u/NoChampionship157

After sharing my first version of this DIY LED camera light, I got a lot of useful feedback — especially pointing out concerns around the battery setup and safety.
At first, I thought the system was “good enough” since it worked and powered the light without issues.
But after digging deeper into how lithium packs behave under continuous load + charge, I realized the original design had a weak point:
the power system was too rigid and not properly protected.
So I rebuilt it.

# What I changed：

1. Added a proper BMS (Battery Management System)
2. Replaced fixed battery pack with 3 × swappable 18650 cells
3. Reworked the power path to support safer charge/discharge behavior
4. Designed it so the battery system is now modular and replaceable

# What I learned the hard way:

1. The biggest issue wasn’t performance — it was maintenance and safety over time.
2. A fixed pack might be fine in a controlled product, but for a DIY / experimental build:
3. hard to replace cells
4. harder to monitor cell health
5. less flexibility in real use scenarios
6. Switching to 18650 cells made the system feel much closer to how “real” portable lighting products are engineered.

# Current use case:
Still a compact LED light for photography / video work, powered entirely by battery (no external PSU during use).

# Questions for people who know this better than me:

1. Does this BMS setup look reasonable for continuous use？I’m also planning to fully encapsulate the electronics using a high-temperature (around 200°C rated) silicone potting compound for protection. Would that raise any concerns regarding heat dissipation or long-term reliability?
2. Anything I should still worry about in this architecture?
3. Would you trust a setup like this in field use (not studio)?

After sharing my first version of this DIY LED camera light, I got a lot of useful feedback — especially pointing out concerns around the battery setup and safety.
At first, I thought the system was “good enough” since it worked and powered the light without issues.
But after digging deeper into how lithium packs behave under continuous load + charge, I realized the original design had a weak point:
the power system was too rigid and not properly protected.
So I rebuilt it.

# What I changed：

1. Added a proper BMS (Battery Management System)
2. Replaced fixed battery pack with 3 × swappable 18650 cells
3. Reworked the power path to support safer charge/discharge behavior
4. Designed it so the battery system is now modular and replaceable

# What I learned the hard way:

1. The biggest issue wasn’t performance — it was maintenance and safety over time.
2. A fixed pack might be fine in a controlled product, but for a DIY / experimental build:
3. hard to replace cells
4. harder to monitor cell health
5. less flexibility in real use scenarios
6. Switching to 18650 cells made the system feel much closer to how “real” portable lighting products are engineered.

# Current use case:
Still a compact LED light for photography / video work, powered entirely by battery (no external PSU during use).

# Questions for people who know this better than me:

1. Does this BMS setup look reasonable for continuous use？I’m also planning to fully encapsulate the electronics using a high-temperature (around 200°C rated) silicone potting compound for protection. Would that raise any concerns regarding heat dissipation or long-term reliability?
2. Anything I should still worry about in this architecture?
3. Would you trust a setup like this in field use (not studio)?

After sharing my first version of this DIY LED camera light, I got a lot of useful feedback — especially pointing out concerns around the battery setup and safety.
At first, I thought the system was “good enough” since it worked and powered the light without issues.
But after digging deeper into how lithium packs behave under continuous load + charge, I realized the original design had a weak point:
the power system was too rigid and not properly protected.
So I rebuilt it.

# What I changed：

1. Added a proper BMS (Battery Management System)
2. Replaced fixed battery pack with 3 × swappable 18650 cells
3. Reworked the power path to support safer charge/discharge behavior
4. Designed it so the battery system is now modular and replaceable

# What I learned the hard way:

1. The biggest issue wasn’t performance — it was maintenance and safety over time.
2. A fixed pack might be fine in a controlled product, but for a DIY / experimental build:
3. hard to replace cells
4. harder to monitor cell health
5. less flexibility in real use scenarios
6. Switching to 18650 cells made the system feel much closer to how “real” portable lighting products are engineered.

# Current use case:
Still a compact LED light for photography / video work, powered entirely by battery (no external PSU during use).

# Questions for people who know this better than me:

1. Does this BMS setup look reasonable for continuous use？I’m also planning to fully encapsulate the electronics using a high-temperature (around 200°C rated) silicone potting compound for protection. Would that raise any concerns regarding heat dissipation or long-term reliability?
2. Anything I should still worry about in this architecture?
3. Would you trust a setup like this in field use (not studio)?

After sharing my first version of this DIY LED camera light, I got a lot of useful feedback — especially pointing out concerns around the battery setup and safety.
At first, I thought the system was “good enough” since it worked and powered the light without issues.
But after digging deeper into how lithium packs behave under continuous load + charge, I realized the original design had a weak point:
the power system was too rigid and not properly protected.
So I rebuilt it.

# What I changed：

1. Added a proper BMS (Battery Management System)
2. Replaced fixed battery pack with 3 × swappable 18650 cells
3. Reworked the power path to support safer charge/discharge behavior
4. Designed it so the battery system is now modular and replaceable

# What I learned the hard way:

1. The biggest issue wasn’t performance — it was maintenance and safety over time.
2. A fixed pack might be fine in a controlled product, but for a DIY / experimental build:
3. hard to replace cells
4. harder to monitor cell health
5. less flexibility in real use scenarios
6. Switching to 18650 cells made the system feel much closer to how “real” portable lighting products are engineered.

# Current use case:
Still a compact LED light for photography / video work, powered entirely by battery (no external PSU during use).

# Questions for people who know this better than me:

1. Does this BMS setup look reasonable for continuous use？I’m also planning to fully encapsulate the electronics using a high-temperature (around 200°C rated) silicone potting compound for protection. Would that raise any concerns regarding heat dissipation or long-term reliability?
2. Anything I should still worry about in this architecture?
3. Would you trust a setup like this in field use (not studio)?