Electrician here...If you need advice or help

[smalltime]

I stopped by the other day to check it out. It is insane! Paul does great work. I would trade my light setup for this anytime.

 

[Bui]

LED Driver

LED Driver

Hope I could get some input in regard to an LED driver I have.

the specs are as follow.

Input Voltage: 90 ~ 305Vac
Max. Output Power: 200W
Typical Efficiency: Up to 93.5%
Packaging: Waterproof Metal
High Power Factor: Typical 0.99
Ouput Current: 450mA/700mA/1050mA/1400mA

I want to know how many LEDs could I drive with this and could I setup in a way I could dim/turn off the blue seperate from the white.

Any help would be great and here is the link to the acutal products if need more info.

http://www.inventronics-co.com/pro_details.asp?info_kind=003002002007&ID=152

 

[bigdaddystar]

Well....I am a little confused as to of if that driver could power anything.....Its kind of a electronics question so dont let me steer you wrong....not my forte

It says that it can run 200w at 445vdc max...to my knowledge leds run typically on 12vdc-24vdc...It's not clear what the rating would be at those voltages.

Here is the formula to figure out the problem though:

You take the output source ( watts or amps) and divide it by the individual source in watts or amps.

example:

(typical)
100w divided by 1w = 100 1w leds
100w divided by 3w = 33 3w leds

or if you are using amps as a calculation

1a divided by 100ma = 100 100ma leds
1a divided by 300ma = 33 300ma leds

Hope I could get some input in regard to an LED driver I have.

the specs are as follow.

Input Voltage: 90 ~ 305Vac
Max. Output Power: 200W
Typical Efficiency: Up to 93.5%
Packaging: Waterproof Metal
High Power Factor: Typical 0.99
Ouput Current: 450mA/700mA/1050mA/1400mA

I want to know how many LEDs could I drive with this and could I setup in a way I could dim/turn off the blue seperate from the white.

Any help would be great and here is the link to the acutal products if need more info.

http://www.inventronics-co.com/pro_details.asp?info_kind=003002002007&ID=152

 

[bigdaddystar]

Thanks mike....I know I told ya you should have put one together....you still can...I know the old saying who's looking at the stand and canopy anyway when you should be looking at the tank but I like it to look presentable too even if it dosent really matter

I stopped by the other day to check it out. It is insane! Paul does great work. I would trade my light setup for this anytime.

 

[Bui]

Well....I am a little confused as to of if that driver could power anything.....Its kind of a electronics question so dont let me steer you wrong....not my forte

It says that it can run 200w at 445vdc max...to my knowledge leds run typically on 12vdc-24vdc...It's not clear what the rating would be at those voltages.

Here is the formula to figure out the problem though:

You take the output source ( watts or amps) and divide it by the individual source in watts or amps.

example:

(typical)
100w divided by 1w = 100 1w leds
100w divided by 3w = 33 3w leds

or if you are using amps as a calculation

1a divided by 100ma = 100 100ma leds
1a divided by 300ma = 33 300ma leds

Thanks...guess I kind of assume electrical and electronic know the same thing :>. That what i kind of figure too but needing confirmation otherwise it would be an expensive experience burning all those LEDs.


Now just need to know if I have to run 33 Leds or I could use less.

 

[bigdaddystar]

it is similar but its a broad spectrum and I would not want to be responsible for that exact thing happening....

Basically when dealing with electronics it is important to remember it is DC voltage for the most part and the important thing to make sure of is to match the appropriate voltage to the device....if they are 24v LEDS you have to use a 24v power supply....And yes if it is rated for say 33 LEDs you can put 1 or number adding up to 33 leds and you will be just fine what will happen if you put to many is that they will begin to dim but you can always put less.

best thing to do is test it if you are in doubt...splice 1 or a few leds to the power supply and see what happens..are they fully bright, over driven, or if they pop...this could save you time and headache.

 

[letsgofishin]

that ballast will work for a lot of leds but to answer your question you would need to pick an led to use... each led uses different amperage then other led's...there are also different ways to wire the leds.. series and parallel...

there are tons of websites that have led calculators and there is a relatively current thread here on so cal RC for an led build...

the driver/ballast you ahve is a nice one as it has different taps/legs to use...

and yes, electronics and electrical theory are similar but totally different.. typically electricians use 'high voltage' and electronics use low voltage, 24volts and less...

if you want a little trivia, look at power poles running down the street... typically you will see a lot of wires, some are higher and some are lower... the upper wires are high voltage so that the low voltage contractors dont have to work above or beyond what they know, as high voltage is dangerous...

cable and tv and other communications will be the lower wires....

 

[christygirl]

Hey Paul,

I met you yesterday at Ev'e house.

Your tank is real nice and I really like the canopy.

Randy

 

[bigdaddystar]

Thanks....you as well....let me know if you need a hand....I know you are going to want it on yours too....lol

Hey Paul,

I met you yesterday at Ev'e house.

Your tank is real nice and I really like the canopy.

