DIY LED Array build

[sphil876p]

Hello, I have been lurking here on RC for a while and have been an avid reader of the DIY forum. I am very grateful for all of the instruction and great projects here, and hope that somehow posting my progress on my LED array build might contribute to this forum. I am not an electrical professional, and can not offer any advice along those lines, but I have posted a couple of questions on the large Led writeup thread and received answers to my engineering type questions. The goal of this project is to plan design and build a safe properly working LED array that will replace a 250 Watt Double Ended metal halide fixture I am currently running over my frag tank. I have started the testing and wiring phase of my project. The array will consist of Cree XRE white, and Royal blue leds. I originally wanted to run 2 strings of 15 Leds, but have been advised that 14 would probably be the safer number per string. I chose to use Meanwell LED drivers for my setup based upon their ability to wire into the mains power supply (standard 110 electrical outlet). As I have stated I do not have much electrical wiring exp. and wanted to avoid wiring multiple buckpuck drivers along with an additional power supply. Here is what I have wired so far......

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0250.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0250.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0239.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0239.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[JoshuaG]

Looking forward to seeing this!! I have 3 of those drivers myself, just waiting on the LED's before I start my build. If you could, take as many pics as you can of the wiring process etc

 

[sphil876p]

Got it covered, I have already wired the Pot to both drivers and have 15 leds mounted and wired for testing..... I used a prebuilt pot so I did not have to try to engineer one from Radio Shack. Here is a picture of the pot.

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0230.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0230.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



I know most people will want to order these drivers with the external dimming function. I am second guessing that decision, though because if you remove the cover these drivers already have pots for adjusting the output voltage, and current. I think it would probably be more convenient to use the dimmable version though because the pot can be mounted outside of the fixture.

 

[james3370]

fwiw....the dimmable version of the meanwells has a 4-wire output side wire (the same 2 wires for the LEDs & 2 to wire to the pot). pretty much the same as the wire leads on the buckpuck

as seen on the spec sheet for them:
http://www.powergatellc.com/pdfs/ELN-60.pdf

clickable thumb:

 

[sphil876p]

Thanks for linking that data sheet Next I have wired up the 0-10v pots to both drivers for dimming. I have a drawer full of wall warts that the electronics they powered died long ago. I had 2 of these and they seem to work, so if anyone knows that these will cause problems due to the voltage or amperage let me know.

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0253.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0253.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Also forgot to note where I procured the 0-10V pot.......
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DE-SWADJ.htm

 

[JoshuaG]

Is that letting you dim the lights pretty good? How do you have it connected to the driver? By that I mean how are the wires hooked up from the power supply to the voltage reg to the driver DIM + and -

 

[sphil876p]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15272975#post15272975 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JoshuaG
Is that letting you dim the lights pretty good? How do you have it connected to the driver? By that I mean how are the wires hooked up from the power supply to the voltage reg to the driver DIM + and -

1st question=yes it does dim the LEDs significantly....
Take a look at the drawing that james3370 posted.....
The output side of the driver has 4 wires.......
Red= positive to LED string
Black= negative from LED string
Blue= supplied voltage from pot 0-10V marked on pot "Vout"
White= negative tied to negative from wall wart soldered to "grnd" on pot
then solder positive from wall wart to pot terminal labeled "Vin"
Hope that makes sense

 

[JoshuaG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15273102#post15273102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sphil876p
1st question=yes it does dim the LEDs significantly....
Take a look at the drawing that james3370 posted.....
The output side of the driver has 4 wires.......
Red= positive to LED string
Black= negative from LED string
Blue= supplied voltage from pot 0-10V marked on pot "Vout"
White= negative tied to negative from wall wart soldered to "grnd" on pot
then solder positive from wall wart to pot terminal labeled "Vin"
Hope that makes sense

After I drew it up it makes sense Correct me if I'm wrong.

Power supply positive to V-In.
Power supply negative to Ground
White(Dim-) on driver to Ground.
Blue(Dim+) on driver to Vout.

 

[sphil876p]

Correct JoshuaG.....

Update: I ordered the rest of the royal blue LEDs and optics that I need to finish this array and complete a second. I ordered the blues and optics from Anna at Etg Corp http://www.etgtech.com/ I got this source from another forum that has alot of info about LED lighting. The postman left me a registered package pickup notice today, and it says I can pickup my package that has arrived from Hong Kong. Translation: the 35 pieces of these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394 I ordered are here
Here is what I have mounted to my heatsink so far.....

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0254.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0254.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[JoshuaG]

Ah you jerk, no wonder Anna was out of Royal Blues when I called her today, haha!

Nice pickup on the whites from DE, how long did it take for you to get them?

 

[chazde3]

Why are there 15 wired in a series? I thought the max these could run in a series on one string was 13 leds.

 

[sphil876p]

The Meanwell power supplies have adjustable current and voltage. Bottom left of this pic shows one of the adjustment screws, and the second is straight through the large aluminum block.

