm

I would go with a halogen setup, maybe two.

Like two 2h redundant systems.

4ah 12cell NiMH per light, and a 20w OSRAM IRC mr16 lamp, Al reflector if they make it, I hate those cool beam ones, I usually wrap the lamp reflector in tinfoil to reflect the IR forward.

 

[LukeA]

I would use three of these optics from KD. They come in 10-packs and three fit in a Mag head. They have a good, narrow beam, which will be good underwater.

Sorry, crappy cellphone pic.

4D NiMH cells will give you a little over 4 hrs runtime with 3 emitters at 1A.

 

[Gunner12]

Do you have a host in mind?

Then KD optics might be a bit to narrow in water though. The angle decreases around 33% so the light would come out at a 5.28 degree angle. Would that be too narrow?

I was thinking maybe a redundant system in the light. If you want to stay lower priced, 4 of these LEDs, a pack of these drivers(one for each LED), all driven by 6 NiMh D cells in series. Output should be around 920 lumen at the emitter or 600-800 lumen out the front depending on the reflector/optic setup. Also look at other drivers that might be better for the task.

For the reflector/optic, host, heatsink, window and other components that would have to depend on what host you use and what you house the batteries in.

 

[LukeA]

Do you have a host in mind?

Then KD optics might be a bit to narrow in water though. The angle decreases around 33% so the light would come out at a 5.28 degree angle. Would that be too narrow?

I was thinking maybe a redundant system in the light. If you want to stay lower priced, 4 of these LEDs, a pack of these drivers(one for each LED), all driven by 6 NiMh D cells in series. Output should be around 920 lumen at the emitter or 600-800 lumen out the front depending on the reflector/optic setup. Also look at other drivers that might be better for the task.

For the reflector/optic, host, heatsink, window and other components that would have to depend on what host you use and what you house the batteries in.

I think that the narrow angle might help pierce through murky water.

 

[SUBjohan]

Hi,

I have made multiple canister dive lights, HID and LED, the last one I made was an LED light I used 3 SSC P4 led's driven at 1amp. It is a nice light with better performance than a 10W HID light.



Its documented at the dutch diving forum in dutch, but I think you get the pictures and the PDF drawings.

Greetz Johan

 

[steve6690]

Hi, I'm currently building a similar canister light. I've evaluated the 8 degree Cree optic but in the end I'm going with a 4 led design using this optic :

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1915

It gives a nice strong hotspot (should be even narrower underwater ?) and plenty of spill. It will fit in a 50mm diameter housing, just like three KD optics but you could drive the leds at 700ma and still get 700+ lumens.

 

[jj1987]

Would it be better to have them in a 2x2 or 1x4 pattern, or should I stick with 1x3?


Could I use these lights? Seems easier for a newbie. What lumen rating would these have if I used 3 of them at max power?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090

 

[Gunner12]

The drop-ins should work, just make sure they are heatsinked well.

The drop-ins are current regulated, so they will be the same output no matter the voltage(I'd recommend around 6v).

Each one is about 150 lumen at the emitter. The Q5 version would be around 200 lumen at the emitter.

 

[jj1987]

The drop-ins should work, just make sure they are heatsinked well.

The drop-ins are current regulated, so they will be the same output no matter the voltage(I'd recommend around 6v).

Each one is about 150 lumen at the emitter. The Q5 version would be around 200 lumen at the emitter.

So would it be brighter if I got these that were mentioned earlier in the thread?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3256

I'm new to this, but wouldn't I need reflectors for that driver/led combo?

If so, is there one that you can recommend that fits the rectangular shape?

If not, will this reflector work well?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1915

 

[Gunner12]

What dimensions?

If you go for the driver and the Q5, you'll need a reflector. The optic should work too, and you could also trim part of it to fit. 4 of those drivers and 4 Q5s would be around the same LED lumen as 4 of the Q5 drop-ins, similar current (links below).

R2 and Q5 versions of the drop-in.

 

[jj1987]

Sorry to keep bumping this, could this driver work with the osram's?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3256

Here's the LED
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/4/2/10

I've found them for about $50 online, would love to source a US dealer.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

You can get Ostars from digikey.com for around $30, but they have four or six dice in series, so you'll need a driver that can output higher voltages, like this one. The Ostars don't really give you any cost or efficiency savings over using multiple ordinary emitters like you've already been considering. The advantage is their smaller size in comparison to their output.

 

[jj1987]

You can get Ostars from digikey.com for around $30, but they have four or six dice in series, so you'll need a driver that can output higher voltages, like this one. The Ostars don't really give you any cost or efficiency savings over using multiple ordinary emitters like you've already been considering. The advantage is their smaller size in comparison to their output.

I've been thinking about doing 6 of the drop in modules, but the size was just getting to be too much. I could do 4 ostars and more than likely find a reflector for them. My only concern is battery life with the 10k mah 12v battery, and the heat (which I don't think is an issue in the water).

Here's the battery I bought-
http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1344


Originally I wanted >500 lumens, now I'm thinking >1000 lumens is realistic.

 

[Gunner12]

The driver won't work(the DX one), the Osram requires too much voltage.

The Seoul P7 is only slightly dimmer and is more efficient then the Osram, but the drivers for the P7 is hard to find, unless you run a few in parallel.

Something like this except waterproof.

 

[jj1987]

The driver won't work(the DX one), the Osram requires too much voltage.

The Seoul P7 is only slightly dimmer and is more efficient then the Osram, but the drivers for the P7 is hard to find, unless you run a few in parallel.

Something like this except waterproof.

This driver would work, correct?
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=4338

If so, could I get 3 of them and find a reflector for that?

 

[Gunner12]

For the P7 yes, but the driver will be killed by the 12v from the battery. It is pretty much a smart resistor so whatever voltage above what the LED needs is burned away.

I'm not sure if these(the "Kennan" drivers from KD) will run in parallel, but if they do, 4 of them should work well.

4 in parallel powering 3 P7s in series.

If the drivers do work, you should get around 3 hours of runtime with that battery.

I think 1 P7 should be enough to beat or match the HID. But you can have some sort of wiring that gives you a 3 LED turbo.