Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Seemed to me it was irrelavent. This entire back and forth bullshit seemed to circle around strictly the cost of electricity to light output gained.
chilLED: water cooled, ducted, or active led fixture
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Look man, I had it built and I'm running it and testing its limits. If you'd like to do those calculations, by all means be my guest. But it isn't my job to do your homework for you.
Those calcs were done by someone who sells LED lighting here on RIU and I trust their professional judgement. You may choose to or not.
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I asked you what light you are using, you completely ignore it and tell me youre not going to do my homework for me... Be a hell of a lot easier to do the homework if I had any clue what I was looking for. You leave out so much information that apparently people should just know, about your personal setup.
And to be honest, your setup is pretty unique so explaining a little bit about it could have avoided most of the bickering in this thread. You fail to explain things clearly, and seem to act like a dick when people question you or your methods even when they bring up valid points... just sayin...
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Im genuinely curious about his setup, I wish he wouldnt be so vague about it...Lol @ttystikk jk
Uberknot
Well-Known Member
Meh....CPU blocks....I don't like the huge copper welded at all those points what ever the fuck he calls it.
Why solid run solid copper tubing shaped? Even then I like CPU Blocks...
I do like the air flow ports and the ability to vent the heat out.
I'd be interested in just cases like that that you could mod and do your own thing.
Why solid run solid copper tubing shaped? Even then I like CPU Blocks...
I do like the air flow ports and the ability to vent the heat out.
I'd be interested in just cases like that that you could mod and do your own thing.
nevergoodenuf
Well-Known Member
You just need to look in the vertical section. Though out the journal there is enough hints of his set up to get the whole picture.
nevergoodenuf
Well-Known Member
But he does know how to make you work for it.
Evil-Mobo
Well-Known Member
If you were trying to develop something would you be giving your secrets away brother?
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
If you'd like details about my setup, why don't you look in my thread instead of continually hijacking this one, whining about why I don't post every detail about my lights all over someone else's light thread?
That would be rude and you would be being lazy. The link to my thread is in my signature line. Do your own homework, and try not to make so many messes in other people's threads, ok?
It's not that as much as a proper place for the discussion.
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fearnoevil
Well-Known Member
Hello all, I know I'm new to this game but there's some skills I have that might help me with a project, which is to build an 8' x 8' grow room, i'll sketch the layout later, but suffice to say I'd like to run 8 - 8' cob fixtures. Priced the stuff over at HeatsinkUSA and the total came out to close to $900 just for the passive heats sink. That's when my pipefitting/plumbinb background comes in handy. I started think of a way to water cool that, but now with the typical fan and fin setup. Instead my idea is, first to use extruded aluminum rectangular tubing, 1' x 6' x 8'. This stuffs not cheap, about $90 per length for a total of $720 but the then some of the extruded heatsink material I looked at was over $3.8 per inch, for a total of $1512 (these are rough numbers figured while I'm completly toked up, lol.)
So the essential design is to use one eight-foot piece to support the COB and act as active heat sink. The tubing will have been welded closed at each end, and centered in each end will be drilles/tapped fittings to allow 1/2" pex or cpvc to be connected. These light bars would have 2 Drivers attached to each end running and running 16 COBs on each bar. These tubes would be connected via a manifold at each end - one end will draw cool water through a Grundfos 1/25 hp circulating pump, the other will transport athe heated coolant from the discharge manifold into an enclosure, first passing the coolant through a used car radiator and box fan, then into a reservoir. The discharge side will have a filter and a bleeder valve which constantly removes air from the system.
I believe the initial material cost is cheaper, and IF the water cooling works on this scale, I think it would provide a lot of advantages. But I'm happy to receive an criticism or advise or better ideas. I just like the idea because it's simple and possibly provides better cooling, with the right tweeks ;?)
