Warm White Crees at good price?

[Mash]

Hi all!
Im in the UK, and have ordered and played round with lots of Cree P4s from DX (WD tint).
The DX crees are cool whites, which worked well in the kitchen setup I made.
Now I want to do some stuff for the bedrooms etc, and need to go with warm (or neutral) whites, DX dont have them, so looked around but the ones I found from other retailers are 3-4 times the DX prices, which is annoying!
Sooo does anyone know a good priced source for Neutral or warm white crees?
What bin codes would you recommend?
And finally if all else fails and I go with DX cool whites, is there anyway I can paint or tint the dome to get a more pleasing tint? Or perhaps use photographic filters? Anyone tried these methods?

 

[alphazeta]

KD has warm white cree P4s for about ~$6. Around the 8A or 8B range, I believe.

 

[purduephotog]

Hi all!
Im in the UK, and have ordered and played round with lots of Cree P4s from DX (WD tint).
The DX crees are cool whites, which worked well in the kitchen setup I made.
Now I want to do some stuff for the bedrooms etc, and need to go with warm (or neutral) whites, DX dont have them, so looked around but the ones I found from other retailers are 3-4 times the DX prices, which is annoying!
Sooo does anyone know a good priced source for Neutral or warm white crees?
What bin codes would you recommend?
And finally if all else fails and I go with DX cool whites, is there anyway I can paint or tint the dome to get a more pleasing tint? Or perhaps use photographic filters? Anyone tried these methods?

You could add red or orange LEDs to the mix too....

 

[yellow]

just for You to be more concrete:
* You ordered Cree "XR-E" led in bin "P4".


* for me tint "WD" is as perfectly "neutral" (slightly into warm) as is possible, they are not cool at all.
* when those DX whatevers are too cool/blue, they are no WD
(not surprising - cheap offer, cheap parts, inconsisteny quality)

* with more expensive dealers, You get what You order.
imho except for cutter there is pretty noone where there is really a (realistic) choice

* get XP-Gs

 

[Chauncey Gardner]

I may have a spare R4 (I believe warm white) coming soon.

Pm me if interested. These were from a group buy.

 

[Inkidu]

http://www.cutter.com.au/

They have free shipping with an order over $100 till the end of April.

Just got 16 myself, it took some time but it is a small price to pay if

they can sell some of the most recent led and tell you exactly what

bin you are getting without the need of buying a 1,000 pieces.

Hope this helps.

 

[SemiMan]

I would go with Warm White rebels on stars...better quality of light versus Cree. They are relatively inexpensive direct from Future.

 

[Mash]

Thanks for your answers!
The WDs from DX are too cool to me compared to incans for bedroom use, so I suppose its a subjective call (unless they are not real WDs).
I think i might need 20 or so, but thank you for your offer Chauncey Gardner!
Any special reason to go for XP-Gs other than higher performance?
Any suggestions on bins from cutter? SHall I just pick warm white?
SemiMan would you mind posting a link for me? The Future website is too messy for me to get my head around, i can find the rebels, but not star mounted ones!

 

[Mash]

alphazeta!
somehow missed your reply first time around!
Will chek out kai right now!
Thanks!

 

[alphazeta]

alphazeta!
somehow missed your reply first time around!
Will chek out kai right now!
Thanks!

Their site is awful to navigate so hopefully this link will save you some time.

-az

 

[Mash]

know what you mean! I kinda stopped shopping at Kai after they "revamped" their site into the rubbish current one . Best example ever of "if it aint broke..."
Also Im getting confused re the labellings: If im used to WDs and need to go warmer, is WG a good choice? Which codes are best for neutral and warms?
And what do the 8A 8B numbers represent (as opposed to Wx)?
And YELLOW, looking at cutters site, I see they have the XPGs at good price, so thats a from runner for now, thanks! Thinking of a few XPGs for mood lighting, and two or three MCEs for when I really need illumination.
And hijacking my own thread:
My two shops used to be kai and DX. Still like DX, but have seen a lot of other ones pop up. Which other ones would you guys recommend? (in the same vein as DX etc)

 

[blasterman]

The WDs from DX are too cool to me compared to incans for bedroom use, so I suppose its a subjective call (unless they are not real WDs).

