4th annual entry delayed, now a long term project.

See post #25 for update!

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For many years I have witnessed you guys come up with crazy builds, I guess it's time for me to jump in :) I started my project with hopes of finishing it, for me it won't be easy because of lack of tools and workspace. All I have to work with is a hand drill, a dremel and a dozen sq mt room in my apartment, which I temporarily cleared just for this project. For certain parts I will need access to a cutoff saw, the dremel just won't cut it (literally). The difficulties in this build are all going to be housing-related, because the wiring/electronic part is all figured out, in my mind at least.

Sneak peek of my yet to be named project:

  • Possibly the world's largest triple light
  • Reflector + optic integration
  • Liquid + normal heatsink/fan hybrid cooling system
  • Low mode is about 8,000-10,000lm, high mode is a tad more ;)
  • More details to come...

27/7 Update: A name for the monster, the idea behind, first drawings and specs reveal.

I don't usually give names to my stuffs, but this project deserves one. Inspired on a famous weapon from a famous movie, and given the fact that the remake of this movie is coincidentally out just now... I will call it the "Photon Pack" !!! Just like the other name but with a twist, this one shoots photons! I'm sure most of you know where does this comes from...

The idea of this build is not new and I've been mentally working on the design for a few months now. One day I was watching a youtube video about a "100W cob light" and the guy used a generic convex glass lens as the projector with very little throw and lots of light leak, and I thought "there must be a better way to do this", and then a couple minutes later "Hmmm I should make a triple out of this..." That was the moment the idea came to the light. What I want to achieve is a monster light capable of continuously running at maximum power, and at the same time using new LED/reflector/optic combination, high power converter as drivers and a very unique cooling system probably never seen in another light before. I will use my skills I've gathered over the years in flashlight and computer building.

The limitations in this build are definitely going to be the lack of equipment and local material. I do have a dremel and a hand drill, and just acquired a set of step drill bit, but I really wish I had access to a table saw and a drill press. I will show you my tools in the next update, still waiting for a couple items to arrive from BG. I live in a small country (Panama) where it's not easy to source materials like in the US so most of the stuff must be bought online, giving me no room for ordering the wrong size and specs, returns are not possible from here.

First Drawings I made on a random piece of paper, this is from the day one the project came to mind.

The big moment!! here is a more detailed preview with some specs...
The three main LEDs are going to be the 2nd gen of CREE COB called the CXB, this is the highest bin variant I could find, it is 5000k and has over 80CRI. I didn't went with CW because it would be just too much blue for the amount of output. They will be driven at 130% spec maximum at 100W+ each, if the specs are correct it should give me about 13,500lm each for a 40,000lm total. There is also a low mode which consists of 12x XP-G3s 5000k under 25mm khathod optics, each driven at 2.5A for a (hopefully) low mode of 10,000 LED lumens. My target is to hit 50k LED
lumens when both are on. I won't be adding a lower mode in this light because it doesn't make any sense to carry such monster around for a wimpy 1,000lm, I have plenty other lights for that.

Battery, cooling, housing and driver design will be announced on future updates. The actual build log will be on post #2, post #1 will be informative.


That's all for today's 27/7 update, hope you enjoyed the read!

***Reserved for the actual build log***

Reserved #2

Well all right will34, this is going to be epic!! :beer: 10,000lm Low!!! :+1:

10,000Lm on LOW. you win! haha

Go will. :slight_smile:

This sounds like my cup of tea.

For such a big build, a helper is essential. I can hook you up if you like :wink:

Good Luck ! It sounds BRUTAL !!! I wanna see this !!

Another big one :slight_smile:

Good Luck.

We should garner some sponsorships from the power companies. They’re gonna make it back in spades.

Thanks everyone! I will surely try my best with this one… FMC: I’m very glad to have the help from a big lights expert!

I made a sketch of the front view of the light and it looks pretty hardcore, will upload it when finish the parts list. I just realized this build won’t be cheap, $120 in 18650’s alone! And even with that quantity the cells will be operating at the top of their confort zone.

Will, I think he was referring to his ‘friends’ that ‘helped’ him with his army spotlight build last year. If it were me, those guys woulda been fired. Slackers… :stuck_out_tongue:

Dr. Evil: Okay then, we hold the world ransom for...

Dr. Evil: One... Hundred... BILLION DOLLARS!

So, you are going to hold the Chinese manufacturers for?... One... Hundred... Billion Lumens!

Cool!

Ooh, intrigue! :disguised_face:

10K lumens on low? Is it too early for me to cry “Uncle!”?

Yep, I was offering you “Jack’s” services. I think he’s still hiding out in the garden, Rambo-style…

Seriously though, I’m sure anyone, myself included, would be happy to offer a hand.

I’m sure Jack is here in Melbourne somewhere. The dogs had him by the leg the other day before he skampered of with quite a severe limp. I’m sure they thought he was a rat. Maybe check the nearby hospitals. Oh yeah, forget that, the nearby hospitals are now 100 miles away. :person_facepalming:

10,000 Lumens on low, wow, that is interesting. I am looking forwards to seeing the light.
“For many years I have witnessed you guys come up with crazy builds, I guess it’s time for me to jump in ”
I felt the same way this year as well. Good luck with your build!

Hey everyone, first update is up!

This build thread will have two types of updates:

  • Updates in RED will show the overall idea of the project, such as sketches and specs.
  • Updates in BLUE will be the actual build log, which are going to be in post #2.

Go will. Are all you guys building beasts? :slight_smile: