Newb asks: Buy, build or mod, 6k lumen headlamp?

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

Having come here from a thread about XHP50 LEDs, you guys seem pretty handy with a soldering iron :slight_smile: I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I figure I’ll ask the experts first!

My bro and I go underground a little, and we both have bought new eBay special headlamps. His is a 6000 Chinese Lumens special, and mine is a 2000 Chinese Lumens affair. I imagine otf lumens are nowhere near this. Mabye 1000+ for his and 800 for mine… sadly I have no way of measuring or comparing. My previous best light was a 100 lumen Princeton TEC EOS which I thought was pretty bright!

Anyway, the lights we bought were bright enough to do the job. But for me, not bright enough to be satisfied. I would like a light which really does put out 6000 lumens (or 4000 at least!). I would like a portable star to take underground :wink:

I’ve watched a few YouTube vids about making your own LED torch, but they tend to be unwieldy affairs using PC heatsinks, and certainly not worn on the head! They also tend to be open designs and I will need a degree of waterproofing. It will certainly get dripped on, although probably not submerged (unless dropped!).

Firstly I like to know if such a thing can be created cheaply. Let’s say I wanted to make two of these beasts, one for him and one for me, could they be made for £100? I hope so, but given how expensive single XM-L branded headlamps are, I don’t know if I’m asking for too much here :wink:

Then I’d like to know what skills of an electronic guru I will need (have no experience here), and what tools (no tools currently). I can follow instructions well enough, and I’m methodical, if that helps.

I guess I’ll also ask about power sources. I’m using 2x 18650 GRE branded ones (I know), and I don’t know if this will be enough or if I need to look at RC car batteries (how heavy are these?) or laptop batteries, etc… The power source will be head mounted, however, as I cannot guarantee anything at waist hight will remain dry.

Sorry for the mammoth post… I’m feeling out of my depth currently and unsure how or where to start! Never hurts to ask tho….!

2

My first piece of advice would be to not strap 6000 lumens to your head, unless you want 3rd degree burns. have you got a link to the light you have?

3

Yep, I think you might be a little optimistic with the 6000 lumens :slight_smile:

Too much heat!

Chinese lumens are much cooler than real lumens :wink:

4

the most efficient LEDs are 200 lumens/watt, at around 1W IIRC? so if you want 4000 lumens, that means at least 20W of heat strapped to your head? and when overdriving and using less efficient LEDs you might have 40+ watts of heat strapped to your head?
nah, sounds too hot for me, if my calculations are in the correct ballpark

5

If you could get 6000 lumens without frying your brain that amount of light would probably push you backwards. :stuck_out_tongue:

6

You’re going to need a huge heatsink without a fan or a smaller heatsink with a fan to cool 6000 lumens total of LEDs, then you’d need a crapload of heavy batteries to power that thing for a useful amount of time. Would you want to strap that ton of crap on your head? Haha no way xD

7

I applaud your ambitiousness. Unfortunately, everything that you mentioned makes this a non-starter.

1) 6000 lumen output = not happening for the reasons many have already mentioned
2) Making two headlamps for $155 when you have no tools = not happening because you will need tools and they are not cheap
3) Making a waterproof DIY headlamp of any output level with no prior electronics experience or tools = not happening

Point #3 can be overcome if you are willing to spend money on tools and supplies and are willing to invest significant time in learning through research and personal trial and error. This will likely take hundreds of dollars for tools and materials and at least a month of investing all of your spare time. I don’t know if that is something that you would want.

Here’s a DIY caving lamp made by a BLF member: Just made a helmet lamp

It uses a simple design made with inexpensive prefab parts, but still it is clear that a tremendous amount of time and ingenuity had to go into it.

8

6000 lumens? If you don’t mind looking like this

:smiley:

Seriously I think its way too much light and heat for something on your head

9

Haha…

Actually you can have a 6,000 lumen light that is compact, like this one.

https://www.opticaloceansales.com/keldan-luna-4-x-video-light.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw4-SrBRDP483GvreDr2ASJAD5sCIuZK_1DCXYnSwrvZFMtnLxiNd4JCC7PctExGtPUVMr1RoC3pXw_wcB

But it’s $1,500!!!

Look, all the lights you see here that are actually 6000 lumens cost $1,000-$2,000.
https://www.google.com/search?num=20&biw=1163&bih=732&tbm=shop&q=6000+lumen+light&oq=6000+lumen+light&gs_l=serp.3..0l3.10721.13193.0.13294.8.7.0.0.0.0.311.702.0j1j1j1.3.0….0…1c.1.64.serp..6.2.484.0.UpfxKciyFC0

The cheap ones are fake and aren’t actually 6000 lumens.

10

The light you mention is for UNDERWATER use, Water is awesome at dissipating heat, air not that good! :frowning:

the other link has Chinese headlamps with 6000 “China lumens” which converted to regular lumens would be way less than that.

