DiY LEDs - How to Power Them

[alesh]

As I'm in a tent with limited head room and want the best spread to create an even canopy I wanted to more cobs and run them soft, same idea as using mono chips lots of them spread out to create an even canopy. Does anyone know if there is a meanwell driver at that low of a current?

Yeah there's lot of options going as low as 350mA. HLG-120H-C350 and more. Check the MW site.

but that's the point the rev limiter is like running a cree cob extra soft, for higher efficieny.

maybe a better analogy would be comparing a cree cob to a Cadillac, priced high and designed to be a great COB. well lets run that Cadillac at idle cause it saves gas ....

keep in mind I was commenting at running cree cobbs at 450ma as opposed to 700ma or higher for a light engine that was designed for 1900ma

I can't agree. You buy LEDs because of efficiency. You don't buy a Porsche because of efficiency. The sweet point is could be 1900mA for someone or 350mA for someone else. Still, the analogy wasn't good.

 

[oill]

Looking to set up a single cxa for veg... Would this cxa and driver work together???

 

[medicinehuman]

Looking to set up a single cxa for veg... Would this cxa and driver work together???

On the data sheet it looks like the 3050 is over powered by that driver. I would use a different driver.

 

[CanadianONE]

On the data sheet it looks like the 3050 is over powered by that driver. I would use a different driver.

The driver is capable of 1.48-2.28A and the CXA3050 W4 has a maximum amperage of 2.5A. So the basic answer to your question is yes that combo would work but to elaborate more it would not be very efficient at all. According to Cree PTC at 1.5A you would only be getting around 107lm/w and at 2.3A around 88lm/w. What is your goal with this single light? How many watts are you looking to achieve and what size area you looking to cover?

 

[emepher]

On the data sheet it looks like the 3050 is over powered by that driver. I would use a different driver.

I agree with this, oill. That driver also seems pretty hot and pricey to run a CXA3050, though I tend to favor generics and driving a little softer, and don't know how pricing differs in the UK. And I think CXA3070's are pretty close in price to the 3050's from Mouser, so that might be something to consider as well.
But as CanadianONE said, it would work but you could do better. I'm still somewhat new to COBs too, so I know how confusing the electrical stuff can be if you don't have that much experience with all this, even if you have a decent grasp on electricity in general.

 

[CanadianONE]

I agree with this, oill. That driver also seems pretty hot and pricey to run a CXA3050, though I tend to favor generics and driving a little softer, and don't know how pricing differs in the UK. And I think CXA3070's are pretty close in price to the 3050's from Mouser, so that might be something to consider as well.
But as CanadianONE said, it would work but you could do better. I'm still somewhat new to COBs too, so I know how confusing the electrical stuff can be if you don't have that much experience with all this, even if you have a decent grasp on electricity in general.

The CXA3050's can be had from Newark right now for $8.50 Canadian and they have many others at ridiculously low prices right now.

 

[medicinehuman]

I agree with this, oill. That driver also seems pretty hot and pricey to run a CXA3050, though I tend to favor generics and driving a little softer, and don't know how pricing differs in the UK. And I think CXA3070's are pretty close in price to the 3050's from Mouser, so that might be something to consider as well.
But as CanadianONE said, it would work but you could do better. I'm still somewhat new to COBs too, so I know how confusing the electrical stuff can be if you don't have that much experience with all this, even if you have a decent grasp on electricity in general.

You said it much better than I did.

 

[oill]

I agree with this, oill. That driver also seems pretty hot and pricey to run a CXA3050, though I tend to favor generics and driving a little softer, and don't know how pricing differs in the UK. And I think CXA3070's are pretty close in price to the 3050's from Mouser, so that might be something to consider as well.
But as CanadianONE said, it would work but you could do better. I'm still somewhat new to COBs too, so I know how confusing the electrical stuff can be if you don't have that much experience with all this, even if you have a decent grasp on electricity in general.

The driver is capable of 1.48-2.28A and the CXA3050 W4 has a maximum amperage of 2.5A. So the basic answer to your question is yes that combo would work but to elaborate more it would not be very efficient at all. According to Cree PTC at 1.5A you would only be getting around 107lm/w and at 2.3A around 88lm/w. What is your goal with this single light? How many watts are you looking to achieve and what size area you looking to cover?

I'm looking to cover a small space for a mother and up to 1 cuttings. Space is approx 2x2 feet with 4 ft of height.

I need a simple build. If someone could point me to specific products that work together that would be helpful Coz I'm not sure of the maths. I have built a pc before but that's almost impossible to fuck up

 

[CanadianONE]

I'm looking to cover a small space for a mother and up to 1 cuttings. Space is approx 2x2 feet with 4 ft of height.

I need a simple build. If someone could point me to specific products that work together that would be helpful Coz I'm not sure of the maths. I have built a pc before but that's almost impossible to fuck up

So just a single mother and some cuttings? Will it be dedicated to this or could it be used for other things down the road.

 

[oill]

So just a single mother and some cuttings? Will it be dedicated to this or could it be used for other things down the road.

Nope... Its just for keeping mom alive and early veg of cuttings

 

[CanadianONE]

Nope... Its just for keeping mom alive and early veg of cuttings

Are you set on a single COB & driver setup?

 

[oill]

Are you set on a single COB & driver setup?

