DIY design build throwdown

[SSGrower]

Not me. I'm trying to put the pieces together for the next step forward in indoor cultivation. People increasingly live in places food won't grow, so I'm thinking inside the box to come up with an answer.

This is an example of why I started this thread.

TT, you and many others I'm sure are looking to apply this knowledge professionally, I on the other hand have a professional expertise (used loosely) that I want to get away from but never in my life have I had so much fun talking/thinking/expressing about electronics rated for a hazardous atmosphere as the back an forth with @BOBBY_G

So here goes @kmog33 , @Airwalker16 , solder and use rated wire, some people choose to use the low voltage trailer wire in home depot some of this would be ok some of it would not look at temperature and voltage ratings please.

@Jp.the.pope thanks for using and showing a pic of you using nitrile gloves, the stuff we are working with can be anything from mildly annoying to toxic (lime) and deadly even (peroxide), (I'm gonna reserve comment on BHO). Aluminium, steel wool, are irritating some polishing compounds have heavy metals in them. These are just examples and by no means all inclusive I have no idea what the fuck anyone else is using but I try to consider if I am going to use a product in this arena it is incumbent upon me to use it responsibly. This goes for personal and environmental protection. Also, I know eating, drinking, and smoking are going on somewhere nearby so be mindful to clean yourself up.

 

[kmog33]

This is an example of why I started this thread.

TT, you and many others I'm sure are looking to apply this knowledge professionally, I on the other hand have a professional expertise (used loosely) that I want to get away from but never in my life have I had so much fun talking/thinking/expressing about electronics rated for a hazardous atmosphere as the back an forth with @BOBBY_G

So here goes @kmog33 , @Airwalker16 , solder and use rated wire, some people choose to use the low voltage trailer wire in home depot some of this would be ok some of it would not look at temperature and voltage ratings please.

@Jp.the.pope thanks for using and showing a pic of you using nitrile gloves, the stuff we are working with can be anything from mildly annoying to toxic (lime) and deadly even (peroxide), (I'm gonna reserve comment on BHO). Aluminium, steel wool, are irritating some polishing compounds have heavy metals in them. These are just examples and by no means all inclusive I have no idea what the fuck anyone else is using but I try to consider if I am going to use a product in this arena it is incumbent upon me to use it responsibly. This goes for personal and environmental protection. Also, I know eating, drinking, and smoking are going on somewhere nearby so be mindful to clean yourself up.

I like it when my cables/wires can handle 1.5-2x the load I intend to put through it. Surges do happen, and with parallel circuits I feel the need to be especially careful lol.

 

[SSGrower]

Okay cool, I will mount them directly on the heatsinks then
It'll up my routing skills as I'm actually working with wood for my fixture.

For the heatsinks I will use them passively (fischer elektronik sk 47 0.53 K/W )

I actually used a chisel cut a my squares.

Also more free advice coming so your warned....

Part of design build is doing it efficiently, we're going for a clean look but that must take a backseat to performance. So how to quickly make things look proportional and be arranged in a logical manner I use the sizes of the objects to help me measure things example these cables I will use to hang the light:

(This color so common in CO they had this but not clear, black, red, or any other color!)

They are as long as the board (on benchtop in pic) that my two heat sinks will sit in plus the length of the loop which needed to be stripped of the insulation so I used the length of one of the sides of the heatsink x 2. This all accurately reproduces the cables. I can go back tomorrow and make exactly the same thing without ever touching a formal measuring device, which in turn remains in the drawer and out of my way until I want to go formally document what I did which is also crucial to record failures and successes. And on that note making my own heatsink EPIC FAIL!!!!!!!! There will be no cool looking passive aluminium fixture for me at this time .

sorry for the crap ass pic, guess I need to lay off the coffee a little.

 

[SSGrower]

I like it when my cables/wires can handle 1.5-2x the load I intend to put through it. Surges do happen, and with parallel circuits I feel the need to be especially careful lol.

Yeah when I first saw someone setting these things up in parallel I ran like hell! (figuratively of course because I didn't even get off my ass)!

 

[SSGrower]

Just kinda 'affixed' them to heatsinks. Wanted to check wiring and a few Chinese drivers.. Well, a bit of handling and one of the series came 'un-affixed'.. Oh yes, it lit. Brightly. And then the magic smoke came out.. lol. Chip literally unsoldered itself from the plastic round. Four points of contact under there btw. See pic It's a good luck charm now. LED itself is rather unharmed, it bubbled a little.. Would prob still light, but I value being alive, so I won't try..

