DIY LEDs - The write-up

[stealle]

Actually if there is something like this pic...

Only using the meanwell driver and showing the 0-10v DC analog signal wire connecting to a controller would sum it all up.

Perhaps the 0-10v DC analog wire is as simple as a wire going from the meanwell driver to the controller. I think I just need to know things like does the meanwell take the same kind of power supply ect.

 

[schatzi]

So I've tried to read the entire thread but it's HUGE, so, my apologies if this question is answered somewhere in here already...I have 125G (72x18x24) reef how many LED's would I need to use? An answer based on lumens per gallon or someone who has this size tank and uses LED's and gets nice coverage is what I'm looking for. Thanks

 

[stugray]

stealle

Does this help?

Stu

 

[widmer]

Excellent setup I'd say.

I presume that you are going to have these two strips sort of pointing...um.. ah... cross-eyed? To keep all the light in the tank?


BTW: What happened with your supply and capacitor was probably the over-current protection. A big cap looks like a dead short on power up. Your supply decided that it was feeding a problem and tripped its protection.

You are correct about the cross-eyed idea. It will be such a fine angle though, that I've made it easy to adjust the tilt of the heatsinks. This is also cool because as I change aquarium setups etc I will be able to adjust accordingly in the future.

The over-current protection idea makes enough sense. That's OK though, because after all I don't mind having the power supply up in the air, being that it's got a lot of exposed electronics including the household current poles, which I would feel obligated to somehow enclose if the power supply stayed on the ground.

Anyways I have virtually all of my parts now as the optics did indeed arrive today. However, I need to pick up a little more hardware before finishing. Here's what I've accomplished today, hopefully it will be done tomorrow:

Notice the plexi glass on the top and bottom, this is to channel the air which will be blowing through.

Here's a shot of the underside. There will be a strip of nine LEDs along the bottom of each heatsink.

 

[stugray]

Widmer -

Looks very Nice!

It doesnt appear that you have any acrylic over the LED area of the heatsink.

I guess I read a ays back that you are going WAY up over the tank.
How high, or maybe you dont know till you fire it up?

can you tell me the model of that supply?

Stu

 

[kcress]

wid; Looks pretty techy.

If ever there were heat sinks that don't need a fan those would be them.

If that's the standard MBwhatever $19 supply you are not staining it either. So it wouldn't need a fan either.

You could try it out and see. If it all stays easy to touch you could avoid the dust blasters.

So what are you using for current control again?

 

[Jtro]

Ok getting ready to pull the trigger and haven't found all the answers to my question Currently have a 240 tank 31 tall planning on going LED I am limited to how high I can come of the top to about 6 inches on the front and ten inches in the back it is partially in the wall .Planning on Cree XR-E5 and the royal blues 50/50 mix may experiment with that a bit but like the look of that from what Ive seen.Also planning on using the meanwells 60-48D.Would like to control them using my Apex but this is where i cant seem to find the answers I am looking for on how to do that.Thinking in the range of 72 whites 72 blues.Does that sound about right?
Thanks for the help
Jim
parts list so far

72 cree xr-e5
72 cree royal blue
14 meanwell 60-48D
Heatsink for leds
wiring
fans

 

[stealle]

stealle

Does this help?

Stu

Yes, that's great! Thanks!!!

I need a little clarification though.

1. Do the meanwells convert from AC to DC. Is that why you don't need a power supply?

2. The controller (Profilux in my case) is not actually providing power to the LEDs, right? It just provides a signal or enough voltage (0-10V) to "tell" the meanwell drivers how much to output, correct?

3. Has anyone done any PAR readings with and without an acrylic cover. I'm just surprised widmer didn't extend that acrylic to cover the LEDs. I wouldn't think an acrylic cover would significantly impair output.

 

[jma1978]

Yes, that's great! Thanks!!!

I need a little clarification though.

1. Do the meanwells convert from AC to DC. Is that why you don't need a power supply?

2. The controller (Profilux in my case) is not actually providing power to the LEDs, right? It just provides a signal or enough voltage (0-10V) to "tell" the meanwell drivers how much to output, correct?

3. Has anyone done any PAR readings with and without an acrylic cover. I'm just surprised widmer didn't extend that acrylic to cover the LEDs. I wouldn't think an acrylic cover would significantly impair output.

1. Correct
2. Correct
3. I did PAR readings with an 1/8" acrylic sheet and it reduced PAR by 6-7%.

 

[MontyJack]

Hi Stealle,
I don't want to butt in Stus nice and clear explanation, but I'm on the same path now with my build.
1. The MW has an AC to DC supply onboard. And the output amperage and voltage is adjustable (see the spec.)

