Best cree set up for tiny, micro grow :)
- Thread starter shiva71
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Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
Purchased my CXA2530s from Fasttech and Newark when they had them in stock. For your situation, one CXB3590 would suit your 1 square ft area or four or five CXA2530. The project growmau5 helped me with on your thread is a good example. I built my first light for veg with the CXA2530 from Fasttech. I used Intel cpu coolers I got cheap on Ebay. I quickly decided active cooling(with fans) is a ball ache and switched to passive.What current you run at is up to you. The best advice I can give is to read threads in the LED section a few times over. When in doubt ask someone. You will quickly get an idea of who knows what they are talking about.
Cheers,
Will
shiva71
Well-Known Member
Hi Will
Yes CXB3590s are an option but they are €20 more than the 3070 which at 1400mah is around 7.5k lumens which i think is plenty for a square foot. But im interested in your 2530 set up. Did you find a driver to run all of them? Im still not 100% sure about this stuff. The voltage output of the driver needs to cover the combined voltage of your LEDs, is that correct?
Do you have a journal/post for the 2530 set up?
Cheers!
Yes CXB3590s are an option but they are €20 more than the 3070 which at 1400mah is around 7.5k lumens which i think is plenty for a square foot. But im interested in your 2530 set up. Did you find a driver to run all of them? Im still not 100% sure about this stuff. The voltage output of the driver needs to cover the combined voltage of your LEDs, is that correct?
Do you have a journal/post for the 2530 set up?
Cheers!
Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
Hello Shiva71,
I don't want to give you the impression that I am one of the folks on here that knows what I am doing. I have simply sifted through a lot of threads and asked the people who do a lot of questions. I posted a thread last year you can have a look at but there are definitely better build threads then mine.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/wills-diy-led-experience-or-lack-of.890166/#post-12078465
Growmau5 has worked with an Ozzie Chap to create an all in one DIY package to help people dip their toe into the water.
This link is the thread: https://www.rollitup.org/t/cutter-electronics-complete-diy-cob-kits.902453/page-27#post-12540693
If you have not visited Cutter's website check it out. He has some single COB light engines that might make things easier for you. http://cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=COB+Led+Engines
There is another Bloke in China called Jerry who has some good prices on COBs Read more about it here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/kingbrite-rocks.866244/
There is another Rockstar here that has contributed a boat load of information. His moniker is SupraSPL.
Check out this thread and any others of his that you find. https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-leds-how-to-power-them.801554/
I noticed you used euros in your post so I am assuming you live somewhere within the E.U. If that is the case TME has some good prices and shipping rates with them are very reasonable. Their website: http://www.tme.eu/en/
If you have any other queries I will certainly do my best to help. Please bare in mind that I am not an innovator, qualified engineer or expert. I am a gardener with a primary school level of mathematical comprehension. I have scoured the threads here until I found what I needed. Any pearls of wisdom I offer are not my own just regurgitated information given to me by individuals a lot more intelligent than I.
Cheers,
Will
I don't want to give you the impression that I am one of the folks on here that knows what I am doing. I have simply sifted through a lot of threads and asked the people who do a lot of questions. I posted a thread last year you can have a look at but there are definitely better build threads then mine.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/wills-diy-led-experience-or-lack-of.890166/#post-12078465
Growmau5 has worked with an Ozzie Chap to create an all in one DIY package to help people dip their toe into the water.
This link is the thread: https://www.rollitup.org/t/cutter-electronics-complete-diy-cob-kits.902453/page-27#post-12540693
If you have not visited Cutter's website check it out. He has some single COB light engines that might make things easier for you. http://cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=COB+Led+Engines
There is another Bloke in China called Jerry who has some good prices on COBs Read more about it here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/kingbrite-rocks.866244/
There is another Rockstar here that has contributed a boat load of information. His moniker is SupraSPL.
Check out this thread and any others of his that you find. https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-leds-how-to-power-them.801554/
I noticed you used euros in your post so I am assuming you live somewhere within the E.U. If that is the case TME has some good prices and shipping rates with them are very reasonable. Their website: http://www.tme.eu/en/
If you have any other queries I will certainly do my best to help. Please bare in mind that I am not an innovator, qualified engineer or expert. I am a gardener with a primary school level of mathematical comprehension. I have scoured the threads here until I found what I needed. Any pearls of wisdom I offer are not my own just regurgitated information given to me by individuals a lot more intelligent than I.
Cheers,
Will
JorgeGonzales
Well-Known Member
If you want to nerd out, crunch numbers, and do a build with more light spread, see if tme will sell you 4 citizen CLU048-1212s. You could run them on an HLG-60h-c350b, and be as efficient as a CXB3590, with much better spread.