11

I go underground a fair bit and do a lot of multipitch climbing, so I’m in the process of making me the perfect headlight. However, for me a perfect headlight isn’t a lumens monster, it’s a dual LED (one for flood, one for throw) with specific functionality. I do bring lumens monsters, but I put them in my hand, not on my head.

12

Here’s what I bought:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R6337SQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref\_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

And this is what my brother bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RJ-3001-4000Lm-CREE-XML-T6-3xT6-LED-Rechargeable-Headlamp-Headlight-w-AC-Charger-/141512663155?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20f2cfe073

Hah, replied before refreshing page so didn’t see all those extra answers. So…

Let’s start at the beginning. What is the best way to take a lot of light underground, for as little money as possible? Would you recommend modding for a novice with no tools? Or is it best to just stick with branded lights?

13

You could mod it yourself but you won’t get 6000 lumens out of something that size, not unless you want to run it for more than 20 seconds, I’d say stick with an XML2 and drive it hard for about 1800 lumens, it will still get hot but not as bad as 6000 lumens where you would need MTG2 or XHP, if your not comfortable with soldering etc I’d say get a branded light or get someone to mod it for you you could also get a bike light style ‘twin’ light with 2 emitters and reflectors/optics

14

OK, let’s forget 6000 lumens :slight_smile: I guess I got carried away looking at all those eBay lights and their Chinese Lumens :slight_smile: I don’t actually know how bright my current light is, or how bright 6000 lumens is.

But I’ve read a couple other threads and 2000 lumens is pretty bright, no?

Then there’s batteries. I have a boat load of LSD AA rechargeables, but these aren’t going to approach 2000 lumens, are they? From looking at branded lights they seem to be about 400 lumens, or 900 in burst mode. Was after something more than that.

So I guess I will need some 18650 batts and a decent cheap charger (a safety-first charger with overcharge protection).

Hopefully I can get all this and have one bright light without breaking the bank.

It could be a regular torch. Doesn’t have to be a headlamp. I don’t have a torch atm, only the lamp I’ve linked, but I think serious underground explorers carry a decent hand torch as well. I’m only just getting started as you can probably tell. Not caving, but mine exploring.

15

Your is probably about 300-500 lumens, but that’s a guess, I can’t see it id recommend SKILHUNT H02R XM-L2 860 Lumen Multifunktion LED Taschenlampe Sale - Banggood Deutschland sold out-arrival notice-arrival notice (there is a code to make it cheaper)

Yes AA is no use, you’ll need 18650 quality batteries not **fire ones something like Panasonic or Samsung, and yes a good charger, it won’t be cheap though

You could also use a headband like the Skilhunt one and use a normal tube style light, like a convoy S2+ with XML2 driven at 3 or 4A

16

Given that cavers have been operating for years on substantially less light, go and see how your existing ones work for you. Take a handheld floody like a skyray king and a throwy something or another. Then take an extra, as having a cheapy light die underground and leave you in the dark is no fun.

I think you’ll find that once your eyes become accustomed to the dark, that what you’ve got is more than adequate. If you’re in really close quarters, they might even be too bright.

17

If you want to get an idea of brightness, look at a ‘standard’ PAR 38 halogen bulb (the standard reflector bulb you see in may outdoor fixtures) …you need to know the output or at least the wattage of the bulb, but for reference, the 90w typically puts out about 1300 lumens. Because these are reflector bulbs, the output pattern is somewhat similar to the beam pattern of a floody flashlight.

Using the bulb as a reference, at least you won’t be ‘in the dark’ about what 1300 lumens looks like.

18

My question is can your head handle the recoil of 6000 lumens once it is turned on? :bigsmile:

I wouldn’t say 6000 lumens headlamp is impossible. It is achievable, at least not with the LED technology that we have at the moment:

How does this work for ya?

19

I like the “Mickey Mouse” look better, but its just me… :smiley:

I didn’t think someone would actually make one to sell, Ha ha ha!!!

20

Dont reinvent the wheel, or in this case a head lamp.

Zebralight headlamps are great!!!
Others can be good.

Lets take Zebra for example, they have a wide selection of headlamps driven with different batteries, different relectors (throw, mid and flood), Lenses (clear, semi difuse, full diffuse) and emitters (color and tints so you can get just what you want).

Also they have spend some time finding the sweet spot of lumens/run time/temp/user interface (UI).

For somone with no skills (may or may not be true but that is what you said) no tools (you dont need much really but you need a soldering iron and soldering stuff at a minamum) and two guy on a budget screams spending your time figueing out which (zeberaligh for example) will work best for you.

Now once you can understand the variables that make the most sense for you, you will also be able to decide if you should, buy/build or have built a pair of lights.

For example I have an H51 zebralight perfect shape AA batteries and Just check out the reviews (for sale). You could start with that and see if your needs are met or not.