DIY LEDs - The write-up

[S2minute]

LEDs

LEDs

So is Cutter shipping the Cree XM series yet?

I'm planning on placing an order pretty soon to get a pile of royal blue XP-Es as well as a few warm white XP-Gs to use in a (terrestrial plant) grow light I'm making.

But I'd also like to go ahead and tie 5 of the XM series LEDs onto a $7 laptop charger w/resistor and run them at the full 3 amps they're rated for, and retrofit them into a floor lamp for a cool clean 5,000 lumens.

So has anyone gotten any of the XM LEDs yet?

So ummmmm ah...what kind of plants you trying to grow Wid? :dance:

 

[kcress]

He's a pharmissisisist...

 

[S2minute]

LEDs

LEDs

He's a pharmissisisist...

By day yes ....but at night? :bounce3:

 

[PurpleMonster]

Thanks again guys! much appreciated.

 

[sahin]

Can someone please tell me if this will cause problems: I want to wire up a small backup fan into my diy led setup (ie to run off the meanwell driver). Basically I'll be running 12 Cree RB's on a Meanwell LPC35-700. The fan is like 1.5inch small and draws only 0.16A, so not much current at all. Do I wire it in series with the led's or sort of parallel by itself into the circuit? Help/advice is really appreciated. Thanks.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

You CANNOT run a fan on the output side of the LPC. You need to use a completely separate power supply. The most straightforward option is to get a cheap 12v wall wart.

 

[widmer]

Why not on the output of the meanwell in parallel with the led string and in series with a resistor to eat up that extra voltage? It's such a low current that there wouldn't be thaaat much waste..

 

[kcress]

Yes Widdy and when that fan gets a dose of the 50V out of that Astrodyne what will it think?

You'd have to set up a voltage regulator using a Zener and probably a capacitor along with a resistor. Then run the fan off of the resulting voltage. You'd certainly want a resistor in the LED-only chain so you could measure the actual LED string current.

 

[widmer]

LOL won't it think "gee I'm glad I can only see 10 of those 50 volts because I'm in series with a resistor that's eating 40 of them" ? Maybe I don't know enough about the way the meanwells work..

 

[kcress]

Recall that the voltage drop across a resistor ONLY occurs when a current is flowing - no current - zero drop. So if the fan's bushless commutation electronics pause long enough for power up to complete you won't have enough current to drop much voltage initially.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Ok, I suppose technically I was wrong when I said "CANNOT." :lol: However I feel that my advice is still sound. Rigging the fan wound require a pile of electronics that the average hobbyist probably won't understand, and will impact the typical approach to building/running LEDs (you can't take the driver's output for granted any more, you can't dim the driver, if the LEDs and/or fan have problems or a failure things are going to get scary, and so on). It's akin to rigging a farm tractor into a boat so you can go fishing. You might as well just buy a proper boat. IMHO, leave the current regulated power sources to devices that want a constant current, and use a voltage regulated power source for devices that want a constant voltage.

 

[widmer]

good points gentlemen

 

[PurpleMonster]

Here i go again! final time i promise lol....

Lighting a 36X30X18, all SPS are within a 28" area, there is gap between the wall and rockwork/coral of about 3-4" each side. The back has about 3" of space between the rock work and wall. The front has about 4-5" of space between the wall and SPS(rock is closer) i left plenty of swimming space for all the fish. New hopefully final idea! im so ready to purchase already!

2 Heatsinks(23X4.25 each) 48 led's, 24 on each heat sink. Will space both modules apart to get more coverage from the front to rear. With 80deg optics and on some LED's no optics. This i belive should give me plenty of spread, and this will also leave me some upgradeability for later upgrade. When i decide to go with larger tank simply add another 2 23X4.5 heatsinks to have a total of 4 Modules. This should provide enough coverage at 96 LED's LED sprea will be at about 2.5" to 3" apart.

I hope this seems reasonable otherwise at the money im going to spend for this retro i will just go with some SOL Blue lol, Thanks again guys you are all awesome!

 

[^GeNoME^]

Dear all.. how do i ground my DIY led setup? will be using LPC35-700 for 12 XPG LED.. the driver will be inside the lighting fixture attached to an aluminium plate(acts as a heat sink for my LEDs). As i will be using 3 pin plug with a ground wire, can i just use that wire and fix it to the aluminium plate as a form of grounding?

secondly, how do i install a switch to my lighting setup? Can i just put the switch into the LED circuit and acts like a form of circuit breaker? Or do i have to break the AC power? will b using this kind of push button as a switch (rated at 3A240VAC)

How do i connect it? I understand that i have got to break the "Hot" line but there are 4 pins on my switch and am not sure which 1 to go to which..