Randy

 

[Jimbo327]

I have a question. My fans are really loud. The fans are 12v, and my power supply is 12v.

I have 2 Rasurbo canopy fans, and I'm wiring it in parallel to the 12v power supply.

Is there a way that I can run it at 9v or lower because I heard they make the fan more silent?

 

[speargunhunter]

Paul, Thanks for helping one of my customers with that weir electrical problem at his restaurant, he is very happy!!

 

[bigdaddystar]

No problem...thanks for calling me...I am glad I could get it figured out quickly....I was getting a little nervous that was a weird problem....but turned out to be a simple fix

Paul, Thanks for helping one of my customers with that weir electrical problem at his restaurant, he is very happy!!

 

[bigdaddystar]

Yeah they can be quite loud....lowering the voltage will of course slow the fans down which I am sure you already know...so they wont blow as hard...

There are 2 things you can do....you should be able to find a switch you can put in line that has variable resistors built in which will lower the speeds

or

Get a power supply that you can adjust the voltage....

You can easily find these online or at like radio shack most likely.

I have a question. My fans are really loud. The fans are 12v, and my power supply is 12v.

I have 2 Rasurbo canopy fans, and I'm wiring it in parallel to the 12v power supply.

Is there a way that I can run it at 9v or lower because I heard they make the fan more silent?

 

[letsgofishin]

radio shack has potentiometers and they will typically hav e three tabs, you will want to connect the center and end, (doesnt matter which), and it will change the resistance..

the key here though is what resistance... for that you need OHM's law... and there are lots of calculators online... but the basic formula is E=IxR or R=E/I (E = voltage and I = current)

you will need to find the current used by your fans and do the calculations, first for 12 volts with no resistance, then use that info to calculate for the lower voltage. It's been ions for me, but again, there are tons of online sites that will do the calcs for ya'.

good luck.


(or you can get a variable power supply, OR, you can wire the fans in series which will halve the voltage, (6volts each)

maybe good to test to see how much less the air flow is at that lower voltage and if that will work for you


you can also find different fans that spin at lower speeds at 12v?

 

[Jimbo327]

^ Can I use a 9V power supply instead of the 12v power supply? So this will run the fans slower...but not damage the fans? Thanks.

 

[letsgofishin]

im pretty sure it wont damage the fans... especially if they are the cheap fans... Maybe some digital fans or specialty fans might have some affect, but really not sure...

just make sure the power supply is dc if the fan is dc...(direct current).

you can use the cheap wall wart power supplies... most folk have a bunch left over somewhere in a drawer...

let us know how it works...

btw: it is always a great idea to put fuses in line with the power supply... (between the positive lead on the power supply to the positive wire on the fan...

the size of the fuse is a tad higher then the current rated on the fan...(but any fuse will be good)

you can find fuse holders at radio shack and auto parts stores... (it dont matter what style, glass, or those newer atc fuses for cars, or anything)

 

[bigdaddystar]

I made a bonehead electrical problem the other day (which I knew I was doing at the time) just thought I would share

In case any of you are using the cheapo 99 cent extension cords...the ones that have 3 plugs ins on them...dont....ever

I needed to extend a couple koralias and I threw one in the mix it caught some salt creep and started to melt away from arcing....These stupid cords should never be used for anything they are a fire hazard waiting to happen.

 

[rort]

Hey Paul,

I used to live in southern California but am currently in Hawaii and trying to get a fish/breeding room set up. I have a pretty good idea of what the system will be like but I the basement area it will be in has no power anywhere. I will only be running one good sized pump, along with some airstones, protein skimmer pumps, and a few HOB filters.

Is this something I could do myself (not very experienced with electrical) or would I have to call in an electrician?

THANK YOU in advance!!

 

[bigdaddystar]

as always you should call an electrician....it's the safest route...but obviously we all do it ourselves to save money.

But is it difficult? depends.

If you are not comfortable or familiar with electrical dont attempt it.

if you are then here are a couple things you can do:

Best thing to do is run a deddicated circuit to the basement from the panel (if I were you I would run a couple always better for future) This is moderately difficult to do yourself.

Next best thing and this is quite easy:
It being a basement you might see electrical wiring exposed already...try to determine what those lines do (you will need an electrical tester known as a proximity tester or hot stick as we call them) you can shut off a breaker until you find the one that kills it...then track down what else it killed (plugs, lights, etc) then decide if this would be a good circuit to tap into. I am sure there is a light down there but this is not always a good idea to use lights circuits

If there are no wires exposed you will want to run a line down from a plug up above....for me this is quite easy being I have specialty tools for the job...for you it will probably entail cutting a small hole in the drywall to put the wires in the elctrical box and drill down through the stud to hit the basement.

good luck and always turn off the power first and test it before you touch it and you will have no problems getting shocked

 

[rort]

Ya... I am not comfortable with that so I will not be attempting it! haha

I will probably call an electrician in the next week, but what price range can I expect this to be around? I just don't want to be too shocked if he hands me a bill that is crazy expensive!!