Maglight 5-D with 5xCree XP-G?

[HansV]

I have an old 5 D-cell Maglight that I want to modify. The current plan is:
- Getting this kit for mounting 5 Cree emitters: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18842
- Putting in 5 Cree XP-G R5 mounter on stars
- Driving them with 1200mA/4W each, getting a total of 20W/2000lm on high
- Getting one or several drivers with min. 3 modes, modifying one or constructing one
- Using the 10AH HiMh D-cells I already have, giving 6V input voltage
- Putting in a 12V connector and regulator for charging of the batteries

Can anyone give my suggestions on a better/cheaper way to do this and still getting a very bright light with proper battery life?
Is there other emitters that is better fitted for this application?
Any suggestions for complete kits for Maglight D modification that will give >1000lm?
How can I make a solution where I able to ajdust the focus of the beem?
Does the 5xemitter kit give sufficient cooling for 20W LED power?

I have consithered this as a more simple and cheap solution, but it will only give half the output light: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26127
Maybe I will start with this and change to XP-G LEDs later. Quess it's the same parts.

I will be greatful for all good answers. This is my first modification, so I am new to this.

 

[ti-force]

I may be wrong, but I think you'd be hard pressed to have an adequate amount of heatsinking with a nice thick aluminum heatsink, much less the heatsinking that kit looks to provide. I just don't think you will get the lumens you want without lots of heatsinking.

 

[HansV]

You might be right, but the efficiency of the XP-G's will be quite high with 1200mA drive, 100lm/W. I will not put in much more power than the 5 x P4-WC kit, that is driven with 1000mA. And that obvious works fine.
I can make a thicker heatsink it that is nessesary, and if it gets too warm I can reduce the drive a little.

Did anyone try this convertion kit? Does it works OK? What is the beam like?

No better ideas for other heat sinks, reflectors or emitters for this project? Nothing that beats 5xXP-G with 15-20W drive?
I could of cause go for a 7x XP-G setup, but that will be even more expencive.

Does anyone have a source for cheap XP-G R5 LED's? I can get them on Ebay for 10$ each including shipping, but this seems a bit expencive.
The best thing would of cause be to find a board with 5 LED's in the correct position, or with a reflector that fits.

 

[tx101]

Search the BST section for a sales thread by member Rav
He is selling multi XPG boards and optics.
I think he has 3, 4, and 7 XPG boards

I am planning a 7 XPG Mag build. Luckily for me, the person
I am building this light for has a lathe so he will be able to machine
a custom heatsink.

 

[HansV]

I have seen these board, and this is definetly a good option.
Is this solution with the plastic lenses good? Better that using reflectors?
Is it worth the price?
A have also access to a lathe, so I can make a heat sink if I have to. It will also be nice if I have do modify a unit with heat sink.

By using 7 LED's, the power will be more distributed and the efficiency will be higher. The output could also be >2500lm. I just wonder how the light pattern will be.

 

[overdog]

Hello HansV,
I had an almost similar idea, I already have this light and 5x XP-G R5 emitters on starboard from here at home, at the tailcap I measured about 1,3 Ah with original built in emitters, I will just replace them by the XP-Gs and use 3x AW IMR16340 cells instead of 3x 18650 Li-Ions which will shorten the light immediately- The original light is really powerful and has a really narrow beam- so I hope after modding that it will fulfill my expectations- for the left over Q5 emitters I bought this reflector, the one you are interested in (I use this in another light with 5x P7 an heatsinking works good enough- XPG´s should be no problem to my mind), this light as a host (the 3x cree reflector of this light will find another use) and this circuit board to have one more complete light, may to be sold on ebay to get some money back for other projects… may you get some new ideas for your mod
Best regards,
Steffen.