 

[wld1783]

Can someone please tell me if this will cause problems: I want to wire up a small backup fan into my diy led setup (ie to run off the meanwell driver). Basically I'll be running 12 Cree RB's on a Meanwell LPC35-700. The fan is like 1.5inch small and draws only 0.16A, so not much current at all. Do I wire it in series with the led's or sort of parallel by itself into the circuit? Help/advice is really appreciated. Thanks.

I would just go with a 3.5" cool tron fan and a 12Vdc supply. Just lay it on the top of the heatsink.Total cost less than 15 bucks. They are quiet 23db and last. The current draw is next to nothing.

Keep It Simple

Bill

 

[wld1783]

Here i go again! final time i promise lol....

Lighting a 36X30X18, all SPS are within a 28" area, there is gap between the wall and rockwork/coral of about 3-4" each side. The back has about 3" of space between the rock work and wall. The front has about 4-5" of space between the wall and SPS(rock is closer) i left plenty of swimming space for all the fish. New hopefully final idea! im so ready to purchase already!

2 Heatsinks(23X4.25 each) 48 led's, 24 on each heat sink. Will space both modules apart to get more coverage from the front to rear. With 80deg optics and on some LED's no optics. This i belive should give me plenty of spread, and this will also leave me some upgradeability for later upgrade. When i decide to go with larger tank simply add another 2 23X4.5 heatsinks to have a total of 4 Modules. This should provide enough coverage at 96 LED's LED sprea will be at about 2.5" to 3" apart.

I hope this seems reasonable otherwise at the money im going to spend for this retro i will just go with some SOL Blue lol, Thanks again guys you are all awesome!

If you have an APEX go with the ELN 60-48D drivers so you can have an awesome sunrise and sunset. Also use fans on the heatsinks as they will get hot.

Another option is an 23x8.46 heatsink from www.heatsinkusa.com.

Bill

 

[PurpleMonster]

Thanks bill D's are deff in my list of to buy so i can have just that , Thanks for the link!

 

[Milad]

can someone suggest some LED moonlighting? Ill be using an APEX to dim them. Anyone give some input on how they did their moon lights?

 

[Flazky]

Hello
I have a question as I am a big noob to this and have read quite a bit, but no one seemed to cover this.

If I am going to use 4 ELN-60-48D drivers and want a dimmer for 24 blues, and a dimmer for 24 whites, I am going to need 2 wall warts and 2 Pots? One wall wart and pot for 2 drivers? And if so, do I just connect the 2 drivers to the 1 pot by sticking 2 wires (from each driver) onto one prong (of the pot?)

 

[kcress]

Dear all.. how do i ground my DIY led setup? will be using LPC35-700 for 12 XPG LED.. the driver will be inside the lighting fixture attached to an aluminium plate(acts as a heat sink for my LEDs). As i will be using 3 pin plug with a ground wire, can i just use that wire and fix it to the aluminum plate as a form of grounding?

secondly, how do i install a switch to my lighting setup? Can i just put the switch into the LED circuit and acts like a form of circuit breaker? Or do i have to break the AC power? will b using this kind of push button as a switch (rated at 3A240VAC)

How do i connect it? I understand that i have got to break the "Hot" line but there are 4 pins on my switch and am not sure which 1 to go to which..

Yes, ground your aluminum to the ground wire. You can use a ring terminal under a screw.


As for that switch. You need to break the AC power NOT THE LED STRING.

That is a lit switch which makes NO sense on a light fixture that lights up when it's on. :lmao:

If you insist, two of those terminals are just to run the lamp. All lamps have a required voltage. You'd need to know what that one is and supply that power whenever the switch is on. The only one that would be easy for a typical commercial driver would be the 120Vac the switch is directly controlling. You'd just hook the lamp up to the switched side of the power - like the driver.

I'd probably ditch that switch and use a double pole - single throw switch. Those switches completely separate the power wires from the fixture when in the OFF position. With that single pole switch only one line is disconnected. That means if something, like the wall outlet, is miswired you'll still have the HOT conductor hooked up - even with the switch OFF.