Nothing subjective at all. The Cree fanboys here will argue otherwise, but cool white Crees of any incarnation suck for any kind of interiour illumination that you actually have to live with. You woulnd't want a cheap, cool white fluorescent tube in your bedroom, and cool white Crees have about the same color quality.

I think i might need 20 or so, but thank you for your offer Chauncey Gardner!

Why screw around with that many Crees when the same lumens of Bridgelux will costs about 1/2 the price? I mean, the better flux Crees are more efficient (especially the neutral whites), but they aren't cheap. Just trying to give you options.

 

[RusDyr]

I've just bought Cree XP-G with ANSI white warm Bin "5D2" from cutter for just 5.6$ with shipping cost to Russia.
But it was consignment from 10 XPGWHT-01-5B1-R4-0-01 and 10 XPGWHT-L1-1C0-R5-0-01, both at 20mm star.

 

[Mash]

Blasterman, thanks for your mention of Bridgelux. TBH havent heard of them. Would you mind posting a link to a good retailer so i can check pricing, delivery etc...
I found the manufacturer, but retailer would be more useful if i want to get my hands on them!

 

[blasterman]

You're in the U.K., right?

Try Farnell then.

Not sure exactly what your are doing, but sometimes it's easier to set a lumen goal, and then find the best emitter to reach that goal. Sometimes Cree is the best option, or Bridgelux, or even Rebels.

 

[Mash]

Yes UK! Just found Farnells as well, from the manufacturers website!
I am redoing my bedroom, so need mostly mood lighting, BUT need a higher powered option for when i need proper light, NO not for THAT, for things like packing, cleaning etc!
I really see your point re lumen goals, but being short of measuring equipment etc, I am more winging it at this stage.
Do you have personal experience of Bridgelux? What do you think of them?

 

[blasterman]

I use the Bridgelux all over the place. It's just easier working with a single 450, 800 lumen or brighter emitter if you need high lumen values in a small package. The biggest disadvantage is you need need a bigger heatsink. With smaller 1-3 watt LEDs you can spread them out easier, so it really depends on what you are trying to do.

I really see your point re lumen goals, but being short of measuring equipment

Just use a regular 100watt bulb as a reference. Those are around 1500-1600lumens. Or, a warm white CFL *if* you know the wattage. That should get you close.

What do you mean by 'mood' lighting. Bouncing off the ceiling?

 

[Mash]

By mood lighting, I mean general soft illumination. Enough to see your way around, imagine a couple of candles or so.
Funnily enough, I think both types of light (mood and high output) I am thinking of, will end up being bounced off the ceiling.
I am thinking of putting the Bridgeluxs and the lower powered XPGs (or whatever) on an aluminum strip on top of the head board, bouncing up to the ceiling.
They will be powered by drivers which are mains dimmable. I need to get the pieces before I can see if I can put both types on one circuit. BUT this method although easier will restrict me to the smaller of the BLuxs, since they are the only ones that will run on 350mA, which is the output of my desired driver...

 

[Mash]

Blasterman another question for you and your use of the BLs:
Which ones are you using? How are you driving them?
Thanks!

 

[blasterman]

I'm mostly using the warm-white 402's - the new ones with an even 9volts. I have the cool white 400s on my reef tank.

I've driven them with everything imaginable. 700mA Xitaniums, current regulated and fixed voltage Mean Wells (superb) , you name it. I have a box of surplus 18.5 volt laptop bricks, and often just run a couple BLs in series.

Mean Wells are probably the most practical thing to drive Bridgelux because of their price / wattage standpoint. A $24 48-volt Mean Well will drive four 402s practially forever. Most of the hassle is the heat sink requirements of BL emitters.