Brother's MHS Saber Build (Need Help)

[Charlie Murphy]

Hey guys this will be my first full saber build and I'm doing it for none other than my younger brother. I will be using all MHS parts from TCSS for the hilt design and it will be a stunt saber until TCSS gets more NBv2s in stock. I will list all my current parts list in this post at the bottom (not including sound components).

I mostly wanted to ask some questions about how a Green/Green/Green Tri Cree setup would work with all 3 wired up in parallel powered with a single 18650 or a puckbuck with parallel 18650s. For example:

Would a single 18650 be enough for 3 green cree leds in parallel?

If not... Can I use a 700ma or 1a puckbuck with 2 18650s in parallel?

If so... How do I wire up a puckbuck with 2 18650s in parallel?

From what I understand the leds would have to be run in series at that point and I wouldn't be able to run all 3. Since the green cree is 3.58v@1a. I'm a total noob (when it comes to this stuff) still in the very early learning stages of saber building. So please correct me and guide me kindly. Thanks for the help in advance!

Parts list:
MHS 1 Hilt Style 1(Machined for 16mm AV Switch)
MHS 1 Blade Holder Style 11
MPS Pommel Style 4
MHS Heat Sink V4 (V3 is out of stock)
Custom Tri Cree LED (Green/Green/Green)
18 Degree Cree Lens
16mm Short AV Green Ring Switch
Momentary to Latching Converter (Until NBv2 is installed)
1ohm 2w Resistor x4 (1 Extra)
26g Wire Red&Black 10Ft of Each
18650 Single Cell Holder
TCSS Blade 36" (not sure if I'm going to with a dueling blade or show blade for my brother)

[Miraluka]

1. Yes, a single 18650 can power 3 dice. I do it with resistors, not buckpucks.

2. No. If you want to use a buckpuck, you need to run your batteries in series, not parallel. They require >5V and the Li-Ions are 3.7V.

3. See 2.

Yes, if you use multiple LEDs on a buckpuck they would be run in series and you can run all three as long as you have enough voltage. The buckpuck can handle up to 32V. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to do it that way. You'd probably be better off running the LEDs in parallel with individual resistors.

All that being said, 2 dice is enough to have a bright blade. If you run 3, it'll be a little brighter but use 50% more battery life. Also, you're not going to be able to run all 3 dice off the NB unless you do the pex hack. If I were you, I would just buy the tri CREE G/G/W, use the 2 green dice for now, and when you get an NB, hook up the white die for FoC.

[Charlie Murphy]

Awesome. This is all excellent information.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to run 3 off the NB but I figured while it was a stunt saber I should try to make it as bright as possible. I recently wired up a tri rebel royal blue with 2 die so I was just unsure as to the extra power draw with 3. You saying it's 50% faster draining isn't going to make me not want to do it all together. I mean if my 2 royal blues are at 1a each and I'm using a 3000mah mxjo it would be good for 1 1/2 hours correct? I'm not sure as to the run time with 2 since I have only had it wired up with a battery for about 2 days now. If 1 1/2h run time with 2 is correct though with that battery then with 3 dice it would be 45 minutes?

What makes me think not to do it is it seems like it might be a diminishing returns thing with a 3rd die for the main blade color. Since as you said a 2 dice setup is still a bright blade. I was seriously impressed by how much better the tri-rebel with 2 dice hooked up was compared to a seoul p4(stock led on this dominix v2). So I'd imagine 2 green on a tri cree that has better specs than a luxeon tri reb it will be a very impressive green. Another reason I was asking this is because ultrasabers wires up all 3 on a tri cree when you get the tri cree installed in one of their sabers(no FoC without doing white from them). I seen a really sweet looking red tri cree build on youtube with all 3 wired up and was just going to try to replicate that effect with one of the old ultrasabers dominix v2s I have laying around. So when I was thinking of doing that I figured it might be best to go with all 3 wired up in my brother's build as well.

Anyway it sounds like I might do 1 of each eventually but my brothers build will likely stay G/G/W and then I'll wire up the white for FoC. I know for my cousin's build he wants a purple blade so I was going to get a R/G/RB tri cree and wire it up with the red being dim ofc with a heavier resistor than the blue and have the green left over for flash on clash. That way it's a purple/green build that would be something like what the Joker (Batman) would own. Since he's really into batman I figured that would be a nice touch. I'll end up keeping the ultrasabers dominix v2 a stunt saber and do a full 3 red dice in it as another build. That way I have a blue, green, and red build done so far. I'm trying to use up all the easy colors first before color mixing I guess hahaha.

Side Note: Your saber in your signature reminds me of something from swtor. That's a very very cool build and one of the ones I look at for inspiration to build an even better creation than the last each time. Thanks again for your help!