# DIY-Triple Cree in 1.5"x3" housing



## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

My first 2x Cree didn't put out enough light, so I moved on to the 3x Cree. I liked the idea of a little larger housing and one of many links pointed me to speedymetals.com They had 1.5"x3" rectangular stock that looked good for the project. Now that I'm done, I wish that I could have found the same thing with thinner walls. The .125" wall was twice as thick as the 1" square tubing at HD. It proved to be time consuming to work with. 

The good stuff: 
3x Cree X-RE Q5 emitters on star boards from Deal Extream
Switch from old light system
3023 1000 mA Buckpuck from LED supply
Reflectors from Cutter
14.8v 4400mA battery from Allbattery
Bar mount from old seat post mounted tail light


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

I tested the lights tonight. They have more output than I'm used to. I've been running a twin Turbocat system for the last 15 years. (Another $45 battery is failing) It's a 10w flood and a 15w spot. Together they aren't close to the triple Cree. The halogens have a lot more yellow in the light. I need to silicone the plexiglass on and mount the back plate. If it ever stops raining, I'll be ready for a night ride.


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## mofoki (Feb 1, 2005)

I feel your pain with all the rain. Our local trails are like marshlands and even when it froze a couple days ago you would have needed studded tires to ride. Those Crees give out a nice light huh. I ran TurboCats too prior to building my leds and I'd never go back. Even after over volting the bulbs with Li-ion batteries, I like the light from the Crees better so I modded my TurboCat housings with Crees.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Looks great .40AET :thumbsup:


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

Thanks Scar. Has anyone found a source for the small black reflectors in post #2? I bought them from Cutter and I'd like to find a source here in the US. I'm also looking for a source for thinner wall aluminum tubing. 

Thanks


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

*Finished*

Sheesh. It's finally finished. I did manage to score a free band saw the other day. The next light should go a whole lot easier. It made short work of cutting the plexiglass. Not to mention that it was square the first time. On to the helmet light.


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## Psycho Mike (Apr 2, 2006)

Beam shots are the next order of business .40AET


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

I was just waiting for it to get dark. The really small orange markers were set every 10 yards. The blue tarp is about 38 yards from the light. I never got any where near this much light out of my Turbocats. (14yr old halogens) The best part is losing the 5 pound lead acid battery and being able to mount the little battery on top of the stem and head set. Of course it started raining which ruined any chance of a night ride this evening. At least I can start grinding on the copper caps for the helmet light.


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## Psycho Mike (Apr 2, 2006)

Looking good, 40


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## rockymtnway (Nov 14, 2004)

I just placed my first order with these guys. Very fast shipping, sell in small quantities, and do custom cuts for a price. I ordered up a couple things and we'll see how well the new projects turn out. I ordered some 1"x3"x1/8" aluminum box tubing as well as some 1 3/8" round tubing (MR-11 sized!) and some copper end plugs (1 3/8" round copper cut to 3/8" thickness) for another project.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

the 1/8" thickness is very thick. I order 4 of them in (2)1x2 and (2)1x3. and it just doesn't work out with any lens or led star. you have to use bare led and cut down the lens to fit. I ended up with using 1" x 2" x 0.065" instead. I have the 1/8" one, if anyone want them for $5 postage fee included.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

eddielee70 said:


> the 1/8" thickness is very thick. I order 4 of them in (2)1x2 and (2)1x3. and it just doesn't work out with any lens or led star. you have to use bare led and cut down the lens to fit. I ended up with using 1" x 2" x 0.065" instead. I have the 1/8" one, if anyone want them for $5 postage fee included.


Where did you find the 1x2x.065" stock? How many stars could you get to fit into it? Thanks.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

.40AET said:


> Where did you find the 1x2x.065" stock? How many stars could you get to fit into it? Thanks.


https://www.onlinemetals.com/

I live in Seattle, so onlinemetal allow me to pickup w/o shipping charges. just have to pay the sales tax. $2 per housing for the L braket, 1x2x.065 x 1.8" length housing and back plate. I had to cut the pexiglass from home depot stock of 1/8" thickness. I didn't bother to order thinner pexiglass.

2 star in each housing, I build two sets to get 4 led with each switch, cable, and mount.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

AA the star to the L bracket, also need to AA the L bracket to the housing. I found that the housing gets warmer with AA on L bracket to the housing, then without. just a thought, don't want anyone to burn out led as they get slightly blue from too much heat, then die...


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## joraff (Feb 15, 2007)

eddielee70, are you using ledil optics in the 1x2? 

