Runner
Active member
As some of you know, I have been retrofitting my JBJ Lighting 24G Nano hood with LEDs. This is basically what I've done. I consider this a "dry run" or "outline" of what I will post in the DIY forum once I've completed a functional hood.
The basic LED fixture is a 6" x 9" aluminum heat sink with Cree 3W XP-G White and XR-E Royal Blue LEDs mounted on it. I drilled and and tapped for 4-40 screws and used nylon screws to attached the LEDS. To increase heat transfer, I applied Arctic Silver thermal paste between the star boards and the heatsink.
I think used 26 AWG stranded UL1007 wire (rated at 105C) to connect a string of 6 white and 6 blue LEDs. I pre-tinned the wires to keep the "touch-time" down between my butane soldering iron and the LED star board pads. I went on to connect the other 4 blue LEDs on another circuit. (Note that the thing that looks like a spider, below, was a dead LED that I used to practice soldering before I did the work on the real thing)
After getting a loan light for my tank (thanks, Spencer), I gutted the PC fixtures out of my hood and measured off the correct dimensions for my acrylic cover. I did not span the entire width of the hood because I wanted to bypass the existing air-intake vents. I intend to cut new vents directly over the heatsink fins.
I used a table saw armed with a plastic-cutting blade to cut the face plate and the side panels. I buffed out the scratches on the main cover facing (thanks to Mark at Aquatic Marine for the help there) and then taped everything into roughly the proper shape (with some overhang).
After leaching in the Weld On 4 into the cracks of the plastic, I applied pressure with the largest books I had available. I am not sure Wayne Grudem would approve...
After welding the acrylic together, I protected the cover plate with painting tape and used a router to trim off the excess. I then used a piece of paper to trace out the rough shape of the hood profile. I transfered this to a piece of wood that was roughly the width of the acrylic and routed it into the approximate shape needed to fit in the hood. After I was satisfied with the fit, I transfered the shape to the plastic and routed it using the wood as a guide as much as possible.
After routing both sides, I used a table saw to cut the front and back sides down to the proper height. My intent is a 3/8" overhang below the hood -- which gives me about 1/4" to 1/2" clearance over the water. I used the table saw to cut out holes for the fans and cables after marking the proper locations. The end result fit snug enough that I am not worried about the effect of the air leaks.
So this is where the design stands:
To complete the fixture, I will buy some screws and spacers to mount the heatsink to the cover and the cover to the fixture. I will also pick up a couple of fuse holders and wire up the power supplies. Then I am done (except for tweaking the lighting levels if I have too much PAR to start with -- a problem I hope to have ).
The basic LED fixture is a 6" x 9" aluminum heat sink with Cree 3W XP-G White and XR-E Royal Blue LEDs mounted on it. I drilled and and tapped for 4-40 screws and used nylon screws to attached the LEDS. To increase heat transfer, I applied Arctic Silver thermal paste between the star boards and the heatsink.
I think used 26 AWG stranded UL1007 wire (rated at 105C) to connect a string of 6 white and 6 blue LEDs. I pre-tinned the wires to keep the "touch-time" down between my butane soldering iron and the LED star board pads. I went on to connect the other 4 blue LEDs on another circuit. (Note that the thing that looks like a spider, below, was a dead LED that I used to practice soldering before I did the work on the real thing)
After getting a loan light for my tank (thanks, Spencer), I gutted the PC fixtures out of my hood and measured off the correct dimensions for my acrylic cover. I did not span the entire width of the hood because I wanted to bypass the existing air-intake vents. I intend to cut new vents directly over the heatsink fins.
I used a table saw armed with a plastic-cutting blade to cut the face plate and the side panels. I buffed out the scratches on the main cover facing (thanks to Mark at Aquatic Marine for the help there) and then taped everything into roughly the proper shape (with some overhang).
After leaching in the Weld On 4 into the cracks of the plastic, I applied pressure with the largest books I had available. I am not sure Wayne Grudem would approve...
After welding the acrylic together, I protected the cover plate with painting tape and used a router to trim off the excess. I then used a piece of paper to trace out the rough shape of the hood profile. I transfered this to a piece of wood that was roughly the width of the acrylic and routed it into the approximate shape needed to fit in the hood. After I was satisfied with the fit, I transfered the shape to the plastic and routed it using the wood as a guide as much as possible.
After routing both sides, I used a table saw to cut the front and back sides down to the proper height. My intent is a 3/8" overhang below the hood -- which gives me about 1/4" to 1/2" clearance over the water. I used the table saw to cut out holes for the fans and cables after marking the proper locations. The end result fit snug enough that I am not worried about the effect of the air leaks.
So this is where the design stands:
To complete the fixture, I will buy some screws and spacers to mount the heatsink to the cover and the cover to the fixture. I will also pick up a couple of fuse holders and wire up the power supplies. Then I am done (except for tweaking the lighting levels if I have too much PAR to start with -- a problem I hope to have ).
I decided to go larger on the box, but stopped short of shelling out $80 for a true control panel. I put in my two constant current drivers and a bunch of old terminal blocks and switches and strain reliefs I've had laying around. The 120 VAC stuff is on the left and the low-voltage stuff is on the right. I just need to finish off the low voltage connections to the hood (tonight!) and then fire the thing off. There are some other details I need to finish -- like routing the lens corners and putting some paint on the front of the lens so I don't blind myself with LEDs every time I feed the fish -- but I'll get to those, um... er... tomorrow. 
