Any info on a DIY Greenforce LED conversion?

[UKBob]

hi guys

just joined up after surfing the web for some ideas on LED conversions for dive lights.

currently thinking about converting one my GF light heads to accommodate LEDs, the head i want to use takes a MR16 type bulb...

having spent the day looking at other projects i have a few ideas, and technical questions as the my main aim would be re-use the existing battery pack (12V 10 cells 3(6)Ah ~ not sure why the 6 is in brackets ) with the LEDs that would fit the housing and give me the best performance.

i guess my 1st question should be is anyone working on a project like this?

regards
bob

 

[Packhorse]

I have build a few Mag lite based LED light heads. They are MR16 sized so I cant see any problem with the GF.
I have also done a few MR11 HID to LED conversion. EG Dive Rite and others.

What you will need is access to a lathe to make a heat sink.

The 12v pack isnt a problem as long as you can match a driver to it.
There are a few ways to configure the LEDs. You would be hard pushed to fit any more the 4 XR-E crees in it with reflectors or optics.

PM me if you want some more info or just send you light head over and I can send it back complete if you like.

 

[UKBob]

thank you for the post... as part of my research i have come across the posts on your projects and they have given me a few ideas.

initially i was hoping to come across other folk that use GF lights and and see if any had made any change to their kit, just to see what had been done and what sort of problems they had run into.

currently got a reflector (SKU 11921) ordered from DX and that i hope will be the start of my conversion, once i get an idea of how much i'm left with. i can see having a lathe would be a handy more so for building a heat sink, so will need to figure that out as the project moves on.

only major thing that i need to do is read on other projects that have been direct drive as i dont think i'll have enough space for a driver. light wise i would like to build something that throws out 1500 to 2000 lumens.

certainly if i have any questions i'll be sure to PM you and get your thoughts/input.

regards
bob

 

[Packhorse]

A driver will not take up much space at all. Simply glue it to the back of the heat sink.
It will offer more features, better efficiency and reliability.
I looked at that reflector but was worried about it giving a floody beam. You may be happy with that coming from a halogen but if you want a tight spot then you should consider aspherics.
If you are happy with flood then consider MC-E's or P7's. Drill out the reflector a bit and put 3 of them in it. You will get your 2000 lumen. But I guess the beam may be a bit uneven.
You will have to consider rebuilding your battery pack too. Put in as many 18650 Li Ion cells as you can in a configuration to suit the configuration of the LEDs and you should get OK results. 1 18650 should run a P7 or MC-E for 45 minutes at 2.8amp or 1 Q5 for 2 hours.

 

[UKBob]

thank you for the heads up on battery choice... thats saved a lot of reading up

regards
bob

 

[wes_wall]

Take a look at the TerraLux TLE 300. I think it will drop in with one exception. It was made as a drop in for MAGLight, so it is threaded. I disassembled my TLE300 and de-soldered the light bulb cup. I then replaced it with high temp wire and a Deans Plug. I further burned my bridges by using potting compound to pot in the wires.

If you PM me, I will send pictures, or If more than one person is interested, I'll post a link to my photo album.

It works on the bench. The built-in heatsink gets pretty hot, but if the whole thing were mounted in the GF head, and thermally connected to the head housing with heatsink compound it would be delighted to go forever...or until the batteries die. However, I do not know if this is possible given the unknown GF head geometry.

The TLE 300 has heatsink, driver CREE LEDs optics and all ready to replace a MR16.