 

[HansV]

What kind of starboard will you be using for the five XP-G's?
Will you be using the 15W driver? I have looked at that one to, but would like a bit more than 800mA. That is one of the reasons that I consither bying the complete kit with 5xLED's, because that has a more powerful driver. But I could be wrong.
Keep me updated on the progress, and what parts you end up with

 

[overdog]

The Xpg´s will be delivered as you see on the linked pic with star board if you order, and the dx lamp has a built in circuit board which delivers about 1300Ah to the original built in Q5 emitters (tailcap)- to me this is enough for the R5´s to work propper- But it is also a good idea to built in a multi XPG board from RAV in your Mag- only need a 3x 4x or 7x XPG kit with optics, a driver and a heatsink, why not from download a multisink which is adjustable- I like it...
Next weekend I will hopefully find time to built the light, I´ll keep you updated if it works...

 

[ti-force]

I'm not sure if this will work or not, because I'm trying to post these links with my phone, but if they don't work, I'll update this post later when I'm on my laptop.

The first link. Look at the Mag 1 c 3 XP-G R5 info. These are real out the front lumens, measured by BigC. The second link is self explanatory. I'm not very familiar with this light, other than it's a 1c mag (custom heatsink I think), with 3 XP-G R5 emitters. There could be other variables that make the lumens fall so fast, I don't know, I just thought you might be interested in these results.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll166/bigchelis/LumenSpreadsheet/lumens18.png

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll166/bigchelis/LumenSpreadsheet/lumens19.png

 

[HansV]

Thanks for the info. The real light output that is possible to measure will of cause differ from the maximum outputs of the LED's. Some will be list in the lenses on refletors.
The drop in the output after a short time is probabily because the LED's are direct driven. Battery output voltage drops when the battery gets warm and the charge decreses. The LED voltage is temperature dependent, and the efficiancy drops when it gets warm. Therefor the output drops when the heatsink end LEDs get warm, and this gives a good idea why we should use large heat sinks.
My plan is to tool a aluminium rod and mount it beneath the heat sink, as a press fit against the flashlight tupe and using thermal grease. It should be as long as possible, limited by the alailable space for the driver and batteries.

1300mA from the driver in the 800lm kit sounds fine, I might reduce it a little if I can fint a way to modify the driver. There should be a current sens resistor somewhere that could be changed.

 

[overdog]

Hello HansV, its not the 800lm light I want to modify, please check my first linked light, its a "1200" lumen light with the about 1300mAh driver...

 

[tx101]

The Maxflex 5A from Taskled will drive emitters up to 1300mA
It has a very nice UI .... plenty of options so you can set the light
up exactly how you want

 

[HansV]

Sorry, my mistake.
This is the same assembly than the 800lm kit, but looks like it has other emitters and higher current driver with larger input voltag range.
Anyway, the emitters is going to be changed anyhow, and the driver can probably be modded. I think I will get one complete kit, and one without emitters and driver. Then I will have something to work with.
What are you going to do about the XP-G stars? Are you going to remove the original board and just mount the stars directly to the heatsink? The other option could be to keep the original board and change the LEDs, if the XP-G will fit. That will require some soldering skills, but should be possible with pre-heating and proper equipment.

 

[ti-force]

This is the person who built the 3x XP-G R5 Mag I linked to in my previous post.



http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3319469&postcount=7

 

[HansV]

I have now ordered the 800lm "drop-in" kit and some XP-G's. Now I just have to wait.....
The plan is to machine the unit with a lathe for a good fit in the maglight.
What I worry about here is if I get good enough heat transfer from the mounting base to the Maglight tube. The tube will be a quite good heat sink, with thick aluminium and a long tube with a black surface. If I can get most of the heat into the tube, the mounting base should keep relative cool.
On idea on how to du this is to take a alu tube that will fit closely inside the mag with some tooling. I will then remove as much as nessesary from the base om the LED unit and fit this inside on the new tubing. It can be an easy and efficient upgrade if it works.
The LED's should not run warmer than 50 degrees C on the mounting base, else the output will start to drop.
I will post some pictures when I get started on this project.