There's a new 10W LED available that runs on 12V. It suposedly is brighter than a 100w lightbulb. There is a police compact flashlight that uses this bulb running on 4 AAA batteries putting out 400 lumens. A 3W LED puts out 80 lumens and there's a new 3W that puts out 100 lumens, although I don't see that much of a difference. Anyhow, back to the 10w. This LED puts out 700 lumens at 12v. There is also a 20W that runs on 16V and puts out 1100 lumens. There are two company's that built a fixture to to replace incadescent lights in the form of a flood light, the reflector being a beefy heatsink for the bulb with a hefty price of $100. Another company has the same thing for around $65. The bulb itself goes for $35 on Ebay and I believe does not come with a heat sink. The bulb does not have a molded lense like other LED's and not sure if the lenses for the 1,3 watt LED's will work. I currently have one on order to play with and build an underwater light either for video for my camera or a flashlight. Anyhow these should compete very well against the HID lights for price and durability.
I got the new LED today. Holy Crap, is it bright! It puts out way more light than four 3Watt LED's. Also gets burning hot! Burnt my finger on it. It comes incased in ceramic on a small heat sink, but, does need to be mounted on a larger heat sink, definately much more durable than the smaller LED's. Makes for a great flood light (160 degree spread), tried using a spot lense intended for the 1-5 watt LED's, I found it not effectively useable. My first project is to get it mounted on a bigger heat sink and get it in a case for UW and try it out with the camera. I also plan to make some sort of reflector to focus the light somewhat. There's definately lots of potential for this light. Two of these would light my fishtank very nicely, hummmm 20W verses 80W.....
Well, i made a larger heat sink for the LED and it still gets hot. My biggest concern with the heat is being in an enclosed case with batteries and wanting to to use on land as well as underwater. The heat sink I think will need to be incorporated with the outer case to help keep it cool. I believe I have a way to liquid cool the hint sink also...
It's been a busy summer with diving and other projects that needed to get done. I finally found time to get back to this project. I figured out a design that will work for under water. The heat sink that the LED is mounted on has holes drilled through it so that the water can pass through it to cool it. I took the empty case diving to 40' yesterday to test for leaks and had no issues. Tonight, I will put the guts in and get some pictures of it to post. It's current configuration is set up as a flood light to work with my camera and plan on trying it out this Sunday at Devil's lake. Hopefully the viz is better than the Madison lakes. I need to order a lense for it so I can change the light into more of a spot light. Currently, there is no lense made for this LED, but the lense for the Luxeon LED's will work OK.
I admire your dedication.
Here are the pics of the completed setup.
Took it Lake Wazee today down to 120'. No leaks! Worked well in close range but needs to be farther away from camera. I was at the lake with Tammy and we shared ideas about lighting. I need to spend more money and get some addition LED's. Setup needs to have two 'pucks' with 2-3 LED's in each and a seperate battery canister. My setup was a little top heavy. One big advantage over HID is that you can turn on and off the lights as needed, no delays or warmups.
One complaint I've heard about with LED's is that they don't seem to penetrate the water well. My thought on this is because LED lighting doesn't use as big a reflector/lense as other lights, therefore not able to light around particles in the water. Using a puck with more than one LED in it will help this issue. Any how I'm back to the garage to create a new system, I'm happy my idea with the seals worked, will make the next system easier.
Here's an overdue update. I currently have two 10W leds mounted in lightheads on arms for my camera. It works pretty good but still not bright enough for low viz water. I ordered a new led that puts out 900 lumens and runs on 3 AA's. Made a quick UW flashlight with it with no lens or reflector. I dove the Habitat with it and the camera setup. The pics and video turned out pretty good considering the 2' viz.
I have ordered more of these new LED's plus another new one that looks very promising. I also have on order a 3 in 1 milling machine to help build better casings.
I now have the 3in1 milling machine and love it. Also have more LED's and finishing up my first lighting unit. I plan to have it sealed up tonight and do a test dive for leaks tomorrow. doing my best to have it ready to go for a dive in Lake Michigan on Sunday to give it a good workout. When completed, the lighting unit will feature 6, 12W LED's in two lightheads. I can have two on for closeup work or 4-6 on for broader, brighter needs.
I do have plans to market the lighting system once I work out the bugs and techniques.
Sounds like a fun project. It's nice to see somebody working on a project with such enthusiasm. Let us know what happens with your latest test.
Ran into a new problem last night, the D size batteries can't deliver enough current to drive 6 of the Leds. Even with just 4 there's a noticeable drop. Drives three no problem. Now I gotta come up with a bigger battery canister or do with less light for Sunday.