2. No, the PL is just providing the dimming channel. But just up to 10mA. The MW needs 3.3mA. So you can put just 3 MW on one channel unless you amplify it somehow (like I'm about to do).


3. I cannot answer this question and I'm also curious about the differences in PAR by using acrylic or not and the high standoff like Widmer is about to apply???!!!

!!And Widmer,
that looks really nice what you have done so far.:thumbsup:
It's nice that people start again to put pictures in the posts!!!

Monty

 

[widmer]

Widmer -

Looks very Nice!

It doesnt appear that you have any acrylic over the LED area of the heatsink.

I guess I read a ays back that you are going WAY up over the tank.
How high, or maybe you dont know till you fire it up?

can you tell me the model of that supply?

Stu

Thanks for the comments :dance:

Correct there is no acrylic over the LED area; It does not serve any sort of protective purpose, but rather simply to help channel air that will be coming off of the fans.

It will in fact be about 5 feet up off of the water surface. Thus, no splash shield necessary.

Here is my power supply. It looks different in my picture because I have bent the back panel upward to accommodate more airflow which may indeed not be necessary at all :rollface: http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=16854+PS

 

[widmer]

wid; Looks pretty techy.

If ever there were heat sinks that don't need a fan those would be them.

If that's the standard MBwhatever $19 supply you are not staining it either. So it wouldn't need a fan either.

You could try it out and see. If it all stays easy to touch you could avoid the dust blasters.

So what are you using for current control again?

Yea it does look sort of techy... To be honest I just wanted to make it as simple as possible without being flimsy.

My current control is 3x 1000mA wired buck puck w/pot from ledsupply. I'm just about to wire it up but:

Question: The wires coming off of the buck pucks are 24 gauge aluminum, which is really tiny wire. Can this really carry a full amp? I was going to use 24 gauge stranded copper between the LEDs because the only other wire I have laying around is 14 gauge. But then I came across this table:

http://www.cablesandconnectors.com/wiregauge.html

It says that the maximum amperage for power transmission for 24 awg wire is 0.577 A. So now I'm wondering if I can use the 24 awg copper stranded? And why did the buck puck mfgr wire it up with 24 awg leads??

 

[widmer]

!!And Widmer,
that looks really nice what you have done so far.:thumbsup:
It's nice that people start again to put pictures in the posts!!!

Monty

Thanks :beer: Be sure to watch out for the separate build thread that I hopefully put up this week.

 

[kcress]

wid; That is NOT aluminum wire it is tinned copper.


Also you aren't doing 'transmission' so that number goes up.
Don't sweat it.

Also Techy is cool in my book. I hope you didn't think I was denigrating it.

 

[widmer]

wid; That is NOT aluminum wire it is tinned copper.


Also you aren't doing 'transmission' so that number goes up.
Don't sweat it.

Also Techy is cool in my book. I hope you didn't think I was denigrating it.

Glad ur online today. I actually don't know a thing about this, could you explain how I'm not doing transmission with the wire? I read it as transmission=conducting electricity..?

Also, if you were me, would you use the 24 awg stranded copper or I could get ahold of some 16 awg stranded copper if that would be better for connecting up the LEDs to the buck pucks??? I'd love some advice on this since I have no clue...

 

[kcress]

Transmission is sending the power over an extended distance not within a machine which is what you're doing. Remaining within a machine. Your fixture.

I'd use 24 or 22 AWG.

I would NEVER use 16AWG. The smaller wire just means your BP doesn't have to drop quite as much voltage internally. It means you will have just slightly less V available at the string which means nothing at all if you have enough as the BP is busy reducing the V at the string to maintain the desired current.

 

[widmer]

Great I'm all set then. It's quite possible it really will be wired up by tonight...

 

[stugray]

Widmer,

I cant find a datasheet for that power supply.

Could you please post the names of all the pins on the pinout terminal strip?

It looks like you have seven.
Most of them should be:

AC in 1
AC in 2
AC GND

DC Out +
DC Out -

Thats five. What do the other two say?
They could be an external control ( on off or voltage adjust )
OR they might be a set of "sense lines" that might solve your problem and allow you to put the supply a long ways away without any regulation problems.

Stu

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I'm not widmer but I have several of the same power supply. It has two sets of output terminals, hence the total of 7.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Also planning on using the meanwells 60-48D.Would like to control them using my Apex but this is where i cant seem to find the answers I am looking for on how to do that.

See the answers on this very page about controlling with a profilux. It'll be the same thing from the hardware side. From the software side, it's up to you.

Thinking in the range of 72 whites 72 blues.Does that sound about right?

Yeah, more or less, depending on desired intensity, drive current, etc.

72 cree xr-e5
72 cree royal blue
14 meanwell 60-48D
Heatsink for leds
wiring
fans

Sounds good!