210 Upgrade Build with LED Build

Nuke:
regarding your use of G-11. What are your thoughts on using something less expensive like G-10 ?? seems to be 1/4 th the cost of G-11........... I'm not sure the higher mechanical strength of G-11 justifies the much higher cost in this application. Whatcha think?
 
Nuke:
Did the one, 1" carbide Forstner bit cut all those holes in the G-11? That stuff is kinda hard to machine isn't it?
 
I probably should have been less carefree with my selection. You right, G-10 will work in this case just as well. I don't know much about G-3, I would have to look at the differences. I am so use to using G11 that I didn't even bother to think about the overkill on the specifications. We use it where I work because it's becomes less activated by high energy neutrons, the things I play with every day. If cost is a concern and by all means it should be, G-10 will be fine. Probably even G3 I just don't know anything about the stuff.

I had no issues with my table top drill press and the Forstner bit. It wasn't as easy as through wood but I used the same bit to cut all my holes and it's still ok. One thing I do highly recommend aside from your normal safety gear...hook up a small shop vac and jury rig the hose up close against the drill bit where your drilling the hole. This stuff produces a fine dust and lots of shavings. Not only will you contaminate everything in the general area with dust, it can't be good to breath that stuff in. I used one of those small 1 gallon shop vacs and duct taped the hose to the side of my drill press so the end was almost touching the G11 as I drilled it. Worked great and kept everything clean.
 
Dirrk said:
Hopefully you will get your point across some day that these drivers are not "High Voltage" by any real industry standard. I think people lost sight of the fact that some of the ballasts used in the MH lighting, multiple 250 and 400 watt bulbs will drop you in an instant given the right shock and circumstances. Also given the right circumstances the lower voltage higher amp drivers can easily stop you in your tracks. Hey, it's all about voltage and current, mess with it without knowing what your doing and your bound to get hurt.

Hear Ye....I totally concur. After looking at the builds with dozens of exposed 3-48 volt connections, no splash covers, zinc screws in aluminum, microns away from the globs of solder on the star pads, etc. ad infinitum., I can honestly say I would rather work around your so-called "high voltage" fixture. I guess these guys have never measured the voltages flowing through their fluorescent fixtures. I would never want to become "part of the circuit" with several high wattage MH bulbs either. Your ideas to safely build an LED system are light years ahead of anything I have read in these DIY forums (and I've read a bunch).
I also appreciate the steps you took to protect against corrosion, something totally ignored on many builds. Being a sailor, I have a lot of experience with salt enhanced corrosion, especially when a little electricity is added to the mix. potting the stars is a perfect safety and corrosion fix. Thanks also for explaining the PLED shunt system. IT IS JUST WHAT WE NEEDED. I will now search for a 1.5 amp capacity PLED for the higher power LEDs.

?? Am I correct in assuming, that for each failed LED, the circuit voltage will increase slightly, due to the lower forward voltage (1.5) of the PLED compared to the 3.x fv of the failed led. Did you measure circuit voltages when you did your open FAIL simulation?

I was really, REALLY, sad to see your tank crash after so much hard work. I guess no good deed goes unpunished........

Your ideas, photos and careful explanations, have advanced the level of DIY LED builds of ALL voltages, beyond measure. Love the CO2 scrubber too. I want to thank you for the HUGE amount of time you spent preparing your thread and answering so many questions. I plan to follow your plan closely. Keep up the good work and please post any future thoughts re: this, or other builds. You are a real craftsman......
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I had to think a bit on responding to this comment but what the heck, it's my thread. I appreciate your view on my build and applaud your courage for posting it. Most of the positive comments I have received have been through PM's because people have witnessed the flame sessions I have experienced when trying to debate the issue's with these builds.

The real point that people are missing is that all of these builds, regardless of the size, can be dangerous. And yes, including mine. The focus by a select group of LED experts has always been on the use of higher voltage drivers and clearly they have ignored the benefits of the safety features I have used in my build. Safety features that should be incorporated into every build regardless of the type of build. Those safety features should be included in their never ending advice and tutorial sessions.

Simple example. You can solder and check your wire connections a dozen times and find no shorts to your heat sink. But as you pointed out the tolerances between the star pad and the heat sink are so small that even a tiny bit of conductive corrosion will result in a short. Gee now let's hang it over a salt water tank and see what happens. The addition of the thermally conductive Kapton tape between your LED's and the heat sink eliminates the possibility of shorts. Simple, elegant and technical solution to a problem that clearly many people have had. And it is not expensive. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on LED builds but I get flamed for suggesting that you spend an extra $30 to properly insulate your LED's. Doesn't make sense.

