That will be spot Kinda666. and yes i'll need the optic as well.

I'll mail you at home tonight and we can sort it out from then if that's OK.

Yeah no worries Dave, i'll be at work but can access my email on my phone! 🙂

Does anyone know where you can get pre soldered driver boards for the 3 LED cutter kits?
I made a right mess of soldering my bflex board + so it can cut out. Want to start again with one of those better heat sinks + a pre soldered board so I can't cock it up. Any ideas appreciated. Ta

Taskled in the states make the bflex.

give him an e mail (george) great guy very helpful. he may be able to sort one out for you.

http://www.taskled.com/

cheaper than cutter too

Right, I've been measuring up & there's not enough room in a Lumi can for a Cutter kit unless:
1. you replace the switch with a much lower profile one or have it on a flying lead.
2. you do likewise with the power plug.
There simple isn't enough room for the control board in the can, you could remote mount the board in the battery or have an intermediate control box to house the board & switches but then you lose the thermal bonding facility.
My other concern is that a Lumi can is very thin & the housings I use are only just able to provide enough material to dissipate the heat. You could fit those finned heatsinks from RC car motors to the outside of the Lumi housing but I wouldn't like the idea of 'fin to face interface' in case of a crash!
The good news is I've got some of the housing I use & will price up the cost of converting to triple & quad Cutter kits for use with most existing battery types.
In this pic from the right you can see my conversions, 3 extended cans I made for an upcoming 1000 lumen HID profect, then a Lumi can & finaly a Trailtech HID.

I mentioned the lack of space earlier in thread.

you can fit a Bflex driver in it's the new sqaure cheapo single current driver that won't fit.

Also a lot of people have been running these at 1 amp with no heatsink and not had problems, as long as you switch to a lower power when stationary. I would not run without some form of heatsink/heattransfer block but the more you look into it the more i think they do not have to be that big.

as long as they make good contact with the casing they should be fine.

If anyone cracks the Lumi-LED conversion i'd also be willing to pay someone with the knowledge to do the conversion, there's not a hope in hell of me being able to do it 🙄 got the 12w&20w halogen set up at the mo, have ordered a set of dx lights, (bar mounted) so only looking to convert 1 lamp to led.. for use on the helmet

Please.

If someone does come up with an idiot-proof drop-in conversion (at a reasonable price) then I'd also be interested.

idiot-proof

bit of a tall order that one.

i'll try my best 🙂

Cutter kit with medium optic . . .

Optic + triple LED MCPCB protrudes 13.5mm into the case
Power connector can be reduced to about 11mm depth with some tab bending
Case is 40.5mm deep

You need to replace the switch anyway for a momentary, I have one which would work at 11mm depth (same as the power connector).

Bflex is 8.5mm deep (I want to use one for my kit)

13.5+8.5+11=33mm, which leaves 7mm for a heat transfer slug . . .

it will fit, but after doing some tests today I cannot believe I can run 3 x XPG's at 1 amp and not have overheating issues in a lumi can . . . however I also have a couple of lumi HID cases which are much larger and perfect for the job . . .

The heat generation is only a problem at 1 amp, at 750mA the heat output is substantially reduced and it would probably be ok without an external heatsink . . .

However, fit an external heatsink and it should work . . .

Very much a viable option and probably cheaper than a new HID bulb for HID owners . . .

3 x XPG's consume 10W which is pretty much identical to a lumi HID, now I have a test rig working I'm gonna do some illumination comparisons, if it ever stops raining . . .

Fd

epicsteve – Member

If someone does come up with an idiot-proof drop-in conversion (at a reasonable price) then I'd also be interested.

+1

I've found that 12mm is the smallest heat transfer slug that dosen't cause over heating @1amp in my housings & they are made of 50% thicker alloy than Lumis & I'd like to think the control board was not in danger of rubbing up against the terminals of the switch or power socket while bouncing down a rocky decent.
HID lamps can be had for as little as £53 or upgraded to 1000 lumens for about £110 & the Lumi HIDs produce 10W of output, they consume nearly 14W

have to agree Lumi HID housings are perfect IMHO.