Nope it could be 2 or 4 smaller ones. I have an old pc so was thinking of using the heat sink and fan from that... That was the idea... Main thing is cost. Want to keep it down... But again if I need to go up I can. Needs to be high quality

 

[CanadianONE]

Nope it could be 2 or 4 smaller ones. I have an old pc so was thinking of using the heat sink and fan from that... That was the idea... Main thing is cost. Want to keep it down... But again if I need to go up I can. Needs to be high quality

Little more cost but efficiency would be much better with 2-3 CXB3070 (AB-AD bin $40-$61 each Mouser) and meanwell HLG-80H-C700 ($47.60 USD Mouser) The driver is dimmable from 420-700ma with output voltage from 64-129V. Have a look at SupraSPL's chart for these COB's and see the efficiency numbers. There would be other options cheaper then this also and still better efficiency. You can go with same 2-3 CXB3070's but with once driver per COB with LPC-60-1050 1050ma 9-48V ($17.69 each Mouser) 48-58% efficient depending on choice.

 

[nevergoodenuf]

Our options are much wider than we have been lead to believe! I have had a few CEN100-36 and have been running them in parallel with no problem. Now that I have 10 Vero 29's coming and 8 of these drivers laying around, I plan on running 2 Vero's per driver in PARALLEL. A while back there was a thread that brought this up, but never came to the conclusion about the safely aspect of this. I have finally taken the time to talk to a Bridgelux representative. This method is 100% safe!!! There reason for this is power hogging, but they are talking over the long term (possibly years of use). And even if one fails prematurely, it will still be powered well under its max rating.

 

[robincnn]

How not to power your DIY!!
I was doing a DIY with APV-24-36 late night with some jack daniels.
it was a little dark and i connected the driver red/black to the wago mains. Switched on ... instead of cob turning the whole house lights went out. Fused tripped because i connected DC side of driver to mains. Good thing driver was cheep and me/house were safe. Need to be careful.
poor apv did not even make a pop noise or anything.
Me and jack killed the the poor APV

 

[PurpleBuz]

How not to power your DIY!!
I was doing a DIY with APV-24-36 late night with some jack daniels.
it was a little dark and i connected the driver red/black to the wago mains. Switched on ... instead of cob turning the whole house lights went out. Fused tripped because i connected DC side of driver to mains. Good thing driver was cheep and me/house were safe. Need to be careful.
poor apv did not even make a pop noise or anything.
Me and jack killed the the poor APV

that's why stop the jack and toke some crazy sativas instead.

 

[CDiablo]

Sorry to be another bothersome newbie in this thread but I've taken a liking to the idea of making my own LED grow lights after becoming fed up with trying to search for a pre made one and me thinking that too many companies make rediculous claims. I've done a few grows with MARS 2 lights and they are ok but Ive moved to a bigger area and would rather have better control over my lights and spectrum.

I would like to make some individually powered 2"x5' aluminum boxes with leds(potentially 3-5 3070s), some with different spectrums in in some of the boxes so I can change out/accommodate certain lighting for certain stages of growth.

I am having a lot of problems finding info on figuring out what drivers/power supplies to use, or better what math needs to be done to find drivers that would proper for the lights\amount I want to power. I am aware of this thread but I am not yet finding what I need. Maybe I am just bad at searching but any explanation or link or post page would be appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[CanadianONE]

@CDiablo first thing I would do is figure out the grow space you would like to light in square feet then multiply the square footage x 30 (30w/sq ft recommended) Once you know the total wattage required for your space then time to make some decisions on a few things. 1. What is most important budget vs efficiency. 2. Do you want 1 driver per COB or multiple COB's per driver. 3. Do you want to cool them passively (no fan) or actively (with fan) I am sure there are some other things to consider but this will help get the ball rolling before you make any decisions on what your going to by.

 

[CDiablo]

@CanadianONE I am in a 6'x6'x6' tent so max coverage I will want is 5'x5'(25x30=750w). Budget isn't really an issue for materials(I was going to buy a pre made LED but I have around a $1000 USD for the project) and I would prefer the most efficient for power draw. Depending on efficiency and space needed(to put in the frame that I plan to mount the cobs) 1 driver per as it would be better to lose 1 cob in the case of a failure over the 3-5 that I plan to put in the frame. I would certainly like to see my pricing/space needed options(again for my potential frame) for passive as the noise from the fans in my grow room is more than I want. I am not opposed to fans but adding an AC adapter for them(space)+noise makes them less appealing. As I said for lights I would mostly like to use cree 3070s or possibly 3590. Thank you for your input.

 

[CanadianONE]

@CanadianONE I am in a 6'x6'x6' tent so max coverage I will want is 5'x5'(25x30=750w). Budget isn't really an issue for materials(I was going to buy a pre made LED but I have around a $1000 USD for the project) and I would prefer the most efficient for power draw. Depending on efficiency and space needed(to put in the frame that I plan to mount the cobs) 1 driver per as it would be better to lose 1 cob in the case of a failure over the 3-5 that I plan to put in the frame. I would certainly like to see my pricing/space needed options(again for my potential frame) for passive as the noise from the fans in my grow room is more than I want. I am not opposed to fans but adding an AC adapter for them(space)+noise makes them less appealing. As I said for lights I would mostly like to use cree 3070s or possibly 3590. Thank you for your input.

You can achieve anywhere from 45% to 58% efficiency with either of those choices (CXB3070 AB-AD bin or CXB3590 CB bin 36-72V versions) Now to achieve the 750 watts you require would take 15 LED's running around 50w each (45-52% efficient) CXB3070's & CXB3590 36V would achieve these numbers at 1.4A and CXB3590 72V 0.7A The softer you run them the better efficiency gets but then you require more COB's also. I am not to knowledgeable about passive cooling but you can have a look HERE there is a ton of info there for thermal managment. This would probably be your cheapest option for single driver per COB @ 1.4A
http://ca.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/LPC-60-1400/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt5PRBMPTWcaROdBPwCT6QbykMAjeDZswE=