Sounds really cool. The work at the link looks alot like the work BLF member mattthemuppet does. I think he makes heating fins from aluminum channel sometimes. I can't seem to find a good example at this moment.
Ive received the aluminum, leds, epoxy and the driver came in today. I’m going to start building the housing. I’m still waiting on a new solder gun, it seems that my dog ate mine. I hope I can have the patience to take my time building. My projects usually turn out looking like a four year old did it. What’s the best way to set up adjustable drivers? It looks like there are going to be two adjustment knobs. I don’t have an ammeter but I do have a volt ohm meter. Can I figure the current by reading the voltage and resistance or is an ammeter necessary? I will order one if I need it.
I wired everything up and dialed it down to 2 amps and wow, these things are bright! It left me seeing spots even though I wasn’t looking directly at it. The thermal adhesive seems to be doing a good job transferring the heat as the aluminum running gets fairly warm after a couple minutes. I’ll wait till I complete the housing and till I receive the ir thermometer then I’ll see what kind of amperage I can get away with. This is my first project so I was half expecting something to catch fire but I’m pleased with how everything is coming together so far. My wife has been invaluable helping me measure and trace lines since I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.
Great to hear that your progress is going well. Sounds like you sorted out a way to measure current. If you are still looking for driver advice, a little more info is needed. Like a picture of the driver you are going to use.
I can so relate to this statement you made above:
" I hope I can have the patience to take my time building. My projects usually turn out looking like a four year old did it."
Hope you eventually post pictures of your light, even if you don' like the way it looks. The good, bad, and ugly are all good. Helps all of us learn.
- 3x xhp50 6volt Leds in series
Would you not be better off running three separate circuits in parallel ,so if any one led was to die you still have two
running…
I don’t know of a automotive application where anyone would run lights in series, I would hate to be heading into a corner and suddenly loose 6000lm of light…
my $0.02 ,
good luck with your project .would like to see the finished product. .Remember air will flow over it and help cooling.
Keep in mind that most non automotive electronics/drivers are not hardened to withstand the high transient voltage spikes created by an alternator. The link in the OP is certainly questionable, as is its ability to operate up to 14.9V without failure while maintaining constant regulation. I didnt see a data sheet and didnt search for one. They may or many not survive in that environment. If the transient voltage spikes dont kill non-hardened electronics right away, it could shorten the life of the electronic considerably. I am only aware of one enthusiast level separate LED driver that has been hardened to withstand automotive voltage spikes while being capable of delivering any amount of real power. Its built and sold by a US enthusiast. Linear regulator capable of 195 watts - 13.5 amps @14.4V (and has separate thermal rampdown for MCPCB and remote sink temp monitor for thermal rampdown. Also capable of accommodating a remote trim pot for variable output. I have a pair of them for a large 40k lumen XM-L2 offroad light bar and another for a 20K lumen aircraft landing light array. Both projects are stalled for the time being, but you can find links to the driver and the large amount of cooling hardware and considerations it takes to exchange this amount of heat. After all is said and done, you can quickly approach or exceed the price of a recent model Rigid LED driving light and still not exceed the well engineered housing, optical lighting pattern, heat sinking, sheer reliability and overall brute output. They build a superior product by every mention of the word and more than deserve their outstanding reputation in high performance off road LED lighting.
Links in my build thread:
IMO, if your alternator can sustain 8 Amps, you’d be better off with a $50 100 watt 8000 lumen HID conversion stuffed into a top end Hella or Piaa housing and avoid all the weight and complexity of heat sinking and electronics. The HID’s are cheap and reliable and live well in that environment becasue they dont sag very much during low RPM/low voltage plodding. I have both, and the HID’s are a simple highly effective solution. The downside is that it takes 8-10 seconds to heat up a 100W HID, but they hot-restrike once up to full temp and maintain heat long enough for traffic to pass… when necessary. If passers-by dont shut down their lighting arrays when we pass (usually laughable chinese light bar junk), I always win by 10 fold. :bigsmile:
I can also point this thing at them to get their attention:
Its also worth mentioning that a cold-start 100W HID is still far brighter than a 55W halogen!
I thought about it an I might experiment with other configurations on other builds this seemed like the simplest way to wire it up and I had no way of knowing how many amps this Chinese driver could take before it fried. They tend to overrate some of their products. I figured around 18v and 2-2.5 amp would be safe to try out the driver vs 7+ amps. Would I be able to wire up two groups of three leds? That might be a good match for the driver specs depending on how reliable it turns out to be.
Edit: I used this driver. DC to DC Constant Current Boost Step-up Power Supply Module 250w LED Driver for sale online | eBay
“Keep in mind that most non automotive electronics/drivers are not hardened to withstand the high transient voltage spikes created by an alternator. ”
Well that sucks, I’ve seen googled posts of people making home made light bars that turned out good and I admit that I’m not using the same components so I’m taking a big chance. I would love a pair of rigid lights but I can’t afford to throw down 4-500 bucks. 
my original thought was that by the time the end consumer purchases an item is going to be marked up at least 2-3 times shooting for a fifty percent margin that would put it around $125 or less for production cost. Could I build a similar if ugly unit with the same output for close to that amount? Maybe, maybe not, but the idea is intriguing. I also toyed with the idea of hids but would have to figure out where to hide the ballast
Edit: what are the dimensions for that automotive driver youre using?
