DIY LEDs - The write-up

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There is no way to know the bin info (or even sometimes the actual model and color) when buying star-mounted LEDs from a hobby vendor other than to take the seller's word for it, assuming you don't have sophisticated test equipment. Hence it is critical to buy from a reputable vendor.
 
Ok guys, I went to fire part of the 300 build up and something odd happened. The LED's were flickering and when I changed the POT it would start to light up. Then for 10 or so seconds it turned on when the pot was turned all the way up then cut off. Now its not turning on?

No fuses were blown so nothing was out of whack.

Any thoughts, possibly something wired incorrectly?

-Dave
 
Sounds like a loos connection. Go back and check them all. If all are behaving the same then check the power in and the dimming circuit. If on string check that string.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
There is no way to know the bin info (or even sometimes the actual model and color) when buying star-mounted LEDs from a hobby vendor other than to take the seller's word for it, assuming you don't have sophisticated test equipment. Hence it is critical to buy from a reputable vendor.
Click to expand...

That sucks, at least the XR-E has some branding on it, but the XP-G... I cant even tell if I bought ones from ebay or steve's leds.... really hard to tell... so i guess i just rely on the vendor then.

Thank you.
 
Thanks Der and Fish. I am thinking that it is a loose connection because they were on and when I moved the driver a POT around it would flicker and then it would start to work again and then stopped. If it was a short it would have done it quicker, plus using the thermal pads stops the wires from touching metal. I'll look into both :)

I had jury duty from 8-4:30 and my head is fried after wiring this thing up.

Again thanks for your input.

-Dave
 
Milad said:
how are people wiring multiple fans? what do you use as your power source?
Im doing a 72in 144 led fixture and i got a feeling I need something like 12 fans but Im not sure how I should wire them all in. i dont want 12 wall warts, ideally just 1 for all the fans.
Click to expand...

As long as all of those fans are all the same voltage ie: 12 volts, then you can run them in parallel. Check for amps usage of each fan and add them up so you know what to look for on a 12 volt power supply. Most of the time if these are computer fans then they run on milliamps then just add them all up to get the total amps.

The problem with putting all of it on a single 12 volts supply is that you can only do 1 on and off for all of it that can be put on a timer. So maybe you can divide them on how you divide your lights? Maybe 2 groups or maybe even 4 groups? Then thats how many 12 volt ps you will need to run your fans.

In my case Im using the same 12 volts supply to run my fans and also control my driver/s (10 volts). That way I only have one 12 volts supply to run 2 fans and 2 meanwell 48D drivers.

Hope this helps.
 
Oblivionis said:
I have a 12 XR-E fixture suspended 7 inches over my 20 gallon tank. Do I need lenses? Do they actually make the fixture provide more light or are they just for spreading/narrowing the light?
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Lenses will collect a lot of the light that is otherwise spilling out into the room and direct it down into your tank. I would guess that the majority of the light your LEDs produce is either going straight out over the edge of the tank, or bouncing off the water because it's hitting at such a wide angle due to your not using lenses.

I basically would always recommend lenses so that they can A) cut down on annoying light spillage and B) allow you to either provide more light to the coral, dim the LEDs so that you're using less electricity, and/or mount the fixture higher above the aquarium.
 
DFason said:
Ok guys, I went to fire part of the 300 build up and something odd happened.
-Dave
Click to expand...


You should be very careful if you're doing a large parallel rig. You could have one or a few strings take it all and toast. Or get lots of blowing fuses.

I'd really try to test each string and even measure the forward total Vf if possible before running them all.
 
What kind of setup would I be looking at if I was to try and build something for my 210? Would like to be setup for sps

Its 72x24x29h

THanks Levi
 
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Ok I'm stumped. I wanted to make sure nothing was fried from last night. So I de-soldered the leads to the LED strings I was testing. Hooked a LPC-700 up to each string and they all fire fine. I go back, check my wiring on the HLG and the 9v wall wart and everything looks good to go.

A few questions. The LED wiring from the unit to the driver is around 15-20'. Could this be a factor? Should I place the drivers on top of the unit and run a long AC cord to the driver? I know pucks dont do well when they are far away from the LED's them selves. What I dont understand is that the first time I fired them up it worked, and then suddenly turned off. No fuses blew, nothing.

Here is the data sheet
http://www.cdiweb.com/datasheets/meanwell/HLG-240H-spec.pdf

I am running a regulated 9v wall wart ( right on 9.16 ) and the normal 10k pot.

Any help would be great. I'm ready to test away :)
 
What is the voltage coming out of the HLG? This may give us a hint as to the problem. IIRC the lenght is OK, but shorter would be better - what size wire did you use?
 
I just took the terminals off the output to test the voltage coming out. Dead on 42. I used 22 for each LED and 24 on the terminal blocks to driver.

-Dave
 
If i am reading this right you used 22 between your LEDs and then to a terminal block. From the terminal block back to the driver you used 24. How many runs of 24 gauge? That is smaller than 22 it would have better if you reversed them. Do you have andy heavier wire you can replace the 24 with? With the LEDs connected what is the output of the driver, at the terminal block, and across the LED string?
 
24 gauge wire has a resistance (from a chart I found online) of .25 ohms per 10 feet. Say 20 feet that is 1/2 and ohm. The voltage drop is I * R so if you are putting 4 amps through the wire then there is a 2 volts drop from the wire. That only leaves 40 volts for the LEDs it should be enough, but if you have any bad solder joints or something maybe you are not getting enough voltage. So the important one is the voltage across the LEDs.
 
22 for each LED. 24 for to the terminals and to the driver. I do have 20 gauge I could try to connect the terminals to the driver.

When I go to test the output, should I test them on the resistors?

-Dave
 
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