I have just taken delivery off a P7 10watt LED for my next dive light project.
AFAIK these are the same as used in the 10w Dive Rite lights. EDIT. Make that the Salvo 12w LED. EDIT again: Salvo use the Ostar LED which is less efficient

The light head will be a modifyed D or C maglite and the battery cannister will be PVC pipe.

I have not yet decided on batterys but it will either be LI Ion at 3.7v or NiMh at 4.8v.

This is the LED


This is the refector


OK here we have the LED running at 2.8amps (10watt) and the 10w HID
Pick 2 is the same pick with the brightness adjusted.
Distance from wall was 2-2.5meters
Wall is a pale yellow with a green tint.




Based on pic #2 I will correct myself and say the focus of the LED isnt as tight as the HID

OK this time halogen vs LED





Focus is tighter on the LED colour is better but maybe the halogen produces a little more light.

the LED being on the left I assume??

Left on the first comparison right on the second.
I will post all 3 later

OK 1 more shot. This time its outside 20 meters away
halogen on left LED on right.

So unquestionably a substantial amount more light from the 35W halo in the air, I would be keen to know how much the colour difference would amount to better penetration in aqua...

I think the LED may have a bit more throw underwater due to its better colour while the halo will light up a larger area.
The LED uses less than 1/3rd of the power though. In fact since the halo is overdriven 20% its consuming 50watts so the LED is only using 1/5th of the halogen.

Just tried some longer range comparissons and the LED goes the distance

The LED has a nicer colour to it, the halogen is a bit yellowy. I would imagine a white light is the better of the two for UW. Personally i prefer a light with a tight focus area.

Thats a great review of the LED. What type of heat is the 10w LED producing? I know that the Halogens are mega hot, and that anything above 21w HID have heat issues.

Heat is the killer of LEDs. As such they need large heat sinks. I have yet to get those delivered so can only run it for 10 seconds max. I have seen a thread where a similar set up was tested and with the right heat sink in a Mag it didnt get over 40degC. In water it will be a lot less.
My 10w HID gets too hot to hold after 30 min. My Halogen melts perspex lenses which is actully a good thing cause now I have a convex lens for greater depth rating.

More progress.



Interesting thing is with the light at this size and by adding a switch you can still get a 2.5 hour burn time!!! Add 4 cm and get 5 hours!!

So why make it a can light then you ask? That way if I drop it it will not float away!

A little more progress today.
I have replaced all the O rings in the lite head.
1st is the tail cap O ring. This is replaced with a NBR 70 124. Not sure what all that means. NBR is the material 70 is the hardness and 124 is the size in imperial????
Next is the lens O ring and the bezel O ring. These have been changed to NBR 70 48mm x 2mm I assume its 48mm ID.
The handle has been cut to length and epoxyed into the head so the thread and O ring that were originally there are now gone.
I have fitted a M12x1.5mm thread cable gland to the tail cap and poured epoxy into the cap to cover the entire gland thread.
The tail cap thread and bezel thread will also have thread tape put on to help give a better seal. Once this is done its quite hard to disassemble but the only reason I should need to do that is to upgrade the LED (assuming it doesnt leak).

Looking good Packhorse, (the light - NOT you).
Did you just leave the thread in the light head or did you somehow remove it?
Actually, is the head wide enough to accommodate the cutdown body, or was a certain degree of "metal removal" required?

The handle will slide in about 10mm to the head where it then stops against the thread. The head isnt modified at all. The hanlde is only cut to lenglth and then the last 10mm is sanded to remove the anodized finnish for a better surface for the epoxy to take to.

I hope your making two-cos i want one.

Seriously though dood, you should make these in set's. You'd easily sell the others you make. Your the dood when it comes to underwater light sabers.