TOPIC: Help: Wiring 12w LED module with 5mm Accent

This is for my first saber, a stunt saber, and one I have been working on/making.
I use this for my character with a Jedi/Sith stunt/performance group I joined a while back.
The other night I got to do a lot of testing of the performance of the saber during a friends Wedding.
I went through 3 fully charged batteries! It kind of freaked me out.
So, I am looking into solutions for a few issues I am having.
Been doing a lot of research over the years about saber making before I start this, but some technical wording and explaining still goes over my head while learning this stuff.
Any help would be appreciated. I am looking to get this done asap.

I am looking for solutions with these issues I am having:
-battery drains super fast (I need something a bit longer time wise please)
Like a full charge to dying (only the Red showing) in under 2 hours
-the Accent LED dims when the main led is on
-heat issues (kind of solved this by using the hilt as also a heatsink)
-I maybe over driving the battery by 0.8? Nothing showing that could true other then the dimming and my battery life so far.

What I have:
This is only a Stunt Saber.
-20mm MCPCB star with 4x 3watt Cree XB-D LED dies
I got this for color mixing reasons, the emitter/dies are: Amber, Amber, Green and Red
Both the Amber, Amber and Ground has a 1 ohm 1 watt Resistor it came with
Anodized black heat sink unit 1.00 OD 1.25 Length
Narrow beam optic
-Panasonic Li-Ion NCR18650B 3.7V 3400mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Battery
Uses a Li-Ion 18650 battery holder so the batteries can be changed out
-5mm yellow accent LED 2.2v @ 20mA (goes inside transparent 1" dia. crystal at the pommel)
I have a 75 OHMS 1/8 resistor for this
-SPST Latching switch
-24 gauge insulated stranded wire (various colors)

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What I was going to add/change:
HUGE Question: does anyone know the volt/forward voltage for the XB-D LEDs? Mainly for the amber, red and green emitters/dies. I am sure gets asked a lot though, but I am having a hard time finding that info, and I can't figure it out even with the datasheet.

-I was going to change the resistor in the pommel I currently have to a 20mA DynaOhm Variable Resistor on the accent LED in the pommel

-If I can't use a buck puck with 3.7v battery I was instead thinking about using one DynaOhm Variable Resistor to each negative wire and hooking them up to the main LEd module?

Are those good ideas?

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Fixes I thought about:
-I am trying avoid to larger sized batteries as I only have 1" ID for the insides

-I was looking into getting a Buckpuck (as how great they are for this) to help with the heat and power for the main LED but it requires a 5v :< (Too bad)

-Change the yellow accent LED to one with smaller volts? I my problem with this, is that I need something bright. Maybe if I add two of them?

-Using 10440 li-ion batteries with a AAA holder that holds 2 or 3 of them? Or using two 14500 li-ion batteries that can hold then in a line? Maybe two 1/2AA li-ion 1200 mAh in a AA battery holder for a 7.4 2400 mAh battery? May one 14500 3.7 battery for the main LED, and one 1/2 AA for the accent LED? (No idea how to hook up that last one.)

-I found some 18650 4200 mAh 4.2v Li-ion I could use those instead of 3.7v? (They are not just 3.7 with a full charge they are 4.2v, I think they reach like a 4.8v on full charge. However, I think the power still runs too short.)

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Questions/other stuff:
If your LED module came with 1 ohm 1 watt on the amber, amber and ground, can you just use just one Variable Resistor to replace them? Can you put just one resistor on the Amber, amber, ground and green? I have only seen a DynaOhm Variable Resistor in 20mA, 25mA and 30mA so far. I am not sure if that may work for my module.

If your main LED module has resistors wired on the negative, can you wire your resistor for the accent on the positive? Should all resistors be wired that same way throughout the "circuit" or will it be okay?

The circuit opens and closes on the positive, due to less wires on that side. Is this okay, or should I have wired it differently?

Even knowing the voltage of the 12w Saberforge LEDs module I would help. Anyone?

When in doubt, use the maximum ratings for resistor calculation. 3.9v on Green, 2.6v on Red and Amber.

Also, you mention resistors on Amber, Amber, and Ground, but it's likely Amber, Amber, and Red. Each color is on a negative lead, sharinga common positive.

In the same way a buckpuck won't work in the main LED (aside from low voltage, you'd need four pucks), that DynaOhm variable resistor won't have enough juice to fully light the accent LED. It'll light, but dimmer than standard.

Also, folks mention the 5v minimum of a puck, but tend to forget that's only the bare minimum to get it to function - not to get it to light properly.

Minimum for a BuckPuck is (LEDVoltage + 2.5v)
Minimum for a DynaOhm is (LEDVoltage + 2.6v)

I also wouldn't trust any 18650 with a capacity over 3400mAh.

You've got two options for better runtime:

1) Replace the LED with a Tri-Cree to cut power consumption by 25% and make for a ~30% longer runtime. An Amber/Red-Orange/Green should be close to your current setup.

2) Replace the 18650 battery with a higher capacity 26650. If you're running a SaberForge hilt, there won't be enough space for a 26650 battery holder, so you'll need to wire directly to the battery.

Thank you for your help. Most appreciated.

The Cree Xe-p2, would they fit into the same housing used for a saberforge 20mm MCPCB star?
And what resistors would you suggest for a xe-p2 green, red-orange and amber emitters?

A 26650 does not fit in my hilt even without the holder.
The room inside the hilt is exactly 1.05" ID.

I was talking to another friend of mine about hooking it up in parallel or serial, which has to do with how the batteries are layout and how they are hooked up.

The best answer I could think of was:
Equalizing a pack of AAA/10440 and wiring up four AAA/10440 to be both series and Parallel or maybe a 4S2P. As this would fit. It would also allow me to use a buck.

In the image cross out 6 volt and 20 mA, it would more then likely end up being 7.4volts, 2400 mAhs or 4,800 mAh with a parallel 4 pack. 10440 il-ion are usually 600 mAhs with 3.7

The buck puck you are talking about though, you are saying I would need 4 of them?
From what I have seen you can get ether 7 wire or 4 wire buck puck setups, you can power a few LEDs with them.
And Buck pucks come in mAh ratings in 350mA, 700mA or 1000mA.

So I would need a buck puck for each XB-D LED emitter or like the module? IF you had 4 LED emitter/die module do you need a 6 wire or would 4 work? Could I wire my accent LED to it? One buck to take the place of all the resistors?