If the 1x2x0.065 tube from onlinemetals has an ID of 0.87" then the optics will fit with about 0.5 mm of clearance (perfect!) 

Also, do you plan to heat sink your dies anytime soon? Here in texas, most night rides aren't cold enough to cool the enclosure without a sink or fins of some kind. I was planning on getting old CPU heat sinks and cutting them down to size and mounting them on top of a flat bar of copper bent in a "L" that comes from the back side of the die. I saw some ppl on candlepower doing something similar to that so I'd like to give it a try.


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## notaknob (Apr 6, 2004)

*il2mb did this*



joraff said:


> eddielee70, are you using ledil optics in the 1x2?
> 
> If the 1x2x0.065 tube from onlinemetals has an ID of 0.87" then the optics will fit with about 0.5 mm of clearance (perfect!)
> 
> Also, do you plan to heat sink your dies anytime soon? Here in texas, most night rides aren't cold enough to cool the enclosure without a sink or fins of some kind. I was planning on getting old CPU heat sinks and cutting them down to size and mounting them on top of a flat bar of copper bent in a "L" that comes from the back side of the die. I saw some ppl on candlepower doing something similar to that so I'd like to give it a try.


I checked my light and see it's 1x2. I think that's what il2mb did this with his enclosures. Someone posted there on the third page about shoving 3 LEDs into the case.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

joraff said:


> eddielee70, are you using ledil optics in the 1x2?
> 
> If the 1x2x0.065 tube from onlinemetals has an ID of 0.87" then the optics will fit with about 0.5 mm of clearance (perfect!)
> 
> Also, do you plan to heat sink your dies anytime soon? Here in texas, most night rides aren't cold enough to cool the enclosure without a sink or fins of some kind. I was planning on getting old CPU heat sinks and cutting them down to size and mounting them on top of a flat bar of copper bent in a "L" that comes from the back side of the die. I saw some ppl on candlepower doing something similar to that so I'd like to give it a try.


http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1203&step=4&showunits=inches&id=70&top_cat=60
yeap, it was a perfect fit and works great with the screw down the middle so that I can change lens whenever I want. I don't need to heatsink as our weather is around 32F-50F which is fine when you are moving. the copperhead design is the best for your weather. 
http://bikeled.org/ and it seal up everything in case of rain. achesalot cut down his copperhead, but I don't feel the need as effective angle of the lens is limit to 30 degree, which we don't use anyways. and more copper to transfer heat out is always better. whatever you use? use AA to conduct the heat away from LED. if you housing is not heating up or getting warm indoor, then your led is burning out. I really like the copperhead design, bc it really transfer the heat out for me to run 1000ma current and take me 30 minute to put together a 4 led light. 4 led copycat copperhead cost me $100 with 7.2 v li-ion 4000mah battery and charger for a 2.5 hour run time. I'll put together a beam shot outdoor tonight.
first set of led using cree q5 -I use these 
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=1603
then from cutter the crs
http://www.led-spot.com/p_cree.shtml

got the cheaper as you really can't tell the brighter or lux reading difference the $5 ssc u-bin soeul
http://www.ledsupply.com/20mm.php 
with luxeon III holder just like what Archesalot recommends. and all of them fit. only the kaidomain narrow beam len holder needed some sanding.

If you want to see inner of any set, just ask here. I got alot of help from reading MBTR and archesalot's website, so I'll help out the same.

look down on the this thread for my design and weight.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=4026475#post4026475


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

Beamshots at 1" F8.0 400asa daylight
blue cooler is 30 feet away, red cooler is 40 feet away, the tree right behind is 50 feet away.
all HID had been on for 10 minute or more under outdoor fan.
mist rain 40 degree F

no lights








mx power $45 3-cree- 4rcr123a - 14.8 li-ion








t-5 $50 4-cree q4 on 2 18650 battery- 7.2v li-ion








Trail Tech 10W HID flood on 11.1v li-ion








Niterider Storm HID 13.2 v NIMH








Niterider Cyclone HID with tiny led for backup on 13.2 NIMH








30W Trailtech HID flood with 11.1v 








1000ma 4led ssc med 7.2v 4000mah li-ion








750ma 4 led 2 spot 2 med 14.8v li-ion battery








fatman 700ma oval 4 led ssc 7.2v li-ion








Niterider Trinewt on high - 4 cell 18650 7.2 li-ion








fatman 700ma med 4 led ssc 7.2v li-ion








600ma 2 oval 2 med crs lens q5 7.2v li-ion. light is not centered.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

I'm going to post beamshots of my DIY light after they have run for a hour under outdoor fan and add Light and Motion ARC, Cygolite and Turbocat Cutter 3 led R2 cree fatman mod to the list of beamshot on Friday.