More details tomorrow, it's getting late, but does it sould doable? If each 8' fixture had 8 COBs
So the essential design is to use one eight-foot piece to support the COB and act as active heat sink. The tubing will have been welded closed at each end, and centered in each end will be drilles/tapped fittings to allow 1/2" pex or cpvc to be connected. These light bars would have 2 Drivers attached to each end running and running 16 COBs on each bar. These tubes would be connected via a manifold at each end - one end will draw cool water through a Grundfos 1/25 hp circulating pump, the other will transport athe heated coolant from the discharge manifold into an enclosure, first passing the coolant through a used car radiator and box fan, then into a reservoir. The discharge side will have a filter and a bleeder valve which constantly removes air from the system.
I believe the initial material cost is cheaper, and IF the water cooling works on this scale, I think it would provide a lot of advantages. But I'm happy to receive an criticism or advise or better ideas. I just like the idea because it's simple and possibly provides better cooling, with the right tweeks ;?)
More details tomorrow, it's getting late, but does it sould doable? If each 8' fixture had 8 COBs
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
You'd be much better off building 16- 4' bars.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
NEW WATER COOLED DESIGNS
It's been awhile since I've posted anything here, but I've been busy building lights, growing and learning. My light designs have gone through a couple of generations and I've recently completed a large air cooled light (500 actual watts) with a flow through design and ducting to remove heat. I wasn't satisfied with the result, so I dropped plans for a larger 4' long version. I'm using over 1000 watts in a regular sized room and the heat build up is too much and air cooling the LED lights wasn't working out too well. So I decided to try a radically different approach, water cooling. I think I might start a new thread on this subject since I figure it deserves more attention. I've got a couple of economical designs in the works that should prove very interesting to any DIY grow light builder.
A few days ago I made a prototype light to test a few ideas and shatter some assumptions. The ease of building, cost and efficiency, convinced me that this is the way to go for anybody who wants to put lots of LED power into a small space with no increase in heat. Your carbon filter and blower are for reducing odor, not cooling your lights, with water cooling you can reduce your blower speed to a fraction. A sealed room and CO2 enrichment is easily possible with water cooling and the only noise you'll hear is the sound of an oscillating fan.
The most common arguments against water cooling are: expense, difficulty and it's not necessary for most small growers. What if I told you that you could build a water cooled light bar cheaper than you could build the equivalent LED grow light on a heatsink and for less bother and with no screw tapping. If your LED junctions run at 80 C with air cooling, then with ambient temperature water cooling (24 C) they will run at 35 to 40 C, cool the water down to 15 C and your juction temps will be in the 25 C range. This means your COBs will last over 200,000 hrs with very little diminishment over time, you can drive them harder, they will produce more light, especially the reds and use less power. Even Cree and Vero fans will find this useful, since if yer paying hundreds or thousands of bucks for COBs you'll want the best possible cooling, and water is it. Stick around and I'll post some pictures, plans, builds, data, ideas and info sources on economically water cooling COBs. All the materials for a water cooling system can be obtained locally and are cheap, the only tools required are an electric drill and a 3/8 drill bit.
For more info go to my thread
It's been awhile since I've posted anything here, but I've been busy building lights, growing and learning. My light designs have gone through a couple of generations and I've recently completed a large air cooled light (500 actual watts) with a flow through design and ducting to remove heat. I wasn't satisfied with the result, so I dropped plans for a larger 4' long version. I'm using over 1000 watts in a regular sized room and the heat build up is too much and air cooling the LED lights wasn't working out too well. So I decided to try a radically different approach, water cooling. I think I might start a new thread on this subject since I figure it deserves more attention. I've got a couple of economical designs in the works that should prove very interesting to any DIY grow light builder.
A few days ago I made a prototype light to test a few ideas and shatter some assumptions. The ease of building, cost and efficiency, convinced me that this is the way to go for anybody who wants to put lots of LED power into a small space with no increase in heat. Your carbon filter and blower are for reducing odor, not cooling your lights, with water cooling you can reduce your blower speed to a fraction. A sealed room and CO2 enrichment is easily possible with water cooling and the only noise you'll hear is the sound of an oscillating fan.
