Beast drivers @ Kaidomain

Have my part number at the house. Used a different part than Lambda as I found his info after ordering from Digikey. Same results.

Did I miss something or is this a where these monster drivers came from

BTT

I used a IRLB3034PBF MOSFET N-CH 40V 195A TO220 from Digikey.

Here's the pic from the link above:

Thanks CX!!

sounds like (from the other thread) those new multi xml lights use very different drivers (magnetic control ring, strobe options, etc.)

my reflectors shipped, T - 2 months to assembly

Could these drivers work in a car? Car battery can spike up to about 13.8V, and these are rated 12V....

Anyone know of a decent driver that could work for a car project?

Viktor


Edit:

I posted this before looking at the already quoted link...

http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S020121

I tried out one of the drivers mentioned here tonight, KD sku S020121. Vbatt was really close to Vf of the 3xMCE string I'm powering it with, so I wasn't asking it to do much heavy lifting. Even still, the darn thing overheats and throttles back after about a minute of use. The thermal sponges that it comes with are wedged between it and the Mag D tube and the LED Heatsink above it. For most drivers, including the DX 57779 it replaced, that's sufficient. Even throttled back, output is still pretty high, but side by side with another light with the same emitter and reflector combo and a different driver shows a visible difference in brightness. Oh, it whines on low and medium too. All in all, I'm disappointed.

meaning the light w/ KD driver is dimmer (ie less efficient)?

Dimmer, yes... less efficient, no (or to be fair, I don't know - I haven't measured Pout/Pin in any of the modes). The KD driver, after heating up for ~1 minute, is reducing the amount of current delivered to the LEDs AND the amount of current drawn from the battery pack, so it's not necessarily less efficient, it's just throttling back.

When it throttles back this way, instead of boosting voltage sent to the LEDs to maintain an output that requires a higher Vf than Vbatt, it skips right over going direct drive and lowers the voltage sent to the emitters to a value lower than Vbatt. Presumably, it does this to keep cool. I would have preferred if it only throttled back to a point where Vout approximately matches Vin (i.e., no boosting, but no bucking either).

thanks

that's disappointing...

I have the 9 emitter version here. It looks like I'll use the 'poor man's' technique you described for me, as I had originally planned.

I'm sure you're familiar w/ the technique...but fyi, the KD 5A sst-50 driver that others described as behaving similar to what you've described works fine for a few minutes (which is as long as I've tested) potted w/ devcon 2 ton and alumina in a copper pipe cap (ie no host for heatsinking) but it is very hot after <2min. I suspect it will run indefinitely w/ a copper bushing added and mounted/sinked in my host, but I think it makes more heat than the PT-54

Those heating over drivers-you have to put it whole driver in thermal silicone used in computers or thermal glue bath in body, a lot of difference, no overheating more, all heat goes to body. But quite a lot of mess if you want to change it some time :)

I'm willing to give it a shot, as long as it's cheap (Can't see spending what it would cost to fill a Mag D neck with Arctic Alumina Adhesive.) What do you recommend that will cure? (I don't want 3oz of runny thermal grease mucking things up either.) Do you know of a source for the rubbery thermal adhesive that they always use on the Chinese lights instead of grease? (Reminds me of tub & tile caulk.) Thanks.

The stuff you're looking for is called "Fujik" and is available from DealExtreme.

I only waited a month for mine. :)

I found it much easier to work w/ epoxy.

I ruined a driver w/ fujik, presumably because the middle had not cured, even though it'd been a few days (DX sst-90 driver is HUGE).

There's a thread (or probably several) on cpf about potting w/ devcon 2 ton w/ alumina as an additive.

If you don't add too much alumina, the epoxy can flow into the crevices. I use a plastic pill bottle for a pot (if not using copper) because you can cut/peel it off the epoxy.

cheapest i could find both ingredients was ebay (though the alumina seller doesn't normally stock it).

I've been lapping PCBs and heatsinks w/ the alumina, too (mine is equivalent of ~1200 grit).

I mix w/ mineral oil or water. It is little easier to work with it in oil but water is a lot easier to clean up. When mostly clean I use a little 1500 grit paper to get the embedded alumina off.

That works so well that I've had to start using a spacer to hold the PCB off the body or it is a major PITA to solder (even w/ 240W gun ).

Thanks for the tips. I ordered the Fujik "glue" from DX and then shortly afterward decided to go whole hog and order some 2-4 micron alumina powder from eBay. (I've already got the Devcon two-ton.) I'm hoping to be able to pot the driver into a cylinder made from Aluminum sheet metal that's the same OD as the ID of the Mag D neck. If the driver were only $5, then I'd gamble just filling the neck with Fujik and crossing my fingers, but at $15 for the driver (not to mention the cost of the potting material) and only one chance to pot it, I want to be sure I've managed the best non-runny thermal conductivity possible. Besides, the alumina will be here long before the fujik ;)

The Alumina powder arrived and I potted the driver. It helped a little, but the driver still throttles back after a few minutes, although not as severely. Here's a link to the full write-up post of this experience in a thread on CPF where this driver is being discussed: potting didn't solve the problem

I just got that one and installed in in a Skyray Triple X with a burned out driver.

It's a great performing high quality driver. It pulls 3.50 amps at 8.2 volts on high, 2.45 on medium and .340 on low.

At 16.4 volts it pulls 2.35 amps on high, that's 3.13 amps per emitter.

The thermal protection works very well it kicks in after about 4-5 minutes on high at 8.4 volts and about a minute on high at 16.4 volts. The medium is a nice mid high so you can run it at a very bright setting without thermal protection interfering and low is a nice usable low setting.

This is an expensive driver, but I feel it is well worth the money.

I have to disagree about it being good that thermal protection kicks in after 4-5 minutes on high at 8.4V and one minute on high at 16.4V. Clearly, it's protecting itself, not the LEDs. The DX sku 57779 driver ran my setup at 2.7A for hours at a time with no problem. This driver can't do that even after extreme cooling measures were taken. Here's a bit more detail about the performance after potting.

It works pretty good pushing 3 XMLs at 8.4 volts that's what I bought it for anything higher than 8 volts and it runs to hot pushing 3 XMLs. I ran it on medium for almost an hour 2.45 amps at 8 volts and it thermal protection never kicked in.

How many LEDs, what type and how many volts were you using?