I must be getting old, I can’t figure out how to put pictures on here. everytime I try to link it displays as a broken link.
Edit: Woohooo, I finally gave up on Google Drive and got Photo Bucket to work. Here are some pics of the housing in progress. I’m trying to decide on how I want to mount the brackets. I’m worried that a threaded rod through the middle of the tubing might cut the wires. The whole thing is going to be epoxy and JB Welded together which is far from ideal if a component fails. If everything goes well with this project I may look into some way to use screws and bolts. It might be possible to buy a long piece of aluminum rod and cut then solder/weld the pieces in to drill and tap, but this is my first project so we’ll see.
Total cost so far
Cree XHP50 6v J2 2B on DTP 20mm Copper MCPCB x 3 = $37.47
Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive - 5G = $6.40
10048 Carclo Lens - Plain Tight Spot LED Optic X 3 =$4.77
10049 Carclo Lens - Elliptical Spot LED Optic x3 = $4.77
2 x 2 x 1/8 wall 6063 Aluminum Square Tube 2ft = $13.08 + shipping $9.23=$22.31
1/8 2” aluminum bar 4ft at local hardware store about $10
Adjustable Constant current Boost Driver from china= $6.49
I bought both types of lenses to try them out and I used wire I already had in my garage, so project cost without glass is just a little under $90 so far and there’s enough aluminum to make more than one housing.
Here’s a dumb question, would it be possible to add some type of “transient voltage suppressor” to the driver circuit to protect from automotive voltage spikes?
Also, do we have a discount code for LED Supply? I’ve tried all the discount codes that I could find with no luck.
would running one of these before the positive input of the driver protect from voltage spikes? I feel like a total Newb http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/ON-Semiconductor/P6SMB16AT3G/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuNo3spt1BaV6ZZhAoz%2FLLcD7ileiny2wE%3D
I measured the amperage that the driver is pulling this evening and It’s drawing about 9.5 Amps from the lawnmower batter I have it hooked to. Talk about inneficient !
It seems to draw this amount whether I dial the output from 2-3 amps. I should have measured the input current with no load. Would this type of driver pull whatever current it needs to operate and then just filter the output current down to whatever you dial it to so regardless of output amps its always drawing the same from the input? I’ll have to check tomorrow.
I’ll definately need a relay if I run this driver. I wonder if it would draw the same current while ouputting 6-8 amps? Maybe I’ll find a better solution for a driver on this or the next build. Any suggestions would be welcome.
The beam is very wide even with the spot style optic. I’m assuming these leds might like larger reflectors like some of the flashlights i’ve seen posted. I was kind of imagining more of a spot type profile with less spill for aiming downrange. I’ll post some pics shortly.
Here is the headlight on my motorcycle silver Star 55 watt h4
And here is my light bar at 2.5 amps
Here’s my overgrown palm tree.
Wish I had some useful advice, but your dealing with stuff I don't have much experience with. Very interested in what your doing here though. I would think a nice buck driver (like the HX-1175b1) with a good sized capacitor on the input side would work fine, but you are dealing with such a critical function. Last thing you need is for the light to cut out while going down a curvy mountain road at night.
No mountains here but that does suck. I’ve had my headlights cut out on me several times 70+mph in the middle of no where pitch black. I almost crapped my pants. Lol. It can’t be that hard if these cheap little Chinese companies can do it then we should be able to. I mean their stuff has like no light out put but it does work
Here’s a video. I love leds . I think I got an adrenaline rush trying them out lol
Edit: I’ll post pics with the elliptical lenses later for comparison
Where did the bike headlight go?
These leds would make for excellent exterior lighting at my house. I think they’re brighter than the light I used to have on my electric pole. Might make for another interesting project in the future. 
Hi
Sorry for late response as I was on leave for 6 weeks
more info here
Highext Bin P2 Cree XHP70 LED on Automotive rated MCPCB
- Operating Voltage: 12 Volt DC;
- Color Temperature: 6000K;
- PCB 50mm Diameter x 1.6mm Thick
- 30mm PCD Clearance round the led for various optic/reflectors
- Beam: 10/20/40 D FWHM
- PCB Color: Black,
- Material: Aluminium, available in TPAD Copper at additional Cost
- Lens: Available with Reflectors or TIR
- Life time:100000+ hour based on work temperature:-45℃- +80℃
- Warranty: 5years
Reflector solutions include but not limited to
Cheers
Mark
Now that’s what I’m talking about! I could picture a pair of those mounted in round chromed housings! Shipping is enough that I might have to consider multiple units to off set the cost. Would you mind sharing with us the current going to the led and the total current draw from a 12v power source? I know there are probably other people that would be interested in this. Also, are there any holes or indentions to mount the lens holder or how does that work? Does it ship with optics already installed?