Trouble is they won't sell em anymore

here's mine

I've a cutter 3 LED with the current cheapo (big) driver – filed down – fitted into a Lumi can. Not sure what the heat sink is, but I know it involves a 2P piece (or part thereof), and it gets warm stationary in the house, but out on the trail – no problem.
A mate built it and I'm running it as a helmet light. Going to build the other can up with the narrow optic as a bar light – will try to get pics of build.
Uses original switch too!

Chucky i've got a trailtech housing unit if you can convert that?

Cheers Chucky.

Without bulk import the HID bulbs are more costly though, and you will pay repeatedly for a HID bulb whereas an LED conversion is ball park the same cost (perhaps less) but much more robust . . .

I'll probably put the XPG kit I am testing at the moment in a HID case and run them side by side with a HID for a while before committing to any more work . . .

My power testing rig shows a lumi HID consuming 11W steady state . . .

I remember when I made some lights out of a huge gel lead acid battery with some MR16 lamps in plumbing fittings . . . times have changed . . . 😉

Fd

is it a HID housing erny?

would think something could be done if it is. Snaps has a piccie of one a bit earler in the thread. The black one on the right.

it's finding someone with a lathe is my problem. Hence why I was chuffed to find the 33mm dia ones from ebay. They only need filing down slightly to fit the Halogen housing.

do you want to send it to me to see if it's doable (I think it should be )

fergus what's the rough cost of doing this conversion?

Well, the 3 x XPG solution produces far more light than the lumi HID, two images same focal length, aperture, shutter speed and ISO so a reasonable comparison of brightness, the LED beam is much brighter but also wider, a very brief look in the real world outside seems to suggest that you would never want to use a HID when you can just about replace one bulb with this setup for approx the same cost . . . if you have a can . . . the LED solution is almost bang on 10 Watts and I got 3.93 hours at full power out of a standard 13.2V lumi NiMh battery with shutdown at 0.9V per cell . . . the HID consumes more power, produces less light, this is with the medium cutter triple optic, I'd go for a narrow however this is bright enough that it's not such a huge deal I think . . .

HID http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziplockk/4083595720/
LED http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziplockk/4082835225/

Whether this will work in a small can is debatable, however using a smaller and simpler fixed output regulator and lower current LED's may produce a more viable option . . . trouble is the taskled ones seem to be the most efficient and best of the crop . . .

Fd

I really want to use XPGs @ 700mA to replace my XPE R2s but the lack of a dedicated optic is making me wait (that & the fact that I get over 3 hours & over 2000 lumens from my XREs @ 1000mA) It would be nice to get the same light & runtime from smaller batteries with cooler running.
Have you seen the new generation of HIDs?
http://www.solarc.net/ click on 'lamp' the figures are impressive.
Compared to my XREs the seem to 'throw' more much better penetration.
I've two on order to play with.

Kinda666 rekons his XPG triple with the usual cutter triple narrow optic are spot on. He does run them at 1amp though

fergus if i can pick up a hid can would you be interested in undertaking a conversion? if your interested and want to discuss it e-mail is in profile, i'm only half an hour down the road from you. Need to get some better lighting sorted out for doing the puffer.

jim

Ok . . .

Spent some time on this . . .

For anybody interested in lumi HOD conversion . . .

Here are some measurements that will be useful, apologies for the handwriting . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziplockk/4089128329/

The green part is the bit that needs made . . . and I shall fire up the lathe this week and do so . . .

Measurements are correct for the cutter MR11 kit with medium optic, I'm not sure whether the spot optic is the same size but I'll probably order one and see . . . one spot and one flood is my preference . . .

Basically the lumi HID case makes things easy with a nice step in the interior making the slug design very simple, 20mm thick, 10mm at 35.5mm and 10mm at 37.8mm with a small hole (5mm) through the centre for the power supply to the LEDS . . . loads of room for a bFlex too the interior of the front of the case is not a simple profile so I'm not looking for a tight fit, but the rear part is a cylinder so the 35.5mm part with some thermal compound should provide a perfect thermal path to the case which itself is nice and chunky . . . I will be bonding the mcpcb and slug together and the optic onto the mcpcb and also using just a touch of silicone sealer to waterproof the optic . . .

I'll be replacing the standard switch with a waterproof momentary one from RS

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=283-8986

Does away with the wee rubber things that I always seem to break . . .

All useful data . . .