Unrelated: If anyone knows if that driver is good for anything, please elaborate. Theres 28 THOUSAND of them about to get recycled..

Are you using an epoxy in addition to the tape (i think i see the tape in a pic of yours at least)? I'm finding the holders to be a bit finicky.

 

[kmog33]

Yeah when I first saw someone setting these things up in parallel I ran like hell! (figuratively of course because I didn't even get off my ass)!

The trick in my circuits is cobs that can potentially handle the added power of the circuit if one burns out. I Lose some efficiency yeah, but I'll still have light lol.

 

[Airwalker16]

@SSGrower I used sprinkler wire from home depot.18awg. Works just fine.

 

[Airwalker16]

I do sometimes have my ground spark on the alum channel I bolted it to. Which is weird. Like for example when I plugged a power strip into another one plugged into the wall when I plugged my light in, it popped with a spark. And light didn't turn on. But once I just ran an extension cord directly to my light it worked fine. I can't figure out why.

 

[SSGrower]

@SSGrower I used sprinkler wire from home depot.18awg. Works just fine.

Agreed and it bundles several together that can easily be color coded, I think though i'd double check if you're using 72v crees. Like I've tried to say I'm no expert in anything, can't afford to be!!!

 

[SSGrower]

I do sometimes have my ground spark on the alum channel I bolted it to. Which is weird. Like for example when I plugged a power strip into another one plugged into the wall when I plugged my light in, it popped with a spark. And light didn't turn on. But once I just ran an extension cord directly to my light it worked fine. I can't figure out why.

Spart from wall outlet or ground connection? this is one reason I went with a driver with plug attached, somewhere in the back of my head is a caution about having a reverse polarity outlet

 

[Airwalker16]

Agreed and it bundles several together that can easily be color coded, I think though i'd double check if you're using 72v crees. Like I've tried to say I'm no expert in anything, can't afford to be!!!

Def 36v

 

[Airwalker16]

Spart from wall outlet or ground connection?

Spark on ground wire on alum channel

 

[SSGrower]

edited post above but check revers polarity on outlet and on plug connection too

 

[Airwalker16]

edited post above but check revers polarity on outlet and on plug connection too

It's all correct

 

[SSGrower]

What's weird about that is I was expecting the plug to have one side blade larger than the other but they're the same size so it must not be an issue with drive that I have.

 

[SSGrower]

gonna jump back to my professional life but a power strip plugged into a power strip would be an audit finding for me. It's not advised mostly because you are relying on the plug/outlet connection multiple times and this is the weak link here, creating heat, resistance, and eventually fire

 

[Airwalker16]

gonna jump back to my professional life but a power strip plugged into a power strip would be an audit finding for me. It's not advised mostly because you are relying on the plug/outlet connection multiple times and this is the weak link here, creating heat, resistance, and eventually fire

Ya I figured that was the reason

 

[sixstring2112]

well i use alot of that sprinkler wire in my daily bus and although its 18 ga and solid core,it should be fine for dc currents.it was designed for 24volts .so theres no protections for the casing which is part of our safety.i just wanted to toss that out there,i have seen this wire melt when shorted and thats just with 24v so i chose to use 300v rated wire from the depot for all my builds.i think i paid about 35 cents per foot off the bulk rolls.but i also got 16 ga stranded instead of 18.

 

[Airwalker16]

well i use alot of that sprinkler wire in my daily bus and although its 18 ga and solid core,it should be fine for dc currents.it was designed for 24volts .so theres no protections for the casing which is part of our safety.i just wanted to toss that out there,i have seen this wire melt when shorted and thats just with 24v so i chose to use 300v rated wire from the depot for all my builds.i think i paid about 35 cents per foot off the bulk rolls.but i also got 16 ga stranded instead of 18.

Ya I dnot have any heat issues on my build either so I'm pretty confident it will work fine. I'm just debating on switching to reflectors from the lenses.

 

[PurpleBuz]

Spark on ground wire on alum channel

sounds like you have a major problem in your wiring. A ground wire should not be sparking it indicates there is live current going through the ground. very very bad and very dangerous

plug your unit into a gfci outlet and see if it faults under the same conditions.