180+ lm/w, about 8400 lumens in 46W spread over 4 cobs. Dimmable. That would be a really sweet setup.
Citizen can be a bitch about what countries it ships too, however.
180+ lm/w, about 8400 lumens in 46W spread over 4 cobs. Dimmable. That would be a really sweet setup.
Citizen can be a bitch about what countries it ships too, however.
Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
I am thinking of doing this myself. I found a supplier in the U.K. with prices slightly more than CDI in the States. I have a pair of Chinese LED Ebay specials that I want to retrofit with better parts. If you are not living in Poland TME will not sell them to you. That is Citizen's silly policy not TME's. The U.K. supplier has CLU048-1212C4- 303H5k2 for £8.23 (10.43 Euro). @JorgeGonzales thanks for crunching them numbers for us, 180lm/w sounds bang tidy.
Cheers,
Will
shiva71
Well-Known Member
Thanks guys, especially Will for the info. I feel i am treading a well-trodden path, learning about LEDs with the feeling that its a bit like the Hydra - get one part of the puzzle in place,and another 10 pop up! I have honestly spent a lot of time reading up but my understanding is still crap and im kinda reluctant to post in the other big threads cos it just sounds like ive been to lazy to do any research, which isnt the case...!
I think ill probably stick with Cree's not least cos of this which I guess youre familiar with:
http://pct.cree.com/dt/index.html
So, for example, as in the pic, Ive selected CXA2530, T4 bin, 4 leds. Now I can see that driven at 400ma, the output will be 8683.2lm. My driver choice is determined by the current (in this case 400ma) and the combined Vf 141.19 needed by the leds, and the max. output voltage of the driver should be as near to this as possible.
That is about as advanced as my thinking is at the moment...am I on the right track?
Many thanks!
I think ill probably stick with Cree's not least cos of this which I guess youre familiar with:
http://pct.cree.com/dt/index.html
So, for example, as in the pic, Ive selected CXA2530, T4 bin, 4 leds. Now I can see that driven at 400ma, the output will be 8683.2lm. My driver choice is determined by the current (in this case 400ma) and the combined Vf 141.19 needed by the leds, and the max. output voltage of the driver should be as near to this as possible.
That is about as advanced as my thinking is at the moment...am I on the right track?
Many thanks!
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JorgeGonzales
Well-Known Member
Don't worry about filling your driver as near as possible, just keep it above 60 or 70% of it's stated capacity in watts to keep it in the sweet spot for efficiency. Drivers have charts showing load vs efficiency.
I'd just get the HLG-60 I mentioned earlier and call it a day. It's an efficient driver, dimmable, and set up to wire in series which is what you want to do.
That will be about 50W, enough lumens, and that's that. Dim it to veg, crank it to flower, a couple oz to share with friends if you are lucky. You'll even have some watts left over if you wanted to play with adding mono leds. With 3000k Crees maybe a bit of blue for vegging, I dunno. UV. Far red.
I'd just get the HLG-60 I mentioned earlier and call it a day. It's an efficient driver, dimmable, and set up to wire in series which is what you want to do.
That will be about 50W, enough lumens, and that's that. Dim it to veg, crank it to flower, a couple oz to share with friends if you are lucky. You'll even have some watts left over if you wanted to play with adding mono leds. With 3000k Crees maybe a bit of blue for vegging, I dunno. UV. Far red.
shiva71
Well-Known Member
Many thanks JG. That driver plus the CXA2350 looks like it would be a sweet build. Yeah a few oz to share with friends would be cool. Im also hoping if it works out ill be able to help a friend who has desperate medical needs, being in the UK were not quite as enlightened as the US. He has a 600hps set up and is struggling with heat and big bills, id love to show him that these cree set ups are incredibly effective and build a few lamps for him - but thats a long way off!!
You said about matching the watts, ok - but i thought equally important is matching the voltage of the leds with the voltage of the driver...or am i mistaken?
I'll hopefully finish my cab this weekend, i'll post some pics - im pretty pleased with it!
Cheers
You said about matching the watts, ok - but i thought equally important is matching the voltage of the leds with the voltage of the driver...or am i mistaken?
I'll hopefully finish my cab this weekend, i'll post some pics - im pretty pleased with it!
Cheers
JorgeGonzales
Well-Known Member
You aren't wrong, but watts and volts track each other because watts = voltage x current, and your current is staying the same at 350ma. As long as you stay in the 100V-200V range the driver can keep the current constant, which is the main concern.
Most people try to maximize their load, which is measured in watts, and the higher the load the more efficient the power supply.