Costing, parts are less than a lumi HID bulb from lumi, but more than 50 quid . . . time, well you wouldn't do it if you were paying for your time would you 😉

Fd

My thinking for an extension tube was this:

rear view:

front view:

the recess on the rear view is threaded & would screw onto the threads on the normal lumi halogen can. The driver would sit in the back of the can & wires pass through the hole into the front.
The front view shows where the optic & mcpcb would sit. I added some holes to the front flange (that is thicker than the others) to add some kind of front face. I am guessing this would be required to hold the optic in place.
OD of fins might be a bit too much but just a starting point, really.

Did this while I had a spare 10 mins at work one day, and keep meaning to progress it a bit further.

Now to think about a smaller version for standard lumi cans although case temp would perhaps be an issue ? . . . This setup with 3 x XGP at 1A stabilises at about 55C in a 18C environment in still air . . . what regulators were used in the other lumi sized conversions ?

I successfully put a cutter kit in a lumi can with the switch in situ and a 5 mm plate to mount the led on.

TJ, what LED's and regulator did you use ?

Fd

cutter triple r2 IIRC. Narrow beam optic and a bflex

fergusd, is that a standard Lumi HID casing, just with your added heatsink block?
Presumably the tapered front face has a lip on to secure the optic? Is this sealed with an o-ring?

That sounds about right as my XREs trip the thermal @ 50C driven @ 1A in 14C ambient after about 5 minutes & the XPGs should run cooler.
My NGX HID ballasts & lamps turned up today so I'm off to my shed 🙂

Chucky – interested in converting a Trailtech headunit as I have one knocking about following a tree/hid interface which the bulb didn't survive. What heatsinking did you use, as the head unit is plastic in those lights, and I think partially responsible for their short life.

Question, what would people think about a super simple conversion . . . no fancy bFlex gubbins, one power setting (full) and no power switch . . .

Everything you can remove from the case makes the smaller conversions better . . . ie. less marginal on the heating front . . .

Just thinking out loud . . . a very simple 1A fixed constant current regulator could be better from a packaging POV than a bFlex . . . also a lot cheaper . . .

On the HID case coversion, yes, standard lumi HID case, the front of the case is lipped but I'm not using an O ring, just the thinnest layer of silicone, better solution as it doesn't recess the optic as much, front ID is almost a perfect fit with the MR11 sized optic . . . the pics above are all there is to it apart from the bFlex in the rear of the can, the HID case has LOADS of room in the back . . . very easy . . .

Fd

is there a group order going in. The postage is horrendous if you just need a handfull of items?

I'm off to spain Tomorrow (can't bloody wait).

when i get back early next week i'll put the order into Cutter mikey.

I'll mail you before hand to see what you want.

That driver off e-bay and a 6-8mm heatsink (maybe even thicker) will go into the back of a halogen can if you take the switch and power connector out.

The heatsink I have (also off ebay) is 5mm thick, whick I think is more than enough to run at 750ma.

cost if using a cutter triple XRE, optic, driver and heatsink = £38.

£34 if you use a XPG, and a cutter XRE optic. That should give close on 800lumens when run at the 750ma

Fergusd, if the light was able to run 2 -2.5hrs at full power then I would be interested in two conversions (my son and I). I like simplicity, plus maybe you could put an inline on/off switch in anyway?

Chucky, I'm sure some heatsinks could pop off a lathe to your spec, you will need 33mm diameter to fit in a standard lumi case, prob cheaper than ebay . . . I could probably even mill off a flat to clear the mounting rivnut . . .

If there's a way of saving on postage from cutter, would be interested in adding to an order if poss . . .

Some pics

20W Halogen Spot

Lumi HID

3 x XPG@1A, Medium Op

Again all identical exposures

Hope to get out for a night ride tomorrow depending on weather and my cold status 😉

Fd

If you can turn me some heatsinks that would be great.

Can i get in touch next week?

I'll get in contact with everyone next week for a joint cutter order, if thats OK with everybody.

Wouldn't mind a quad XPG, hope they have the optics sorted by the time we order.

I'd like the quad too. Any heat sink that really fits would be great as a kind of insurance for the cost of the LED's.

I was going to use the quad in my HID light and a triple in the halogen can. Heatsink is much bigger in HID, just like fergusds