Anyway as you probably can tell I have not and will not engage in these discussions any longer on other threads. This forum which I engage to share in knowledge and experience in this hobby clearly has it's moments of frustration and ms-information. Unless provoked, which has happened, you will not find me wasting my time with the on-going debate on using series vs. parallel builds. The simple reality is that anyone that has the courage and ambition to embark on the DIY LED build has the capability to build a light like mine without risk of death or injury, given they have the patience and presence of mind to be careful, respect electricity at any level, and follow the safety tips that I didn't invent, just used in my build.

I have without question looked at almost every new DIY LED build that comes across the forums every day. Quite honestly there is only a hand full of people who have built lights that I would allow to be plugged into an outlet (or 15 outlets LOL) in my house. Parallel or serial some people just don't have any business fooling around with these builds regardless of the guides the LED experts have published. Same goes for everything in life. I would not climb up a utility pole to reset a transformer that has tripped regardless of how long I sat in the dark. It's the difference in being smart enough to know your limitations and respect for the task at hand. A person that does not know what a DVM is should probably think twice about building a LED lighting fixture to hang over their tank.

You got me on my soap box, it's time to get off of it. As it's been in the recent past most of my assistance, complements and advice is done through PM's with people not interested in narrow minded opinions, they just want to build a solid light.

Proof to me is my light that goes on and off every day without incident, looks great, operates efficiently and is safe.

Sorry on your question on the LED failure and the forward voltage there is a forward voltage through the PLED (shunt) when the LED fails. The forward voltage is advertised at 1.5 volts, I measured 1.3 volts. Splitting hairs at this point. However the total circuit voltage actually decreases because the 3+ forward volts from the LED is no longer there. It is effectively replaced by the 1.3 V.

Thank you much for appreciating my efforts in putting together this thread.
 
nuke:

thanks for the quick reply....... as usual, I had it backwards re: the PLED forward voltage.

I am confident that PLEDs will become SOP for LED builds. 50- 75 cents is a small price to pay to protect LEDs that range in price from 3 to 9 dollars ea. And also to avoid the panic scramble to immediately repair a fixture crippled by a failed LED and one or more blown fuses, or worse a wipe-out of multiple $$ LEDs. I will NOT be surprised to see a vendor like Cutter mount PLEDs on the star. They are already producing 3,4 and 7-up mountings of mixed reef colors. It presents interesting design options, especially for Nanos.
I will not forget that I saw the PLED here FIRST. along with plenty of other great design ideas. Merry Christmas to you and yours
 
ryman said:
nuclearheli,


If I remember reading correctly in one of the post, you stated that instead of using the G11 material, a person could use a piece of Acrylic instead. Is that correct? Or did I read something incorrectly?

Ryman.... I just saw this question while re-reading the thread.

MY 2 CENTS: I thought about using acrylic but decided that machining a 1 inch hole in 1-1/2 inch strip of 1/4" acrylic sounded like the road to tears. I'm gonna try Starboard instead....I think it's much less likely to blow up during drilling. Starboard has pretty good insulation and heat tolerance. an added bonus is that most adhesives don't bond real well to it so removal/ replacement of potted LEDs may be easier. I'm just starting to order parts so I'm way behind this thread.
Click to expand...
 
Hey Heli; Did you see the post below? There is a DIY, "Feedback appreciated on led-setup" and this showed up. I wonder how much alcohol it took for this guy to call your build stupid? LOL

kcress said:
Eric4; I can't stress enough that you should avoid high voltage drivers like they were poisonous snakes. DIY, over salt water, LED builds are the absolutely last place you would ever want to see any voltages over about 50V. Using high voltage in these builds would be reckless, foolhardy, and just plain stupid. Don't do it. It's not worth it. Do it right and safely.

Use HLG drivers and go parallel. It works fine and it's a lot safer. Parallel has been described here a bazillion times. My schematic is all over the place. If you need help finding it let us know.
Click to expand...
 
gammaman said:
Hey Heli; Did you see the post below? There is a DIY, "Feedback appreciated on led-setup" and this showed up. I wonder how much alcohol it took for this guy to call your build stupid? LOL
Click to expand...