So if you look at the datasheet, you'll see the constant current range is 100-200V for the HLG-60h-c350b. Forward voltage is about 35V at 350ma, so 35*4 = 140V and 140V*.350 = 49W (the Cree PCT is doing this math for your screenshot).
So that's 49W on a 70W driver, which is a relatively light load, but it's really not necessary to push a driver to the very limit. Take a look at the load chart and you'll see with 230VAC you are doing great at 70% load.
That might not have even answered your question, but I hope it did a little.
Seriousbuds
Active Member
I would love a video on this.
I'm planning an indoor vegetable garden on a 4 tiered metal shelf. Was going to do some clip lighting underneath, but the T5 lighting is just too expensive and it doesn't make sense to spend ~$400 for what's supposed to be cheap fresh veggies.
Hard to beat going to Goodwill and getting a laptop driver for $2. Would be nice to know what to look for, and how many XM-L2s you could drive on one
Growmau5
Well-Known Member
I might do something on this. But the principle is pretty simple.
Run around town ( goodwill, computer salvage, etc) look for dc power supplies: 12,24,36,48 volt. 3,5,8amp. Whatever you can get your hands on. Then wire the dc out into any of the meanwell LDD series drivers. You will get approx 2v less than the supply to run your LEDs.
Xml2 will take up 3.2-3.7v each. So 24v supply minus 2v divided by ~3.5 = 6 xml2's
shiva71
Well-Known Member
Thats brilliant, thanks very much i appreciate it man. Its starting to slowly sink in at last!
shiva71
Well-Known Member
Will, so you didnt need the pc fans on the CXA2530s? What current were you putting through tthem?
Cheers!
Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
I run 10x CXA2530 @500ma(Meanwell HLG-185-500B) 7 COBs in 4600k and 3 in 2700k. I replaced the CPU coolers with Finned profiles 165mm x 100mm x 35mm. Also made another fixture with the same setup but 7 COBs in 2700k and 3 in 4600k. Basically watched Growmau5's mega veg panel video on youtube bought 10 CXA in 4600k from the video and in the comments section he mentioned 2700k from Newark (who spanked me a bit on shipping to the U.K.). After that I joined this forum and digested everyone's advice. Not long after that I was ordering CXB3590s and away we go.
I noticed you said you are in the U.K. as am I. Here is a procurement list with links.
Heatsinks TME.eu £3.78 per unit plus £7 postage
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/rad-a4291_100/radiators/
CXA2530 (choice of 4000k 3000k 5000k) £7.50 each slightly cheaper the more you purchase.Free shipping
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10013316/4703201-cree-cxa2530-t4-30g-5287lm-3000k-cob-led-array
molex holder mouser.co.uk £1.55 each if you buy your driver here as well I believe it is free shipping over £30 and no import duty (they do add VAT though)
http://www.mouser.co.uk/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=cxa2530+holder
LPC-100-500 (not dimmable) run 4x cxa2530 @500ma as Growmau5 suggested for me earlier in thread.
http://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/LPC-100-500/?qs=/ha2pyFaduiEfsEpbNzjdhkefJvTl7SbKZdzylF6FWO7Tq5/3k1Spg==
Extra sundries to consider:
Aluminium angle Ebay or shop around. If you find it cheaper hook me up with a link
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium...hash=item3aa91ea7bb:m:m_PScgb_rL6Tp4Rdm_nchJg
my new favorite tool a pop riveter, because fiddling with tiny nuts and bolts gets on my tits.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rivet-Pop...797427?hash=item1e7ed352f3:g:Ch8AAOSw0vBUbcfb
Wago connectors
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connectors...y&ie=UTF8&qid=1462748438&sr=1-7&keywords=wago
Tools: side cutting pliers or wire strippers, drill for aluminium angles and heatsinks rivet/bolt together,multimeter(maybe). Oh and some solid single core wire 18-22awg.
Nice cuppa tea, relaxing music (your choice) pat your dog, stroke your cat, feed your fish whichever applies. Build you awesome grow light. Take photos, post them here and receive applause from your fellow enthusiasts. Help the next person when you can.
Jobs a good'un.
Cheers,
Will
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JorgeGonzales
Well-Known Member
I was thinking http://www.tme.eu/en/details/rad-a6023_220/radiators/
Since this is a small space, that will fit nicely inside a 30x30 space, look slick, and you can stick a 120mm pc fan on it if you want to be fancy, but it will work passively if I did the math right.
@Will Thayer at 500ma he'd be over 10,000 lm/sq ft? That might be tough to manage without height to raise or a dimming option. I figured 350ma was safer, and still more light than most people run.
Since this is a small space, that will fit nicely inside a 30x30 space, look slick, and you can stick a 120mm pc fan on it if you want to be fancy, but it will work passively if I did the math right.
