Crea/Cre L.E.D what ever you call em!

Alright so after 2 attempts to make a homemade light, I think I finally got it figured out for the 3rd time. My first attempt was some spare garage parts and a drill battery and yes it worked perfect and I even rode down from the top of saddle back with it. The second one was a little better this time I used a 5000mah 14.4 volt battery on a 20watt halogen mr16 bulb in a metal housing, this worked great except halogen use 6x the energy as Cre LED's, and on top of that halogen get hot!

here is the specs

2nd attempt-

12 volt mr16 20 watt halogen bulb/ running a 14volt(Over volting halogen brings out the white light rather than yellow)5000mah battery- Run time 3 hrs- putting out around 250 lummens
Charge time-4hr+/-

3rd attempt-

12volt mr16 Crea LED bulb/running a 12volt 1100mah battery(around 5x times smaller than a 5000mah battery)-run time 3+ hrs-putting out around 250 lummens(and not heating up nearly as hot)
charge time- just over an hour

Summary-

1.The mr16 Cre LED gives out the same power(250 lummens) as a 20watt halogen, when it only runs off of 3watts(6.6x less wattage then a halogen bulb needs to produce 250 lummens)

2. Since the LED gives out the same light with less battery cumsumtion it allows you to go from a water bottle size battery to a battery 3.3in long 1.3in wide and 1.3in tall(about the size of a small stem)

3. Since the battery is smaller it cost 1/4 of the price so now instead of one battery that last for 3hrs you can have 4 batterys' that last a total of 16 hours(not that you even ever need it that long)Plus now you can just velcro wrap the battery under your stem or on your helmet, and put the extras in your jersey pocket or camelpac.

Pricing-

Light housing- $8+/-

Cre mr 16 bulb- $25+/-

12v NiMh 1100mah battery-$14

Charger-$20

RCA cable female 2 male-$15

optional switch-$8

extra pouche velco ect... $25 +/-

So about $120 dollars total

[BrewMaster]

Not sure which bin Cree(s) you want to use, but no single Cree XR-E gives you 250 lumens off of one emitter. Also, run time and illumination (lumens) depend on what current you run. This is regulated by the driver, which I don't see on your shopping list.

I wouldn't recommend running one light and driver combo on multiple different batteries on a regular basis. Off the charger batteries are not all the same, even if they are rated the same, so this can throw your system out of regulation and cause problems down the line. Also, Vf of emitters is not identical though they all have the same average rating. For example, a 14.4 V battery pack can be 15+ V right off the charger. Also, the Vf of a 3 Cree XR-E Q5s in series can vary by 1V or more. Basically, set up the system and then don't change the pieces back and forth or it will become unregulated.

If you want good feedback from people who know what they are doing, post over on the MTBR Light forum. Great peeps with a ton of knowledge and no attitudes.

EDIT: A few more thoughts. If you run 1 Cree XR-E R2 at 1 A, you will get close to 225 lumens with Vf about 3.5 V. A 12V battery is way overkill for this and may screw up your LEDs and/or driver. I don't see how your system is going to work properly, but I don't yet know the details of your system, so maybe I am missing something.

[92se-r]

If he is using a MR16 bulb housing with a Cree LED, MR16's are meant for a 9-14V input voltage, so there is probably a buck power supply in there. So he is fine.

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

Not sure which bin Cree(s) you want to use, but no single Cree XR-E gives you 250 lumens off of one emitter. Also, run time and illumination (lumens) depend on what current you run. This is regulated by the driver, which I don't see on your shopping list.

I wouldn't recommend running one light and driver combo on multiple different batteries on a regular basis. Off the charger batteries are not all the same, even if they are rated the same, so this can throw your system out of regulation and cause problems down the line. Also, Vf of emitters is not identical though they all have the same average rating. For example, a 14.4 V battery pack can be 15+ V right off the charger. Also, the Vf of a 3 Cree XR-E Q5s in series can vary by 1V or more. Basically, set up the system and then don't change the pieces back and forth or it will become unregulated.

If you want good feedback from people who know what they are doing, post over on the MTBR Light forum. Great peeps with a ton of knowledge and no attitudes.

EDIT: A few more thoughts. If you run 1 Cree XR-E R2 at 1 A, you will get close to 225 lumens with Vf about 3.5 V. A 12V battery is way overkill for this and may screw up your LEDs and/or driver. I don't see how your system is going to work properly, but I don't yet know the details of your system, so maybe I am missing something.

yeah im using an mr16 12v

[1080P]

Taking the easy way out...

B.O.M

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12060

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13095

Batteries and charger...

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4151

mounts... for handle bar, improvise for helmet mount with velcro, cut up inner tubes, or... what ever else you can find on Deal Extreme.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274

$80.00 and a 3 week wait to have it delivered to your door, shipping included in the price. Best value out there for a 230 lumen helmet and 700 to 800 lumen bar light, that if used properly in various modes on an as needed basis, should give you a 3 hour run time. If you need more run time, buy extra chargeable batteries at $10 per set.

[MTBMaven]

I have started using this mount, but not in the way pictured. It works great for helmet mounts.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12000


More info here: Fenix LED Helmet Flashlight