DiY LED - Cree CXA3070

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Elibrium

Member
Quick frame for practice these are 5000ks run at 45w each throwing it in my 2x4 till my stuff for the big light shows up. Should bush my girls up a bit. Should be ready to cycle again soon.

Don't pay attention to the sloppy adhesive job on that top one, lesson learned the other one I used much less. :oops:
 

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avnewb

Well-Known Member
So while I wait on my drivers for the veg light I need to think of what upgrades my flower light might need.
I have eight 3070s like this

Space is 8'x44" so 29sqft which would be aprox16w/sqft.

Should I add more and what? Vero29s? or just spread what I have and make reflectors? I have covered walls now in panda film and roclon white blackout curtain which will help a bit.

I cant help but let you spoon feed me cause IDK WTF I am doing. Trying to learn as I go.


TIA.
 
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avnewb

Well-Known Member
avnewb said:
@SupraSPL
I assume it was your review on the fasttech website for the 120v drivers I got?

U tested one or more? to 150v, so I will be good with five vero10s in series.
~133v @ 0.28a so can use 22g wire as such low amps or?

Before I wire it up probably want to be sure. Havent done circuits in a while.

Make better sense to do 6x5 so 30 of them on on 50x36" mount or stick with 25? I could add a single row across the 5 heatsinks at one and they would be spaced 8" apart seems plenty as there so small. Or do all 35 on it? 18sqft.

TIA
Click to expand...

Hope this isnt getting off topic for this thread but didnt want to make a new one...
So got drivers and hooking up. Decided I should check amps and volts this time to make sure they are what I expected and they are.
Dont have a kill-A-watt meter to check draw of driver but have been planing to get one for years so I will soon to make sure the watts make sense.

0.28amps
20150124_200025[1].jpg

20150124_200020[1].jpg

331 volts:
20150124_200302[1].jpg

20150124_200306[1].jpg

5 vero 10s on one driver (only got three in the pic):
20150124_200033[1].jpg
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
It is exactly on target, good info :) You can put dabs of silicon over the exposed high voltage points to reduce the chance of grabbing it accidentally, especially the AC side. I would also recommend grounding the heatsink frame so if it gets energized accidentally for any reason it will shut down the breaker instantly rather than "surprising" you when you grab it.
 
taproot

taproot

Well-Known Member
Hello guys! I'm needing to start supplying myself for medical reasons soon and would like to get your opinions on a few things, namely the LED & drivers. Having read over some of this I think that the driver needs to be able to double the Voltage if the LED/s are wired in series but the Amperage remains the same across the load. Is this correct? I've been looking at the 3070's and the 3590's. My space will be about a 2Dx2WX4H ft...a cabinet. I'm thinking the 3070's will work but my goal is to have a very good and energy efficient lighting setup. As I'm understanding it...it might be make more sense to buy a higher output bulb and under-volt it but I don't want to spend more than whats makes since on my return. Do you guys think the 3070's make since for my space? I was planning on getting 2x 3000K and 1x 5000K but I might add another 5000K for two of each for a total of four leds. I was hoping to run them in a series so I could only use one or two drivers. Can I run 3x or 4x 3070's on one driver for 2x 5000K and 1x or 2x 3000K in a series to reduce cost and trying to keep it clean and simple? I was looking at the meanwell drivers and they seem to be the better ones on the market and I'd rather pay more for a quality driver/s that is both effective and efficient. I'm having problems finding any of the 93 cri models for less than buying at least 30 pieces. Assuming the 3070's will work for me what is the best bin I could buy right now for just a few? And, could I have some recommendations on the drivers please for running 2 or maybe 3 leds if possible. I see some of the meanwells have a built in potentiometer which is what I'm wanting as I don't to have to have a bunch of extra converters. I'm hoping to get about 2 or 3 oz every run with 2 or 3 plants out of all this.

Thanks!
 