The most common arguments against water cooling are: expense, difficulty and it's not necessary for most small growers. What if I told you that you could build a water cooled light bar cheaper than you could build the equivalent LED grow light on a heatsink and for less bother and with no screw tapping. If your LED junctions run at 80 C with air cooling, then with ambient temperature water cooling (24 C) they will run at 35 to 40 C, cool the water down to 15 C and your juction temps will be in the 25 C range. This means your COBs will last over 200,000 hrs with very little diminishment over time, you can drive them harder, they will produce more light, especially the reds and use less power. Even Cree and Vero fans will find this useful, since if yer paying hundreds or thousands of bucks for COBs you'll want the best possible cooling, and water is it. Stick around and I'll post some pictures, plans, builds, data, ideas and info sources on economically water cooling COBs. All the materials for a water cooling system can be obtained locally and are cheap, the only tools required are an electric drill and a 3/8 drill bit.
For more info go to my thread
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
I was just thinking a fellow might do a good business making DIY grow bars by welding ends on aluminum tubes and putting fittings on. Customers can then just stick COBs on with CPU tape or thermal epoxy. Though I've found that sealing the tubes with plastic or metal plugs and silicone works great, others might like welded tube ends. Any entrepreneurs out there?
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Rectangular copper tubing would be great to use in this application, if you can get it. It's over twice as good a thermal conductor as aluminum and of course the ends can be soldered and then the water jacket can run pressurized. EXPENSIVE though, the thermal performance of a water cooled bar is so good and it runs so cold, that you can use methods of adhering COBs you wouldn't dream of using on an air cooled fixture.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
I've got a plan!
I'm gonna build a five foot long two bar rig and use this small light to provide two additional five foot bars when the big rig is done, it will be five feet long and 20" wide with four light bars. The two small bars (reconfigured) shown above will be on the inside and the 1" X 3" X 5' bars on the outside. In fact I've gotta call the metal shop and order in some 1" x 3" for a friends water cooled light bars that will use the same design (cooling, the COBs will be different) as the test lamp and the two outside bars of the big rig I'm building.
fearnoevil
Well-Known Member
So for the "bar" are you using the extruded rectangular aluminum tubing? I settled on the 6" x 1.5" because it seemed to give a larger surface:volume ratio which I thought would help dissipate the heat better. I can weld, but don't have aluminum mig capability at this time (need to upgrade my little gasless mig) so I would have the end caps done for me, also have the fittings welded at each end. Thinking of going with either pex or cpvc tubing, pex is more flexible and tougher, but cpvc is easier/cheaper to work with. Any preferences??I've got a plan!
Then thinking of using a Grundfos recirc pump, the kinds I used to install in radiant heat apps, as they are as reliable as they come, and operate very efficiently. Then pipe to an external (outside the room) used car radiator (get em on eBay for as low as $35) and box fan to remove heat, but since my basement can get cold in the winter, I'm thinking of cutting a hole in the sheetrock and putting a sealed panel. That way, in the winter, I can just reverse the box fan and open the door to put the heat back in the room.
Yeah, I think a single 8 footer is too unwieldy, and HEAVY, so probably will, although I liked the idea of the longer units due to fewer welds/fittings/and connectors which increase the number of failure points. Have to decides once I get the materials.
So any critiques of this idea? It's much cheaper imo because the tubing acts as frame as well, from what I've read the cooling should be superior provided it's designed properly, and I like the added challenge of working out a new way to do things, always liked reinventing the wheel, lol.
fearnoevil
Well-Known Member
How would you use the tubing? I was looking at copper, rectangular copper tube does exist, but it AIN'T CHEAP, lol. How would you interface the cobs to them, solder a square piece of copper plate to a coil of copper pipe?
Copper is not needed over aluminum when the costs are considered IMO.
I would honestly think from a cost to performance perspective, nothing is going to beat plain rectangular aluminum tubing for these applications.
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