DiY LED Grow Lights with CREE CXA3070 COBs and CPU Coolers

[SomeGuy]

ok.. this is straight from cree. so it seems water and iso are safe baring them being powered. In other documents I read that we can only wipe with iso.... Not sure about submersion..


Recommended Chemicals
In testing, Cree has found the following chemicals to be safe to use with XLamp CXA family LEDs.
• Water
• Isopropyl alcohol (IPA)
Chemicals Tested as Harmful
In general, subject to the specifics in Cree’s Chemical Compatibility application note, Cree has found certain chemicals
to be harmful to XLamp CXA family LEDs. Cree recommends not using these chemicals anywhere in an LED system
containing XLamp CXA family LEDs. The fumes from even small amounts of the chemicals may damage the LEDs.
• Chemicals that might outgas aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., toluene, benzene, xylene)
• Methyl acetate or ethyl acetate (i.e., nail polish remover)
• Cyanoacrylates (i.e., “Superglue”)
• Glycol ethers (including Radio Shack® Precision Electronics Cleaner - dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether)
• Formaldehyde or butadiene (including Ashland® PLIOBOND® adhesive)

 

[SomeGuy]

if you are submersing them in ISO make sure to give them a long time to dry out and maybe they will be fine..

 

[Dloomis514]

I sent an email to the folks at arctic too.

 

[Dloomis514]

I sent an email to the folks at arctic too.

We are sorry to hear of this. From the Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive
Web Page: " It is NOT intended to be used between a CPU and the CPU
heatsink." Unfortunately there is nothing that we can recommend that
will not have high probability of damaging the components that have been bonded.

Double dang..

 

[SomeGuy]

yea... sorry dloomis. looks like those cobs are permanent to the heatsink. Just use grease next time and drill and tap the mounting holes. How many are "stuck" at 40$ each cob that can get sick expensive really quick.

were you changing or rebuilding or what?

 

[Dloomis514]

Just one, upgrading to AB 3070 3000k

 

[Dloomis514]

Alternate on the fly plans in the works already, got to be flexible with diy.

 

[avnewb]

Just buy another fan/heatsink for $9 rather than distorting led.

So,
I placed order last night for leds and power supplies all thru mouser to save on shipping. Was hoping to get a better deal on fans, however no deals today. Got them from newegg to save on tax at least. These fans have gone for less in past ($5.99). Was hesitant about this and almost got more but followed same setup.
Per post u only use two lights in begining? Then 6 then 8? Two is enough in begining?

And per misc list done by @SupraSPL , it is better to drill and tap holes and use prolimatech PK-3 between led and heatsink? Do u remove the oem pad that is on heatsink I assume? Also is the kapton tape just to hold wires?


Also have u checked the voltage ur getting out of the 12 power supply with all fans running? The one I almost bought on Amazon has issues running more than one fan. The one u linked @ frys is $15 shipping. I may have one so holding off on buying.
TIA.

 

[avnewb]

I found most of the answers to my questions above.

On removing the led from heatsink I had a couple other thoughts. Could freeze with computer cleaner and should be able to crack glue off or maybe just a good hit will pop it off:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2187342

Probably depends if u sanded heatsink smooth or not. If smooth probably easier to get off.

I plan to start building tonight. Will not be sanding as using the thermal glue.

 

[Voidling]

Did you ever get your tub setup light tight?

 

[avnewb]

My setup. Not pretty but works. Easy to reconfigure as needed. Adding pulley lift for whole thing so can raise and lower easy. One bad fan so had to order a new one.

 

[Dloomis514]

My setup. Not pretty but works. Easy to reconfigure as needed. Adding pulley lift for whole thing so can raise and lower easy. One bad fan so had to order a new one.

Is that an old baby crib?

 

[avnewb]

Yup.

 

[JoeyV]

Nice DIY LED fixture, Gaius!!! I must say, it sparked an interest that is becoming somewhat of an obsession now. I've been doing as much research as I have time for, but there's just so much to learn!

LED's are really intriguing, but the cost was too over the top. Even today, new LED fixtures abound. But they're still pricey. I bought a 90w UFO a while back and it's bright as hell, but I can't stand the purple light!!! I need to see what my girls actually look like, so T5 was and has been my ticket for years. (I'd be doing an HID setup if I wasn't afraid of burning down the house.)

However, I love to tinker, and your post has me thinking...I could experiment with 'supplemental' LED lighting and not have the hassle of purple light.

Time for a new hobby!

 

[obviously]

I need an opinion : Lumatek dimmable 1000W , Lumatek dimmable 600W or Cree CXA 3070Z230F ? For 1.5x1.5x2 meters. It worth the difference of price ? 6 CXA drivers , cooler and led holder ( I don;t know if it's a must ) cost 350 pounds. The Lumatek 1000W+cooltube+Lumatek bulb-269 pounds. Lumatek 600W-169W. For the Lumatek kits I add 100 pounds to keep the air cold. For Led just a simple kit of fan+filter 35 pounds. So my question is : it worth that difference of price the CREE CXA ? How many g/w with LED. How many g/w with Lumatek ? Thank's guys !

 

[Voidling]

I'd go led because heat is a big problem for me.

Advantage of led is spread the light source out for more even coverage

 

[epicfail]

I need an opinion : Lumatek dimmable 1000W , Lumatek dimmable 600W or Cree CXA 3070Z230F ? For 1.5x1.5x2 meters. It worth the difference of price ? 6 CXA drivers , cooler and led holder ( I don;t know if it's a must ) cost 350 pounds. The Lumatek 1000W+cooltube+Lumatek bulb-269 pounds. Lumatek 600W-169W. For the Lumatek kits I add 100 pounds to keep the air cold. For Led just a simple kit of fan+filter 35 pounds. So my question is : it worth that difference of price the CREE CXA ? How many g/w with LED. How many g/w with Lumatek ? Thank's guys !

you will probably get better results with the vero29 than you will with the z2 3070 here some #'s courtesy of @SupraSPL

​

The v29 has about 4% better performance at 1.4a and I believe is cheaper.

 

[obviously]

I found the bridgelux COB more expensive than Cree. So , you think guys that is much better results with COB than Lumatek. How many g/w ? Do I necesarlly need cob holder for Cree ?
So I need : 10x CXA30700N00Z230F , 10x Mean Well LPC-60-1400 , 10x Arctic Alpine 11 plus. What else I need for full setup ?

 

[Voidling]

No need for cob holder if you can solder.

You can go for a better grade thermal paste but that's up to you.


Instead of cob holders:

Some of these guys drill and tap mounting holes into the heatsink to hold the cobs.

Supra puts down the thermal paste, presses the corners of the cob down on top of it, wiggles it sound to spread out the paste, and puts kapton tape over the corners.

There's more info in my thread under led section titled building up for a bigger grow or some such

 

[nomofatum]

When balancing up front cost, performance, and ease of construction I picked these:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wholesale-10pcs-of-lot-30W-LED-Chip-for-Floodlight-Flood-light-Warm-Cool-white-6000k-6500k/2011319079.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/400W-S400W-36V-11A-LED-Switching-Power-Supply-36V-11A-85-265AC-input-CE-ROSH-power/1544392301.html

Add a piece of flat stock aluminum, thermal adhesive, a lamp cord, and 2 splice connectors per chip and you have a very high power light strip, perfect for making a grid for optimal distribution. I don't over power them, I run 15 on 400w.

I'm actually waiting on my second order of these now.