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## achesalot (Nov 8, 2005)

Looking good there .40AET. The aluminum channel makes for a really easy to build design. I wish there was a source for 1"x3" aluminum channel in 1/16" thickness. I have not run across any. The 1/8" stock is just too thick for bike lights unless you mill in a bunch of grooves, which is getting back into the "not as simple and easy" mode.

eddielee70: You post a lot of nice stuff, but it's all in other peoples threads. Why not start your own thread? Just a thought


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## joraff (Feb 15, 2007)

achesalot - I agree with you about 1x3" 0.065" thickness - it would be ideal as 4 LEDs is a little overkill. I even went as far as calling onlinemetals.com and they've never seen it, although the man I talked to said it was a popular request.

For now, I'm going to try the copperhead design since all the metal parts were sourced at the same hardware shop we have around here, although I'm a bit skeptical about just using AAA to stick the copper heads on. I've never worked with AA adhesive, so I can't testify to its adhesive strength, but it just doesn't seem like it would be strong enough. A helmet mount of the copperhead design means lots of slapping branches, so I may add some reinforcement underneath and glue a thin piece of plexiglass over the entire front to keep the knocks off the copper.

eddielee70 - That 4xSSC is insane!! I always wondered what a bunch of medium angles looked like together. Our trails are super twisty and I don't think I'll ever need the throw of a narrow spot, so I might see what a 3xCREE medium looks like. Those 20mm F'Form reflectors are cheap, so I'll get a bunch and play around.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

joraff said:


> achesalot -although I'm a bit skeptical about just using AAA to stick the copper heads on. I've never worked with AA adhesive, so I can't testify to its adhesive strength, but it just doesn't seem like it would be strong enough. A helmet mount of the copperhead design means lots of slapping branches, so I may add some reinforcement underneath and glue a thin piece of plexiglass over the entire front to keep the knocks off the copper.


I used the AAA to glue the copper caps down and then trimmed them down to size on a belt sander. If they can withstand that, the branches shouldn't be a problem. I'd worry more about the entire light getting pulled off of the helmet.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

my next build is using 4 wide lens that lights on expediiton uses for our tight twisty trails. .40AET, sorry to hijack your tread as achesalot said. I just think my postings are not important to start my own tread. my 1000ma ssc might not be 1000ma as someone at the other tread mentain that those cheap $1.50 circuit might put out more then 1000ma. but they are running cool with outdoor 40degree F fan going( get hot indoors though)and for more then 2 hour as output drops. I'll see what the output is after 2 hour of runtime. cheap $5 ssc if they burn out in less then 100 hour use that is suppose to last 100,000 hours.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

joraff said:


> eddielee70 - That 4xSSC is insane!! I always wondered what a bunch of medium angles looked like together. Our trails are super twisty and I don't think I'll ever need the throw of a narrow spot, so I might see what a 3xCREE medium looks like. Those 20mm F'Form reflectors are cheap, so I'll get a bunch and play around.


Joraff, you will like the oval lens. it's a pattern like a fog light that shine the light wide across the 20 feet in front of the trail( good for handlebar mount), but len effeciency is drop more then med lens. I'll take a beamshot of the 4 wide len when I get it built on Friday.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

Eddielee70: No big deal. You already posted enough to start a thread. Don't sell yourself short. It's easier to search for stuff if everyone has a thread going with a different type of design.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

*Bar & Helmet Lights*

Finished a helmet light to go with the triple bar mount. The Achesalot design is a million times easier to deal with. The 1" aluminum tube cuts and sands faster and the squares go together quicker. Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to the DIY lighting.:thumbsup:


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

I think the achesalot copperhead are the easiest to do of them all. mine 4 led setup take 30 minute more or less. well I build 6 setup, so I guess it just gets easier and faster..








5 minute to glue the copperhead( wait 24 hour for expoy and AAA to dry). 10 minute to solder the led in series. 10 to drill holes and tap them, and 5 minute to solder the circuits. 15 hour to test them indoors. but I can not think of a design that would fit the helmet in a low profile except those special cut housing like this.
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=386482
I would love to get hold of one for helmet mount.


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## rockymtnway (Nov 14, 2004)

Nice design. I wish I wasn't already so well stocked on 14.8v batteries, as putting one of those, mounted on the fork arch would be sweet. I guess I could do it with two drivers, but that's not a cheap option.


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