Is 9V Direct Drive overdriving a 5W Lux?

I noticed in a couple of old threads that 5W luxes were direct driven by 3 CR123's in series (yielding 9V). Isn't that overdriving a 5W lux?

I would think so, and the life of that star should be short.

A resistor would have to be put in line with the Lux5 in order to bring the drive current down to a safe level. It's a very simple way of running a Lux5.

But that's the classic Space Needle II... I ran mine (a clone, but it was direct drive with a T bin) through probably $100 worth of 123s and it still seemed just as bright as when brand new.

I'm sure the LED life will be shortened, but the Lux V isn't known for outstanding LED life anyway... I guess from how I see it, if you can afford to burn through $100 or $200 worth of batteries, then you should be able to ante up for a replacement star/emitter.

Or if you are wanting something like a SNII, but driven a bit less hard, you can just put a regulator in front of it to limit the current to 750 or 900 or 1000ma. The boards cost less than the emitters so if you want to get 100+ hours of use out of it, it would be an investement... plus then you can run rechargeable LiON cells on it.

I have W bin Lux V driven with 3 Cr123's through a DB917, which tells me that 3 Cr123's direct drive would probably not be a good idea...

I'd like to hear more about experiences with overdriving a 5w. I put a WXOT in a light engine I already had made for an Aleph with a BadBoy 650 with plans to get another light engine kit and converter board later.
With 2x123 or a 168S/17670 rechargeable, the output is nothing to complain about, but with 2 R123s it overpowers the board, and goes into direct drive.
Coupled with an Aleph3 head, I've gotta say it's the most awesome thing I've ever seen as far as LED flashlights go. Huge increase in brightness, throws farther than a T bin at 937mA with a McR27, but with a spot 4 times as big, and the spill is unbelievable, too.
I've been afraid to run it for more than a few seconds at a time, as it's drawing 1.3A from the 2R123s (only draws 1.4A from a 17670 at half the voltage with the BB650).
If this is going to shorten the life of my LED, say cut it in half, I can live with that. I'm not so worried about heat as I am putting too much voltage to the LED, as it's not going to be run for any length of time on high(assuming I put a 2-stage tail on it).
If I'm risking killing a $40 LED every time I turn the light on, though...well the beam is pretty good at 650mA, too

Owen said:

If I'm risking killing a $40 LED every time I turn the light on, though...well the beam is pretty good at 650mA, too

Click to expand...

When you consider that a SF lamp assembly is around $30, it doesnt pain you so much to be on the edge