Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[garbled]

When I said these multichip arrays put out forward heat, I meant, *alot* of forward heat. Not "gee it's warm", but "ow!" Thats actually why it was so hard for me to do the lens test, because my SO could only hold the lens in front of the chip for about 10 seconds.

I think it's the same amount of heat put out by a cree, but, times 100, and in a 1x1 inch square.

 

[tfrizz80]

If i wanted to run 4 of the 100 one watt (100w multichip) not the over driven ones, with one driver. What numbers would i look for? In lamens terms lol. The leds like on the 220g build thread linked earlier. Thanks

 

[garbled]

I've never seen anything that would do it. You would need something like 144 volts at 2-3 amps. I think you would be hard pressed to find that.

Alternatively, you could run them in parallel, but that has a drawback that if one chip dies, they all die. Even then, the best I've seen is a 320w 36v driver, which could run three at most.

 

[tfrizz80]

If i wanted to run 2 of them in parallel could you help me there.?

 

[tfrizz80]

If i wanted to run 2 of in series i would need 100 w driver with 30-36v and 6 amps?

 

[Lassef]

look at the specifications of the chip. As an example FV = 30 - 36 V and max 7 A.

If yo do a parallell conection with two chip - the FV will be the same but the current will in theory be 3.5 A to each chip. This is true if the cip´s are equal in FV.

To do a parallell conection allways have a risk - if one chip fail - the rest will have all of the current (if you have a constant current source).



In a seriell conection the FV vill be the sum of the two FV (60 -72 V) but the current will be 7 A to each.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[tfrizz80]

Ok that helps...thanks i was getting myself all mixed up on it.

 

[tfrizz80]

I know the risks of running parallel from my driver to leds. My question is if i have a 350w 36v 10a power supply and i run 2 100w 36v 3a leds and 3 10w 36v 1a actinic leds...that s only 230w...can this be done in parallel.

 

[kahkah]

From digging around I get the feeling that these are built by numerous contractors in multiple factories and purchased and resold under the Epistar, Epicon, and Epiled names. After contacting a few people I was told that the 100w LED's whether Epistar, epicon, or Epiled should not be driven at 7000ma but that they are available in a 250w and a 300w version which could be. I inquired on pricing of the 250 and 300w and I'm waiting back for a reply from a couple people.

I was searching around for the spec sheet for epicon and came across a outdated website that didn't really have the info I wanted. So I started looking for epiled and found another outdated site with what I believe was the same exact product list. Epistar might be different but im pretty sure epicon/epiled are the same.

 

[garbled]

I know the risks of running parallel from my driver to leds. My question is if i have a 350w 36v 10a power supply and i run 2 100w 36v 3a leds and 3 10w 36v 1a actinic leds...that s only 230w...can this be done in parallel.

More or less, no. There might be a way to wire that up, but offhand, I don't know how. Parallel divides the amperage evenly, so your little 10w chips would be getting 2 amps each. Also, most of the 10w chips are 10v, not 36, so, you'd fry em.

Also, unless you manually dim them down, you will be pushing 350w, not 230, so likely you would be putting 2.5-3a into each chip.

 

[Lassef]

IMO -to run parallell you need a constant current source and even with that its far away from safety.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[monty2k]

Excellent thread!

I have a temperate marine aquarium (cold water) and this type of lighting would be great.

I don't have any corals, but i do have macroalgaes. I've found this article regarding its lighting requirements:
http://marineplantbook.com/marinebookpage8.htm

The article says that the best spectrum is between 5000k and 6500k. I've found a 50W led with 6000-6500k range.
The article also says that most macroalgae will grow also under 10000k lighting.

As anyone have any experience with this?

My aquarium is 280cm x 80cm x 70cm (sand to water level is 60cm)

I'm considering starting with two 50W 6000-6500k White and two 50W 10000k White Leds. And then add several 10W Blue Leds to give it a more marine look.

What do you think?

Thank you!

 

[A Reef Scene]

What do you all think of running five 445nm, and five 16000 k, twenty watt chips over a 40 breeder? I was thinking that the 16000 k would be just the right amount of white. Would there be a need to run UV chips for any reason?

