Bow light for a canoe.....HELP NEEDED!

Hello all,

It's been probably 2-3 years since I've tuned into CPF. The reason I'm here now is because everything I once knew (as little as that may have been) about leds/drivers/etc. is no longer in my brain.

I just completed the Colorado River 100 (a 100 mile canoe race) and during that time spent 7 hours paddling in the dark. We used a homemade led bow light which worked well in conjunction with a hot rodded headlamp I made years ago.

Here is my situation. I'm starting to build a custom racing canoe and need to make a bow light for night races since the once we used during the race wasn't mine. I'm sure leds/etc have changed but I want to use what I already have to make it. I can always make another one later but I don't want to spend any money at the present time on new components. I was going through my old items to see what I have and plan on using the following:

3 luxeon stars QX1JW
One nflex driver
3 IMS27 reflectors

I will custom machine a finned aluminum housing and the battery supply is undecided.

Here are my questions:
1. Since I can configure the nflex what ma output should I set it to?

2. What battery type/style do you suggest? I need to be able to run them from dusk til dawn without changing the battery supply.

Thanks for any input you can offer. I will document the project and post when complete.

Well, LEDs have improved since 3 years ago. The current gen ones get twice the output from the same power as the last gen Luxeons. Current gen LEDs have at least twice the efficiency of last gen ones.

1. I don't canoe so I don't know how much output you need.

2. If you tell me how much output you need, I can probably give you a guess on what batteries you will need.

For example, if you need 400 out the front lumen for 12 hours on a low price, I'll probably point you to 3 Cree XR-E Q5s driven by this driver with the right optics/reflector, all driven by 16 18650 batteries(4 strings of 4 batteries in series), or something with a total of around 120 watt hour and a voltage of over 12v.

Thanks for the information so far.

It sounds as though I need to go ahead and get some new leds. I've had both Cree and Seuol recommended. If you had to pick which one which would be preferred? Gunner12 sent me a good link for the Crees but where is a good place to order Seuol leds? Would you get them as emitters or on a board?

I plan to use my nflex driver(I already have a couple) so that I can change brightness levels if desired.

I would like to use a rechargeable battery supply because I'll make something that can be used on my canoe as well as my bike. Weight is important so I don't mind paying more for the battery supply.

Most of my night runs can be capped at around 6 hours of burn time while on occassion I'll need them to run from dusk until dawn. I will probably configure my driver so that I utilize the dimming features and maximize efficiency of the batteries. I'll brighten them when needed and dim when I'm on open flat water with no obstructions.

Thanks again for any help you can offer.

I realized that I can get everything needed from the link that was provided at DealerExtreme.

I would like maximum throw with the light I end up making so what do you suggest I use for the beam? Collimators or reflectors?

I like the idea of a molded collimator(3 in one) that can be installed in a Mag head. Is there a particular one that will work with either the Cree or the Seoul or are they specific?

Thanks. I'm done with my questions. I look forward to comments and I'll use your suggestions to move forward with my project.

Pictures to follow in the near future.

InitialImage said:

I realized that I can get everything needed from the link that was provided at DealerExtreme.

I would like maximum throw with the light I end up making so what do you suggest I use for the beam? Collimators or reflectors?

I like the idea of a molded collimator(3 in one) that can be installed in a Mag head. Is there a particular one that will work with either the Cree or the Seoul or are they specific?

Thanks. I'm done with my questions. I look forward to comments and I'll use your suggestions to move forward with my project.

Pictures to follow in the near future.

Click to expand...

Those collimators tend to hold Crees better. For a given size, collimators/optics will throw better than reflectors.

DX is pretty slow shipping wise though(I'd say around 2 weeks to a month, could be more if what you bought is back ordered) and some of their stuff isn't that good quality wise.

IIRC the 3 LED and 4 LED collimator(both fit in the mag head) works best with the Cree XR-Es.

Depending on what you are going to do later, it is pretty inexpensive to have a nice NiMH pack made up. I had one made up by cheapbatterypacks.com for my kid's r/c car. A 6 cell, sub C size pack, 7.2 v, 5,000 mah = about $ 50. For 3 LEDs and an nFlex, you would either need 2 of these in series, or more cells in the pack get up to at least 12 volts. The will put most common connectors on in case you want something different than a tamyia type.

It was quite fast to have it made up, and has worked fine so far. I think that some of the CPF guys also make up custom packs.

Lumileds K2s are also quite impressive and will fit right on your board - I personally like the Lux Vs as they tend to throw a bit more of a light "wall" vs the tunnel vision effect, but that is kind of a personal preference.

I said I was done but I have one more question. I'm putting together items to order from DealExtreme and I'm going to overhaul another one of my headlamps. I've decided on Cree XRE leds so what is the best optic for me to use with that choice. I want good throw vs wide spread.

Thanks again.

Jeff

If I was putting together a package of items I would need to rely on for my safety, DX would not be on my list of places to consider getting them from.

DM51 said:

If I was putting together a package of items I would need to rely on for my safety, DX would not be on my list of places to consider getting them from.

Click to expand...

Not even optics? What can go wrong with an optic?

InitialImage said:

I said I was done but I have one more question. I'm putting together items to order from DealExtreme and I'm going to overhaul another one of my headlamps. I've decided on Cree XRE leds so what is the best optic for me to use with that choice. I want good throw vs wide spread.

Thanks again.

Jeff

Click to expand...

The reviews on DX seem to indicate that sku.1915 has a narrower beam.

CPF member photon fanatic has quite a supply of LEDs and optics as well if you need more sources.