Another DIY canister light

[MrSpock]

I just finished my light #2:
- 3 inch sch 80 pipe for the canister
- Custom lid with built in reed switch and a MOSFET
- DIY 16.8V 5Ah battery (14 Ni-Mh C-cells) good for 6-6.5 hours
- 4x Cree Q5 LED
- Mod-a-mag heat sink
- 1A BuckPack driver from LED Suppy
- 4-LED Reflector from DX (SKU 1915)
- Modified 3D Mag
- 3 mm front glass
- Agro glands
- OxyCheq latches
- OxyCheq goodman handle

I used 4-LED reflector here, which is a simplest and cheapest solution. Without focusing optics the light has a pretty bright center spot and some spill around it. Perfect for night dives.

My previous light has same 4 x Q5 but I used reflectors with glued focusing lenses. It produced extremely bright spot without any spill. Perfect cave/wreck solution. Although looks kinda ugly - silicon glue visible through the lenses.

For both lights the main failure point (as in fact for all lights built with Mags) is the front lens. Ideally you would use the o-ring there in such a way that the deeper you go the tighter the seal. It's not the case when you use Mags. I have several ideas but they all require lathe and I don't have any access to any machines. So far I tested my first light for 180 ft in the pressure can and down to 70 ft in the ocean. No leaks.

Still need to pressure-test this one.

 

[lucca brassi]

Nice lamp! How much hot is head of the light ? I have made similar lamp only with SSC P4 .
http://http://www.elektroniki.info/phpBB2/album_personal.php?user_id=259
It is 3mm thick glass enough ? I'd like to use for my lamp diam = 63mm thikness of 5mm but it is very hard to get. Normaly sell front glas with thikness between 5-10mm , it is also heavy too.

Best Regards sandi

 

[MrSpock]

The head is not hot at all, especially in our 50F (10C) water

Seriously, I was running it for an hour or so on the surface and could still hold the head with bare hands. I used pretty good heat sink and some good heat paste to transfer heat way from the LEDs. Works fine.

3 mm glass with approx 51.2 mm diameter lens should be enough down to 200 ft or so of water. Again, this is the known failure point. I'm not going to make any *seriuos* dives with these light until I figure out a good solution for the front lens or even the whole head.

If I only had a lathe....

 

[MrSpock]

Nice lamp! How much hot is head of the light ? I have made similar lamp only with SSC P4 .
http://http://www.elektroniki.info/phpBB2/album_personal.php?user_id=259

Sandi, I can't see your light. The link is broken (incorrect URL) and the forum there require login.

:depressed:

 

[lucca brassi]

driver PCB

2 drivers with switch 1-0-1 (50%-0-100%)

lighthead inside (made from Alu rod - hat is spreading directly on cooling ribs

side

back

front

in action

hoply you will se now them. This is only test head - I'm not very pleased with lens in next week or two I'll try some modifications also with reflectors.

Currently work on battery tank from delrin (new Halcyon style - only push switch changed with reed sliding switch - hate rubber

Next step is lighthead with 4 SSC P7 probably in August month

 

[MrSpock]

Please keep going!

 

[DIWdiver]

The head is not hot at all, especially in our 50F (10C) water

Seriously, I was running it for an hour or so on the surface and could still hold the head with bare hands. I used pretty good heat sink and some good heat paste to transfer heat way from the LEDs. Works fine.

3 mm glass with approx 51.2 mm diameter lens should be enough down to 200 ft or so of water. Again, this is the known failure point. I'm not going to make any *seriuos* dives with these light until I figure out a good solution for the front lens or even the whole head.

If I only had a lathe....

Mr Spock -

I have a lathe, and some 0.225" polycarbonate that's nice and clean. At 51.2mm, that should be good to 523 PSI, or almost 400 fsw with a safety factor of 3.

If you want, send me some specs and I'll make you one.

D

 

[DIWdiver]

hoply you will se now them. This is only test head - I'm not very pleased with lens in next week or two I'll try some modifications also with reflectors.

Currently work on battery tank from delrin (new Halcyon style - only push switch changed with reed sliding switch - hate rubber

Next step is lighthead with 4 SSC P7 probably in August month

Very nice head. Are you running all LEDs in series with 1.5/3A? That must be very bright!

D

 

[MrSpock]

DIWdiver,

I *really* appreciate your offer, but the problem isn't the glass. It's the way it sits in the Mag head. The point of contact between the glass and the head is too narrow to seal effectively. I thought about using a stepped glass like here: Homemade Underwater Canister Style scuba-diving torch. but it's kinda also not 100% reliable and not much better than what I have right now.

I have another idea - simple but effective. I want to make a custom insert ring for the Mag head to increase contact area between the head and the glass. It will go into the place where material is removed to make room for the reflector. Then you'll have the whole thichness of the wall and it would be possible to use a single o-ring there. I tried to use JB Weld for it but it's a bit soft and extremely messy.

I'd love to share my drawings, but they are on paper and I don't have a scanner

Ideally, If I had a lathe and materials I'd make an entirely custom head. Something similar to this: "Cracken" - Quad XRE R2 Build Diary. - CandlePowerForums But perhaps simpler.

 

[DIWdiver]

Mr Spock -

How deep can the glass fit into the head? I cut the o-ring groove into the glass of my light so the wall of the light is flat on the inside. This requires about 0.2" depth of smooth cylindrical ID on the head, with a small shoulder for the glass to land on.

Of course, where I say 'glass' I mean polycarbonate. I don't think I can cut glass on the lathe!

D