SSC P7 -DRIVER- heatsinking: how do I do it?

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camra88

Newly Enlightened
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I have this driver for my P7:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270418910126&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I have read on this forum that the drivers will overheat within minutes (on high). I plan on using mine for 2-3 hours at a time.

How exactly do I heatsink this driver?

I am assuming that the big IC with that tiny metal tab is what is powering the LED? Is that the only part that needs to be heatsinked? If so, what is the best way to heatsink it?

Thank you!

EDIT: The driver came with a grey rubber thing that goes around the inductor. I have read on this forum, that it is believed to be used as a way to transfer heat from the board to a heatsink. Is this correct?

It is this one here: http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gxFewpJ (picture was found in the thread http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=202087&page=4 )

JP
 
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Drill a hole in the back of the LED heat sink or any other heatsink that the inductor ( coily thingie) will fit into and the thermal glue it in place.
 
It seems doubtful that the rubber is for heat sinking. Or if it is for heat sinking, it probably isn't good at it. Good heat sinking is all about 100% contact and heat transfer. I doubt either condition occurs with this rubber cap. I don't know anything about that driver, but typical components that are of concern are the driver IC, the diode, any external FET, and the inductor.
 
I have some Sekisui 5760 thermal tape. Will this be as effective as the thermal glue?
 
I have contacted the eBay seller about this rubber piece, and they have told me it is indeed for heat sinking.

Anybody know what to do from there? Should there be use of thermal compound? etc?
 
that is a KD driver. im not sure if the rubber is a heatsink material or not. i have some of those drivers here, but to me it seems more like protection while shipping.
 
Well I bit the bullet and decided to implement that rubber piece as an intermediary between the board and the heatsink. So far it appears to be transferring the heat reasonably well. I am going to readjust the board so it presses more evenly onto the rubber piece and see if that helps to transfer more heat (how I have it setup right now, only half of that transistor/FET? is firmly pressed onto the rubber, hopefully if the entire thing is pressed into the rubber, heat transfer will be much better)
 
blackdragonx1186 said:
that is a KD driver. im not sure if the rubber is a heatsink material or not. i have some of those drivers here, but to me it seems more like protection while shipping.
Click to expand...

+1 on the protection while shipping.

That type of rubber can't transfer heat. You would need some sort of thermal pad material like the TGF150D thermal gap filler pad George uses on his hipCC ans hipFlex drivers to transfer heat. I've used the original one KD sold, it was bad, it cut down to low after 3-5 min. I tried to heatsink it exactly like I did all of my good drivers, and it still cut out. I've heard that it has been improved since the original run, but I do not know the difference in the improved driver, the skew number or spec at KD never changed, so I never ordered another.
 
I am going to agree with you all on this one... as the driver still over heated while pressed against a huge heatsink 20 times the size of the driver board.

After it 'warned' my of overheating, it is now permanently in the state of dimming to low, hi, low, hi forever. I can't believe they sell such crap junk.
 
I am looking at getting the hipCC driver now... looks good. lovecpf
 
UPDATE:

That blinking was because the battery was low... be nice if this driver came with an instruction sheet to tell me that. :thinking: :ohgeez:

Having tightened the driver against the heat sink with that rubber as the intermediary much tighter, I was able to keep the driver at safe temperatures. I ran the P7 + driver on the same heat sink (with a fan of course), for 1.17 hours (then the battery died) with no issues.

:cool::cool::cool:
 
I realise you said you've run it. However, I still say if it's rubber throw it out. From the sounds of it, it was that fan that was running that has helped. Did the area around / under the rubber get warm at all? Rubber should be insulating the heatsink and keeping it nice and cool, while the driver above it heats up --> this is a bad thing.

Maybe get rid of the dx driver and just go direct drive... I suspect you'll see a better output, but please don't do this until you've corrected the thermal path.
 
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I use the fan on the heat sink because the P7 gets HOT! I don't think it's helping the driver other then keeping the heat sink cooler then the driver.

If I use separate heat sinks for the P7 and for the driver (with no fan), the driver heat sink warms up fairly quickly. While I agree rubber is not the best way to transfer the heat... it seems to be working good enough to keep the driver at a safe temperature. Because the driver has a built in heat sensor, correct? As long as that is not kicking in, I'm happy... unless it starts on fire :shakehead

The driver has no airflow going over it... it is inside a plastic box that is shared with the P7. Who knows... maybe all the wires soldered to it are acting as a heat sink?

And I don't want to do direct drive, as I would have to break apart my 8.4 NiMH batteries I also use in my RC truck (brushless e-maxx) or buy new ones... which would be expensive :eek:oo:

I'll be doing more tests... as I don't want this thing to burst into flames while mounted to my helmet!!!

But wow this thing is bright. I'm using a mag light reflector, and its just as bright as my 1,000,000 candlepower spotlight... :grin2::grin2::grin2:
 
Im with the "Throw the rubber away" brigade.

I have used heaps of these drivers and driven them from 12v and into 7.4v 2.8amp loads. No worries at all as long as you drill an 8mm hole in the back of the heat sink and thermal glue the driver down.
 
Which part of the driver is getting the hottest? The diode or the FET? Should I focus on one particular part of the driver? I have some thermal tape here... will that work?
 
I am having problems with heat as well. Have you found an after market heat sink yet?

american dj sells a heat sink for it's 3w led pin spot. It is quite an over kill but it may provide great stating material you can use to pare down.
 
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