 

[Lassef]

Excellent thread!

I have a temperate marine aquarium (cold water) and this type of lighting would be great.

I don't have any corals, but i do have macroalgaes. I've found this article regarding its lighting requirements:
http://marineplantbook.com/marinebookpage8.htm

The article says that the best spectrum is between 5000k and 6500k. I've found a 50W led with 6000-6500k range.
The article also says that most macroalgae will grow also under 10000k lighting.

As anyone have any experience with this?

My aquarium is 280cm x 80cm x 70cm (sand to water level is 60cm)

I'm considering starting with two 50W 6000-6500k White and two 50W 10000k White Leds. And then add several 10W Blue Leds to give it a more marine look.

What do you think?

Thank you!

I have read the article and I think they totally missed the power of the LED. The power LED is that it is possible to specialize the wavelengths in such way that the energy is inserted where its needed.

In your case I would put a lot of blue in the wavelengths between 420-455 nm and some red at wavelengths around 630-660 nm. To get a more normal light, I would also equal watts as white light of 10000-16000 K. Use lenses to driving down the light. Red 20 Watt (wavelength 660 nm) and red 10 Watt (about 630 nm) are to come by. How many you need, you try your way up to but I would start with 3 x 50 watt white and 3 * 20 red (660 nm) 3 * 10 red (630) and at least a total of 100 watts of blue (420-455 nm). Divide into three even groups.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[noj3333]

FUSES????
I just got my leds and drivers in. I went with 20w leds an 2 drivers, 1 is a 20Wx5 chip driver, the other is a 20Wx3 chip driver.
The chips will be wired up up in series, I'm now looking for fuses.
If I'm correct if one chip burns out all the following chips will be fried and ruined. I wanted to know if it's possible to insert a fuse between each chip to prevent a surge of power. If I were to do this would I be looking for a fuse that protects agonist too many amps or too many watts?
The chips I have are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220848797422?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
The drivers are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220947560986?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221034444726?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[Cmoua]

To answer your question Noj3333, if you have the leds connected in series than when one bulb burns out it will create an open in the circuit and power will not be able to flow to the other leds.

If you have the leds in parallel with two circuits/strings connected together than when a bulb burns up in one circuit that circuit will open up, which forces the current to flow into another circuit. In this case the current will go into the 2nd circuit and that will double the amount amps in it. This is when an overload of current is present and blows up the 2nd circuit.

If you run them in parallel you should use a fuse incase one string of led blows then it can protect the remaining circuits. Fuses come in amp ratings so say you are using 20w leds and the amp rating on those leds are 2Amps or 2000mA, this means that your fuses should be rated for 2Amps max. They are connected in series with the strings and when an overload of current presents it will blow the fuse and open the circuit up preventing damage to the leds. When fuses blow though, you must replace them everytime.

 

[007Bond]

Take a look at JP's build thread. He is using 3W Crees, but this is his first venture into leds. He took a lot of pics and had a lot of input on how to with series, parallel, fuses, resistors, ect. from the guys that do know leds. It should help put you in the right direction.---Rick
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1973462&highlight=jpccusa

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Got another one for you lassef, assuming the tank I'm lighting is 180g 36x36x30 will one 50w 10000k driven to about 90w and 2-4 20watts will this work? Keep in mind it's fresh water only really need 90-120 par at certain areas. Two of the 20w will be red the 50w will have 90 degree lens and the 20ws will have 60 degree

 

[RsPhotoHut]

Hey,
I built something like this for my Nano (60L) tank.
I used 2X10W leds that have 6 10K and 3 royal blue inside.
But I used 2 10W simple drivers.
I really want to make it dimmable.
Do you have any idea where I can find a 2x10W dimmable driver?
Or how can I DIY one?

 

[garbled]

I think a meanwell ELN-30-15 or -24 might be right. IIRC, you can turn down the max amps on them by opening them up and fiddling the potentiometer inside. Same with the voltage I think. If you get the right model, it's dimmable.

I think invertronics drivers are dimmable too, but I know little about those.