Ive decided to make a little project and I need a little help with the light portion. I really don’t know anything about flashlights and to tell you the truth I never thought they were so complex. I have been looking at XM-L drop ins and would like to have one with multiple LED’s. What I am needing is something that is Very bright, excellent flood with decent throw. I found the XM-LT6 3-LED 2200LM White Light 5-Mode Flashlight Drop-in Module - Silver + Golden (3.5-8.4V/2.8A) at ( http://www.colorapples.com/wholesale-dropin-modules-c-254_277_280.html?sort=5d). Is this going to work for what I need? I would prefer this in single mode or 3 mode with memory. Next I will need this light to stay on for quite some time several hours at a time if possible. I have plenty of room for batteries so any help on what rechargeable batteries to use would be helpful. I need to use long and skinny if possible something to fit into a tube style housing anywhere from 3/4” to 1 1/2” at the biggest. The light will not be touching the battery pack and I will have to wire them together, will that be a problem? Last thing is there a certain end cap or button i will need?
Would a better option be to buy a light and strip the parts?
It sounds like your looking for a bike light. Something like this.
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/shadow-bl21-xml-800lumens-bike-light-p-465.html
If something like that would fit your needs, there will be people along with more
experience in that field. Hope this helps you start your journey. Enjoy
Thanks allthumbs, do you know where I can get beam shots for this light. Not sure if this is what im looking for or not I think its a good place to start. I do know that I need the light to have built in thermal protection and over charge protection. Thanks for the starting point. What ever light I use i need to be able to build it into my own housing.
keep in mind that most of the cheaper offerings are great lights, but often have junky battery packs (cheap recycled cells) and even some of the more expensive lights have bad control units on their battery packs with proprietary plugs/wiring. Your main concern should be the battery pack from what you posted, but luckily there are plenty of replacements around if you don’t want to rig one yourself.
the rest is just figuring out what beam patters you want and possibly heat management for prolonged led life.
http://www.modernbike.com/light-comparison.asp?SSAID=389818&SSAID=389818#singleshotplus
Have a pleasant time here at this friendly forum, Custom Candle!
I would prefer to buy the individual components vs buying a pre assembled unit. What are your thoughts on this light (XM-LT6 3-LED 2200LM White Light 5-Mode Flashlight Drop-in Module – Silver + Golden (3.5-8.4V/2.8A) and this battery ( Tenergy Power )?
Will this work for what im wanting?
What about this battery if I wired them in series? Tenergy D 10,000mAh NiMH Rechargeable Battery - Tenergy
Do I need protection on the battery if I buy a charger with it?
Thanks for the few of you that helped out. I cant believe no one else will help out…… Moderator delete my account
You expect a little too much.
You didnt specify what you want to do with the light.
You didnt provide links to the lights you are talking about.
We dont have any idea about your knowledge of lithium cells (not much, it seems).
Also, your posts lack paragraphs and are a PITA to read.
Did you even read any of my posts? I was hoping to get suggestions and I listed the light I was looking at, with a link to several lights. Whats it matter what I want to do with the light, it needs to be bright, good flood with decent throw and your right I don’t know much about lithium cells why do you think im asking?
Here, I'll try to reply. Just post any question that is unasnwered as of yet and I will answer it. :)
Lets just start out with is this light a good buy?
Here is perhaps the same drop in already in a whole flashlight
http://www.tmart.com/TrustFire-CREE-XML-T6-5-Modes-3800LM-LED-Flashlight-Electric-Torch_p138641.html
You can take it apart and perhaps use the other pieces.
Free shipping to the edge of reality!
Oh, your friendly and welcoming attitude will surely bring you further.. :~
That is no flashlight, its a dropin. The reason it would be good to know what you want to do is:
depending on how many light you will need, you will need high current to the LED. The higher the current, the more cooling needed.
Also it is kinda important to know if you will have access to your cells to recharge them or if you are in need for a plug-in charger. Also, do you have a charger of any kind?
Temperature control is not necessary if proper heatsinking is ensured.
Its hard to explain what im building but I need the light to be built in a 5’ pipe/tube. If you can just imagine a 5’ mag light. The diameter of the pipe only needs to be big enough for the battery’s to fit in, I am going to flare the end of the pipe/tube to accommodate the LED’s. I need this to be completely sealed/waterproof so if there is a way I can use a plug in charger that would be perfect.
Use this as a example of what it will look like
I will need this light to be on for several hours 5 to 6 if possible.
Now that helps. What do you want to light up and how much light do you need? Will it be submersed in water or just rain? 3 proper driven LEDs produce a lot of heat..
Built in charger is not recommended in that case. Do you have a DMM and are you willing to take a lot of care of your cells or do you want something simple? Simple would be NiMH cells, maybe LiFePo, while NiMH cells are a lot cheaper.
There are a lot of factors to regard if you want the best possible solution. :)
Lazy student is lazy... At least take a stab at doing a bit of your own homework.
There's enough info on this forum to at least get you in the right direction with your "flounder light" (<--see? research)
Asking vague questions then pouting / holding your breath when you don't get spoon fed info may not be the best approach here.