# Cree C513 series warm white 5mm LED review



## JohnR66 (Jan 31, 2013)

Cree is well known for their efficient high power LEDs, but in the last few years they have been producing, IMO, the best bright 5mm LEDs. Starting around 2009 Cree switched to a rectangular die in their white, blue and green LEDs and use a "flipped die" with the amber and red colors (die cup is the anode with flipped chip). My 30ma longevity tests show that they have good life. They are easily obtainable and prices have fallen to less than half of what they were 2 years ago.

I don't know Cree's history with warm white 5mm LEDs, but for the last few years, I'm not aware they had any. Recently, Cree has included WW 5mm LEDs in their C513 series which is the 55 degree beam version. I quite accidentally found them while browsing Mouser's site. At 22 cents a pop, I figure I'd try a few.

The datasheet is a bit misleading. At the top it says the WW LEDs are at color temp. minimum 2500K and Typical 2800K, so i was expecting some very WW LEDs, but what I received was C513A-MSN-CW0Y0511 which seem to be around 4000K. Comparing with 4100K and 3500K light sources, they seem somewhere in between. I actually like this because I'm not that fond of < 3000K light. Below is the beam shot of the WW and CW versions of the C513 LEDs. Camera was set to "direct sun" white balance. The camera tends to render the WW yellowish.







Here is the Cree next to the Radio Shack 276-0017 (Everlight) LED. This particular RS LED is a bit cooler than what I'm used to. It appears to be around 5000K





Verdict
Pros: A good quality, bight WW LED for low cost.
Cons: Beam is a bit yellowish, no narrow beam versions.


----------



## LEDAdd1ct (Jan 31, 2013)

Are all three LEDs depicted being driven at 30mA?


----------



## JohnR66 (Feb 1, 2013)

They are driven at 20-25ma. Series circuit so current is the same in both LEDs.

I put some in a cheap dollar store flashlight. I wasn't sure if the beam angle would be wide enough for the reflectors, but as it turns out, they work wonderful, giving a nice hotspot and a floody zone. I really like the "neutral warm" light. It is as bright as my Maratac AAA on high but the LEDs are driven really hard at 60ma each! I didn't change the resistor.


----------



## bshanahan14rulz (Feb 1, 2013)

Long time! Always dig the 5mm reviews, we put so much emphasis on the newest power LEDs, but the poor 5mm doesn't get as much attention.

The beam looks a bit too yellowish for my tastes, but it worked out nicely in that light! One way to widen the beam is to snip off the dome, then sand and polish flat and clear, leaving a mm or two for to keep the device still fully encapsulated by epoxy. I have had issues where the fault when you snip it doesn't go where you expect, so if these are your only ones, I wouldn't recommend it, but if you have a bunch to play with, try it out in that light.

So, you have a lot of experience with 5mm's, what are your favorites in the categories of WW, NW, CW/most efficient, and do they have High-CRI 5mm's yet? I know classically, people have had great results with just the RS white. I'd be looking for something that I can gift as a present, that doesn't have fancy electronics, that takes alkalines, but still doesn't sacrifice light quality. So, thinking of retrofitting some cheapo 5mm lights. This year I did thrunite Ti's with nichia LEDs, and that was just too much work


----------



## LEDAdd1ct (Feb 1, 2013)

JohnR66 email sent!


----------



## Illum (Feb 1, 2013)

if anyone wants to know, mouser has these in stock here:
*​*http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...A921du9%2biB0z2rimM/yrDLxkOAxyaDLafZxYsCsza33


----------



## JohnR66 (Feb 1, 2013)

bshanahan14rulz said:


> Long time! Always dig the 5mm reviews, we put so much emphasis on the newest power LEDs, but the poor 5mm doesn't get as much attention.
> 
> The beam looks a bit too yellowish for my tastes, but it worked out nicely in that light! One way to widen the beam is to snip off the dome, then sand and polish flat and clear, leaving a mm or two for to keep the device still fully encapsulated by epoxy. I have had issues where the fault when you snip it doesn't go where you expect, so if these are your only ones, I wouldn't recommend it, but if you have a bunch to play with, try it out in that light.
> 
> So, you have a lot of experience with 5mm's, what are your favorites in the categories of WW, NW, CW/most efficient, and do they have High-CRI 5mm's yet? I know classically, people have had great results with just the RS white. I'd be looking for something that I can gift as a present, that doesn't have fancy electronics, that takes alkalines, but still doesn't sacrifice light quality. So, thinking of retrofitting some cheapo 5mm lights. This year I did thrunite Ti's with nichia LEDs, and that was just too much work



I have the best luck carefully clamping the LEDs with pliers and filing the epoxy down and round it to make a low dome and then polish. These do have some yellowish to them, but the camera exaggerates it, like it makes some white fluorescent light look greenish.

I may sound like a fanboy of Cree, but the brightness, longevity, cost, ease in obtaining make them head and shoulders above anything else. I wanted to try some Everlight brand LEDs from Mouser, but at a buck a pop, forget it.

I've also been testing some Cree low power surface mount LEDs. After a year and a half they are still bright at 30ma. Tough to handle the little grains of rice, but they seem even brighter than a 5mm LED filed down to make wide angle. Amazing little things, but I'll delve into them in another thread.


----------



## brickbat (Feb 2, 2013)

JohnR66 said:


> ...but what I received was C513A-MSN-CW0Y0511 which seem to be around 4000K....



If I'm reading the Cree data sheet correctly that number refers to a 'kit' which could contain LEDs in their color bins W5 and Mi, which are in the 5500-3800 K range. 

Have you seen any spec for the lumen output of these parts? Or do you have an estimate?


----------



## JohnR66 (Feb 3, 2013)

brickbat said:


> If I'm reading the Cree data sheet correctly that number refers to a 'kit' which could contain LEDs in their color bins W5 and Mi, which are in the 5500-3800 K range.
> 
> Have you seen any spec for the lumen output of these parts? Or do you have an estimate?



I'd have to fire up my light bench and get a candela rating. I don't have equipment for a proper lumen rating. By eye, they are about the same as the RS LED, but with a larger beam circle and warmer light.


----------



## VegasF6 (Feb 3, 2013)

JohnR66 said:


> I've also been testing some Cree low power surface mount LEDs. After a year and a half they are still bright at 30ma. Tough to handle the little grains of rice, but they seem even brighter than a 5mm LED filed down to make wide angle. Amazing little things, but I'll delve into them in another thread.



Package? Part #? Color?
*edit*
more feedback vs the Nichia GS or do you have any of the new H bins I saw you mention in another post?


----------



## JohnR66 (Feb 3, 2013)

VegasF6 said:


> Package? Part #? Color?
> *edit*
> more feedback vs the Nichia GS or do you have any of the new H bins I saw you mention in another post?



The smd LED is from the CLM3C series cool white. I would like to order the warmer bins and post when I get some to test.

I don't have the Nichia HS. I was pointing out its existance on Nichia's site. Nichia's policies makes it difficult to obtain their products so I may have to rely on someone else to get me a few samples to test.


----------