Hah, yes I saw it. Had a good laugh over it. The only thing reckless, foolhardy, and just plain stupid is the bad advice he consistently gives people looking for information on good builds. I particularly like the comment; My schematic is all over the place as if he has done anything innovative.

I did think it was a little strange when he said; over salt water, LED builds are the absolutely last place you would ever want to see any voltages over about 50V. Does anyone else see the stupidity in that comment. First, if he is referring to corrosion and shorts then my build over and above any other build including his own is far safer and immune to such things. If he is worried about it falling in the water :eek1: that is even more bizarre. I guess a fixture with 110VAC or better yet a fixture with several 450W MH is far safer than my build.

Regardless I simply don't have the time and won't lower myself to try to educate him any longer. It has not worked in the past and won't now. Let him say what he wants, it makes no difference to me. People that want to build nice fixtures usually contact me privately and tend to stay out of the forums when it comes to my Higher Voltage builds.

Choke his opinion up to a wanna be EE. If the posts and review counts have any meaning than take this into consideration. My thread has over 92,000 reviews, almost 1,000 replies and 9 votes on 5 stars. His build thread started two days before mine has around 10,000 reviews, just over 100 replies and no votes. Funny, he has commented on my thread how nice my fixture was. Now it's stupid. I will say this, on any given day he posts more than anyone I can find always willing to give his "expert" advice. Makes me glad I have a life outside of these forums.

Only one person is stupid around here G man, and it's not me. Define megalomania. That adequately describes the individual in my opinion.
 
Well the light is officially built, I will be installing it tonight. Here are a couple of pics.

Light controller
410d5ca9-d92d-e455.jpg


All on at 20 percent
410d5ca9-d955-f046.jpg
 
There have been quite a few questions regarding the use of Kapton tape. Kapton tape is by nature a thermal insulator. However the product I used on my light bar is Thermally Conductive Silicone-Coated Kapton® Polyimide Tape.

If ordering from McMaster Carr the product number is 7171A23. The description of the material reads as follows:

Ideal for use as a thermally conductive dielectric barrier and to fill voids where thermal transfer and electrical isolation is important. This Kapton® polyimide tape is coated in silicone rubber for excellent electrical isolation and high dielectric performance. The silicone layer also provides a nonstick surface for heat transfer and easy disassembly. Thermal conductivity is 0.6 W/mK. Thermal impedance is 0.4° C in.2/W.

Tape consists of 0.001" of Kapton® polyimide film, 0.002" of silicone rubber, and 0.0015" of adhesive. Temperature range is "“20° to +300° F. 3-ft. rolls are wound without a spool; 54-ft. rolls have a cardboard spool.

The light bar is almost a year old and is performing perfectly.
 
Hi Nuke,
I am getting to work on my lighting for my tank and I have changed a few things around. I came up with a question on the drivers you are using. I bought the same ones and wanted to run 82 3w Cree's with 1 driver. My calculations 82x3.5 = 287. Reading the specs the max output is 285 so 82 won't work. What is the max I should use safelty? 81 or less than that. I will just have to readjust to make sure I am on the safe side. Thanks for all your help and inspiration. I will have my lights working next month and share some pictures with you.


Thanks Shannon
 
Your calculation looks a little conservative to me based on my actual measurements. I would stick to the 285 driver, you should not have any problems. My actual measurements of the light and voltages show lower than expected voltage from the calculated results. Your using 3.5 volts however I have found that most of my lights draw in the order of 3.3 volts.
 
So yes, I have not posted pictures for quite some time. My son who is the real photographer has not been around much. I must get him by with his real camera and video unit to get some good pictures.

Overall I am really happy with my tank and how it's developing. It's not on caliber with some of the tanks posted here but it's not bad for 8 or so months. It's been a year since I built the light but only started the tank for real last July.

The coral growth is steady and good. I think the colors are nice although you may not get the full effect from my cell phone pictures below. Growth has been excellent, most of my corals were very small colonies when started or even frags. Some came over from my 90 but a few are new to this tank and growing like weeds.

The fish are plenty healthy, no problems at all with them. Tank chemistry is stable and on the money. I don't do much in the way of chemistry any longer, just A&B daily and water changes once/month. My basement fuge is huge and is taking care of most everything. The skimmer is also huge and keeps up well with the tank. I don't even run my Ca reactor any longer.

Give it a few years if it continues to go this well and the tank will really be something to brag about.

I will try to get a video out of my son for youtube but in the mean time here are some shots from my cell phone.

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