Cheap CXA3050 Build

CanadianONE

CanadianONE

Well-Known Member
jayay said:
I think I can use the Ideal holder with the shims. They're thin, and the Ideal holder should overhang it, and line up with a t-slot channel. It'll be floating between the cob and the t-slot, so I might use adhesive on one of the sides of the copper.

I'm not that confident the heatsink will deal well with the load so I'm cutting down to one driver. ~150 watts of light is plenty for now.
I could either get 2nd Makers heatsink, and link them, or save the cobs for another project.

So I'll use 1x driver, 4x CXA3050, 8x Ocean Coral White. It'll be an interesting spectrum for sure.

View attachment 3497242
Click to expand...
Don't forget the ideal chip lok have 4 tabs that stick down that are meant to press up against heatsink. Two metal and then two plastic of I remember correctly. There is a discussion around here somewhere about that exact topic cause someone cut them off for there particular installation.
 
jayay

jayay

Member
Growmau5 said:
my apologizes , I have never seen a 4 channel driver like that. I assumed it was a single channel like Meanwell, and the ocean blues were taking up the excess Fv. please disregard.
Click to expand...
All good, I appreciate your input. I have 8 conductor "alarm" wire, which is solid, so it's an attractive option. I also have stranded though.
 
CanadianONE

CanadianONE

Well-Known Member
jayay said:
All good, I appreciate your input. I have 8 conductor "alarm" wire, which is solid, so it's an attractive option. I also have stranded though.
Click to expand...
Make sure to Tim the ends of the stranded wire before inserting into holder otherwise they could possibly come loose as some have experienced that here already with stranded. But if tinned shouldn't be a problem.
 
jayay

jayay

Member
CanadianONE said:
Make sure to Tim the ends of the stranded wire before inserting into holder otherwise they could possibly come loose as some have experienced that here already with stranded. But if tinned shouldn't be a problem.
Click to expand...
Does tinning the wire provide a more electrically sound connection, or is it just to keep things in place? I was planning on just putting a dab of thermally resistant glue on outside.
 
CanadianONE

CanadianONE

Well-Known Member
jayay said:
Does tinning the wire provide a more electrically sound connection, or is it just to keep things in place? I was planning on just putting a dab of thermally resistant glue on outside.
Click to expand...
I would think just helps keep it in place and make insertion a little easier. Don't think it would improve connection much if any but could be wrong.
 
Voidling

Voidling

Well-Known Member
Thanks.

I don't understand the four channel and power distribution on them. I'll see what I can learn. Looks like it's just 700mA per line. Can they be combined to run 1 or 2 chips? I'm running my current ones at 50w each and would like to run the full 100w. Though at $13 per chip may be cheaper to run 2 at 50 or 4 at 25 than buying the bigger drivers.

I wish the chips were still at $8. Though probably still good at $13.

What size footprint is your light to cover?
 
jayay

jayay

Member
Voidling said:
Thanks.

I don't understand the four channel and power distribution on them. I'll see what I can learn. Looks like it's just 700mA per line. Can they be combined to run 1 or 2 chips? I'm running my current ones at 50w each and would like to run the full 100w. Though at $13 per chip may be cheaper to run 2 at 50 or 4 at 25 than buying the bigger drivers.

I wish the chips were still at $8. Though probably still good at $13.

What size footprint is your light to cover?
Click to expand...
It's constant current @ 700ma with variable voltage, giving up to 57v to use on each channel. I don't know if it's possible to bridge channels but I feel like it would be simpler to use a driver better suited to your application. You could potentially parallel 2 on a channel but that's going the other direction, and I don't know how variable voltage would work in that case. By the way, it's been noted (maybe supra? sorry) that it may need symmetrical loads to perform properly. I haven't tested them yet. I'm sorry I can't help more.

I'll use it in a 2x4 tent, from seed with 2 plants. I'll probably raise the light up high, and use a screen. I plan on building a different type of system eventually.
 
littlejacob

littlejacob

Well-Known Member
Bonjour
To run cobs in parallel the vf must match a maximum. I believe 0.1/0.2 difference, no more!
Have a great day ★
 
jayay

jayay

Member
So I used both drivers, but ditched the 3-up chips. They would have fit (barely), but it would have been too much for the heat-sink thermally. The copper shims worked perfectly; luck was on my side as I did not have to flatten the tabs on the Ideal holder. The 18ga 8-conductor "alarm wire" worked great. I placed 2x terminal blocks and 2x 140mm fans on the heat-sink.

960.jpg

Here are the drivers. This will sit outside the tent (and covered).

962.jpg

I was de-leafing this girl so I can chop & hang her, and put her under the light just to see.

961.jpg

963.jpg
 
jayay

jayay

Member
I had a few questions if anybody knows.
Should I ground the heat-sink?
Can you connect drivers in parallel before the AC outlet (to cut down on # of cables)?
 
littlejacob

littlejacob

Well-Known Member
I done it with the driver and the fan psu...so I am sure you can do it with 2/3 drivers.
Is that what you meant? Wired in parallel the drivers to plug them together to the wall!?
CU
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top