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0227.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0227.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The first supply tested at 53.4V 800MA

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0237.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0237.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I thought I could push the conventional thought of only 13 LEDs per string, and run 15 per. I posted the question on the LED writeup thread and it seems that I might be safer at 14. I believe that these supplies can run 14 safely if they will drive 53 or 54V. The second driver is running at 54.5V :eek2:

When I get the rest of the LEDs mounted later this week I will take the string down to 14 and test the voltage and current.

If anyone wishes to see any additional specific pics of any of the components I have used this far please feel free to request.......

 

[sphil876p]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15277505#post15277505 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JoshuaG
Ah you jerk, no wonder Anna was out of Royal Blues when I called her today, haha!

Nice pickup on the whites from DE, how long did it take for you to get them?

Unfortunately Anna said they will not ship untill Thurs this week, so no royals before the holiday weekend.....the whites I pick up tomorrow and that should keep me busy for a while

I placed my order with Deal extreme on 6/11........
Free shipping with that pricing I will wait a few weeks
My wife is still not convinced how much money this project is really going to save in the long run.

 

[sphil876p]

Just got back from the Post office and have my package of white LEDs in hand......
First look: each led is individually bubble wrapped and in a bubble mailer. It looks like everything arrived in great condition. They ship them regestered air mail, and once they actually got them in stock they arrived in about one week. That makes for one customer here. This is the second batch I have ordered from Deal Extreme and both experiences have been the same......


Now for the receiving of the merchandise............

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0258.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0258.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Also, I have some pics of how the optics work on the Leds. If you use the Cree leds I would strongly suggest that you buy the Cree optics they are only 1$ ea from ETG Corp and do not require any modification to mount. They are designed to "friction fit" on top of the mounted Led.

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0263.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0263.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0264.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0264.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0265.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0265.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[JoshuaG]

Nice!! Any plans on how you are mounting the heatsink to the tank?

 

[jjaroska]

could you send the exact link for the royal blues and also the optics?

 

[sphil876p]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15280785#post15280785 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JoshuaG
Nice!! Any plans on how you are mounting the heatsink to the tank?

Yes.....

I have assembled a 1/4" acrylic fixture. It is just a basic rectangle with a flange that can be hung or flush mounted in a canopy. I am in the process of building a small fish room, and upgrading to a 120 gal tank so I wanted to keep my options open.....I have painted the inside of the fixture black and cut slots for forced air to move over the fins of the sink and out of the fixture. The bottom will be clear and act as a splash guard. Once I get the LEDs mounted and the wiring cleaned up I will take pics of the total package.

 

[sphil876p]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15281006#post15281006 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjaroska
could you send the exact link for the royal blues and also the optics?

Unfortunatley ETG Corp's website is not easily navigated, and I can't find the items on their web site. Everyone that is purchasing their Royal blue leds and optics are contacting Anna Lopez directly by phone 310 202 6400 or email anna@etgtech.com. If you contact Anna and request a quote she will help you directly.
She is dealing with all of our orders here at RC and also at Nano reef. She is very familiar with what we reefers are looking for and responds quickly. If you are looking for specs on the royal blues you can look here... http://www.ledsupply.com/creexre-rb.php As far as the optics go just ask for 40 degree if you are looking for 250 watt metal halide type numbers or 60 degree for 150 watt. It just depends on your particular setup, to use optics or not and which degree. I am using a combination so I can put strong light down to sandbed and also not blast the corals that are higher up in the reef structure. That is the really neat thing about these LED fixtures, the ability to customize it to your needs....... HTH

 

[sphil876p]

Worked on the project some this evening, removed one of the white LEDs from my first string. Still have to drill and tap a few more holes, and wait for my Royal Blue LED shipment to arrive
I will try to test the string tomorrow and post pics with the voltage and amperage measurements if my time permits........

 

[sphil876p]

Update: I was able to remove one of the white LEDs from the original string of 15, so now I am planning to run 14 per
I dialed down the dimming pot before I switched the power on so as not to put too much amperage through the string since I reduced the load. Then I slowly raised the external pot until it tested at 950MA. Next I adjusted the current adjustment pot inside the Meanwell until started to raise the current past 950MA and brought it back. So, what I hope I have accomplished is to set the max current that can flow through the string at 950MA.

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0276.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0276.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Now the voltage is reading 50.6V while driving this load. I guess the driver has regulated down to this due to what is wired up to it......if any of the Electrical gurus want to weigh in an let me know how this happens, and that I am now running in the "Safe Zone" I would be grateful.......

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0279.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0279.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Also, as what I think will be extra insurance to prevent blown or shorted LEDs I placed an in line glass fuse holder and 1A glass fuse to the positive connection to the string. I purchased these at my local Radio Shack. Someone please weigh in if this will not protect my array do to some lack of understanding on my part.....


<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/?action=view&current=PICT0285.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w64/sphil876/reef%20pictures/PICT0285.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>