@Will Thayer at 500ma he'd be over 10,000 lm/sq ft? That might be tough to manage without height to raise or a dimming option. I figured 350ma was safer, and still more light than most people run.
Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
I agree with everything you have said. I was thinking of my situation and had not focused on Shiva's with enough attention to detail. It is good to have people bounce ideas around. We should start an online forum where folks can share ideas about our hobby and help one another...oh wait never mind.
Cheers,
Will
Will Thayer
Well-Known Member
Right Lads, So I mentioned earlier in this thread that I wanted to add a little boost to an old plant photonics 140w panel I bought years ago. The panel was not a bad bit of kit for its time.
I have a friend who's Mrs says he can have a play at growing. The one stipulation was only one plant in a small tent. So since I had the panel and some spare CXA2530s laying around I thought I would help a Brother out.
The tent is 90cm x 60cm x 90cm tall. Tiny I know but rules is rules. The plan is for me to provide him with one nicely vegged specimen topped and trained. He can Scrog during the stretch. So this fixture will only ever be used for flowering. After each run I will provide him another vegged n' ready plant.
Thanks to @Growmau5 for the advice on the driver( I have another project to use LDDs soon) and to @shiva71 for not shouting at me for stepping on his thread. @JorgeGonzales your opinion is always welcome.
Kids will be home soon so I can't check the footprint with Quantum sensor until tomorrow.
Cheers,
Will
I have a friend who's Mrs says he can have a play at growing. The one stipulation was only one plant in a small tent. So since I had the panel and some spare CXA2530s laying around I thought I would help a Brother out.
The tent is 90cm x 60cm x 90cm tall. Tiny I know but rules is rules. The plan is for me to provide him with one nicely vegged specimen topped and trained. He can Scrog during the stretch. So this fixture will only ever be used for flowering. After each run I will provide him another vegged n' ready plant.
Thanks to @Growmau5 for the advice on the driver( I have another project to use LDDs soon) and to @shiva71 for not shouting at me for stepping on his thread. @JorgeGonzales your opinion is always welcome.
Kids will be home soon so I can't check the footprint with Quantum sensor until tomorrow.
Cheers,
Will
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shiva71
Well-Known Member
No worries Will, you, JG and Growmau5 (and others who i may have forgeotten, sorry!) have given me more help than I could have wished for. Huge, sincere thanks to you all!
Sadly no cat Will. I suffer dreadfully from lack of cats, I love 'em!
Ive been toying with the idea which has been mentioned, namely adding a few small cobs to supplement the 3070. Fasttech have CXA1507s for $3 a pop. The 36v model at 350mA is around 800lm so 4 of them on top of the 3070, should work ok I reckon! Id just as your opinions on colour, they have 3,4,5000k...?
Oh and as promised, heres my weird-ass cab ive built. Im relatively happy with it, not as neat and tidy as id wanted but it will do. Ive used this stuff (or smt similar) http://sell.pakuya.com/product-info/148687/Paper-Honey-Comb-Board-Cardboard-Corrugated-Sheets.html which is great to work with. Made the lid hinged cos i like folding stuff! Need to cut out air vents and stuff but again as its card, this is quick and easy.
Inside is my cheapo ghetto Led cob & driver i got from DX, just to practice building...it works ok, 2000lm and i guess it will come in handy at some point.
Oh and at the bottom - that is my true labour of love, im trying to build a New Hope Stormtrooper helmet from scratch
Good luck with your mates set up Will.
Cheers guys
Sadly no cat Will. I suffer dreadfully from lack of cats, I love 'em!
Ive been toying with the idea which has been mentioned, namely adding a few small cobs to supplement the 3070. Fasttech have CXA1507s for $3 a pop. The 36v model at 350mA is around 800lm so 4 of them on top of the 3070, should work ok I reckon! Id just as your opinions on colour, they have 3,4,5000k...?
Oh and as promised, heres my weird-ass cab ive built. Im relatively happy with it, not as neat and tidy as id wanted but it will do. Ive used this stuff (or smt similar) http://sell.pakuya.com/product-info/148687/Paper-Honey-Comb-Board-Cardboard-Corrugated-Sheets.html which is great to work with. Made the lid hinged cos i like folding stuff! Need to cut out air vents and stuff but again as its card, this is quick and easy.
Inside is my cheapo ghetto Led cob & driver i got from DX, just to practice building...it works ok, 2000lm and i guess it will come in handy at some point.
Oh and at the bottom - that is my true labour of love, im trying to build a New Hope Stormtrooper helmet from scratch
Good luck with your mates set up Will.
Cheers guys
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