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less

Member
SupraSPL said:
I agree regarding Vero29. In my mind it presents a very cost efficient opportunity but as you said it is not suitable for those geared toward efficiency. I broke the cost down for someone in a PM:

Vero29 $32
Mean Well HLN-80H-36 $41
Heatsink $10
Total $83 for 100W @ 34.1% typ = 34.1PAR W = $2.43/PAR W

CXA3070 AB :$42
Mean Well PLP-60-48 $16
Heatsink $10
Total $68 for 52W @ 43.3% typ = 22.5 PAR W = $3.02/PAR W

So for DIYers, I think the CXA is still where it is at :)
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Hi. Why can the vero 29 not run on the plp-60-48? doesn't it operate above 36v, what am i missing?

also, on your review of the fasttech 50 watt driver you say it isn't suitable for the vero 29 or 3070, i assume due to the 36v upper voltage limit of the driver? so if they both operate above 36v then why wouldn't both work on the plp? And does the 30 watt fasttech driver work for either of them? if so is it because the voltage drops below 36 when used on the 30watt driver? thanks.
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
The idea in that comparison was to run the Vero hard to try and cut cost, then see how it compares with the CXA in terms of $/PAR W. The Vero29 should work on the PLP.

Yes the 50W fasttech drivers decrease their output for the CXAs because of Vf incompatibility, although from what I have seen so far the Vero has a lower Vf than the CXAs in general, so you would get more out of the 50W drivers. The 30W works well with CXA, they put out about 880mA.
 
alesh

alesh

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
It is exactly on target, good info :) You can put dabs of silicon over the exposed high voltage points to reduce the chance of grabbing it accidentally, especially the AC side. I would also recommend grounding the heatsink frame so if it gets energized accidentally for any reason it will shut down the breaker instantly rather than "surprising" you when you grab it.
Click to expand...
+1515215 for grounding, especially if you're a stoner as I am.
I've touched mains/high dc voltage quite a few times and since a certain moment I take good care to ground all exposed metal parts. Maybe next time I won't be so lucky to wear well-isolated shoes.
 
Romz1

Romz1

Member
Hey guys, those who are using Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Plus, what driver do you use to power the fan? I need to power 10 units, and fans must rotate at about 50-60% of their normal speed, hope someone can help me :)
 
happy75

happy75

Well-Known Member
Romz1 said:
Hey guys, those who are using Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Plus, what driver do you use to power the fan? I need to power 10 units, and fans must rotate at about 50-60% of their normal speed, hope someone can help me :)
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I wanted to use one meanwhell driver per 5 alpines, but I remembered that I had an unused ATX laying around. So I use now the ATX which gives 5V for my 35 Alpine and 35 Mechatronics coolers. They are running perfecly.
 
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less

Member
SupraSPL said:
The idea in that comparison was to run the Vero hard to try and cut cost, then see how it compares with the CXA in terms of $/PAR W. The Vero29 should work on the PLP.

Yes the 50W fasttech drivers decrease their output for the CXAs because of Vf incompatibility, although from what I have seen so far the Vero has a lower Vf than the CXAs in general, so you would get more out of the 50W drivers. The 30W works well with CXA, they put out about 880mA.
Click to expand...
so the vero29 does work with the fasttech 30w then? i just haven't seen anyone say they are using that 30w driver with the v29 and assumed there was a reason for it. unless im reading the charts i have incorrectly, the efficiency of the cxa at 880 is about 45%, and the vero would be about 42%?
and did i see you say that you were getting a plp to test it? thanks again.
 
r8rfanizme

r8rfanizme

Member
Is it possible to cut in a dimmer switch to the drivers? I ordered the wrong ones, don't want to pay a restocking fee, return shipping, and wait a couple of weeks to get this party started.

I have LPC-60-1400 to run Cree 3070's, but would like to dial them down to about 40 watts.

Thanks in advance,

r8rfanizme
 
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SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Yes, it is the 50W that doesnt match up well to the CXA3070, but compatibility with the 30W is no problem and the Vero29 has a similar Vf as the CXA at 880mA. I have been using about 15 of the fasttech 30W with my CXA3070s for 4-5 months and they have worked out great. 1 driver burnt out, must have been a dud.

Typical efficiency for the CXA3070 3K AB at 880mA is about 48.3% and the Vero29 3K would be 42%.
 
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