xX_BHMC_Xx
Well-Known Member
Not necessarily always in parallel on a CV driver. Say for instance, you had 12 blue mono diodes running at about 3v each; on a 36v 2.1a CV driver you could run those 12 in series and push all 2.1a through the string. You could also run 3 parallel strings of 12 diodes, and split that 2.1a between the 3 strings, for about 700ma each.
The problem you mentioned with parallel wiring, at least for new builders, is thermal runaway. Even if you buy 5 of the exact same chip, same bin, even same production batch, due to manufacturing tolerances all 5 chips could run at a slightly different voltage. Current and voltage are co-dependent in most all circumstances, and as such each chip would receive different amounts of power. This means that one chip will be hotter than the rest, causing its Fv to change, and further unbalancing the distribution of power. Eventually you could burn out a chip, pushing even more power to the rest of the chips; on and on until the whole system goes down.
However, with a properly selected CV driver, you can minimize this possibility since CV drivers have a hard voltage ceiling. With a little bit of research and planning, CV or CC are both perfectly good options.
