Protecting Cree LED for Flood

[Weylan]

I am looking to make a Flood light with 3 Cree LEDs. I realize in a regular light that the Silicone cover of the LED can be a problem and should be protected by some kind of cover. What are people using to protect it when using the light for flood with no reflector inside a housing?

I am looking to use 3 Cree LEDs mounted to a piece of copper pipe. So protecting the light might be kind of difficult.

Is it really that fragile? So I should consider anything covering it is better then nothing?

How dirty does it reasonably get if I just leave it unprotected? Does it polarize and attract dust when it is on?

 

[Illum]

assuming its not mounted on a place where it could be stepped on, its not placed in an area where corrosive liquids would drip on, and the fixture is not designed for something where the LED might have the living @#$% whacked out of it for no good reason it's fine for it to be naked under the sun

CREEs have hard domes, not the jelly on Seoul LEDs [SSCs], they're pretty strong by itself, but if the dome is scratched it may cast unusual artifacts in the beam. Since your using it as a flood type light its probably not going to be that noticeable


heres some examples of fixed lighting using LEDs [including CREEs]
Mcgizmo's home