Aussie Growers Thread

Bongsmoke420

Bongsmoke420

Well-Known Member
OzCocoLoco said:
I've always used "free" power but that's another risk of getting busted so it's good to have one less.
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Nothin free about my power, but hey it hasn’t changed which is weird but I don’t run my dryer and washing constantly so kinda is the same, I don’t mind paying for it when it’s only about 3 oz worth of the grow
 
2easy

2easy

Well-Known Member
OzCocoLoco said:
What do you mean by "thermal runaway" ?
If you had them all in series it may cause to to much voltage drop for that driver ?
I don't like working with electronics and SELV, I don't even install my own lights on the truck lol

https://www.ledsupply.com/blog/#/article/931

Worth having a look for anyone building their own fitting.
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Connecting multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver in parallel is not recommended.

Constant current LED drivers are used to power LEDs that have no internal current regulation. When you connect multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver in parallel, you run the risk of reducing the life span of your LED’s.



Why?
First, it is important to understand that all LEDs have a manufacturing tolerance. This means that even though you are using several LEDs with exactly the same part number, there can be slight variances in the voltage at which the LEDs start up.

For example, you may have a constant current LED driver with a 1A output powering 5 LEDs with an input current rating of 200mA.

Due to the permissible manufacturing tolerance one of the LEDs will come on once the output voltage of the LED driver reaches 9V, another will come on at 9.3V, and the others at 9.5V, 9.6V and 9.7V.

Because the first LED is on before the others it will draw a slightly higher current than it needs. The other LEDs will be slightly under powered. As the first LED is being over driven, there is a risk that its lifespan will be reduced and it could fail prematurely.

This failure has a knock-on effect. Because there are now only four LEDs connected to the LED driver, they will all be driven with a current of 250mA.

This means all 4 LEDs are now being overdriven.

This will most likely result in another of the LEDs failing soon. Of course, this then means the remaining 3 LEDs are now driven with 333mA, which means it won’t be long before they too fail.

Should you need to connect multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver, it is advisable to connect them in series. This way the power is cut should one of the LEDs fail, protecting the other LEDs from being over driven.

If you have any questions about wiring LEDs to a MEAN WELL LED driver, please do not hesitate to contact MEAN WELL Australia.
 
Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke

Well-Known Member
Last edited:
2easy

2easy

Well-Known Member
Lucky Luke said:
Thats the pic Stephen from HLG posted....Take it up with him. Its about 3 posts down at https://www.rollitup.org/t/quantum-boards-grow.927065/page-2
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Well my knowledge is limited. Im guessing it would be a small risk if you have proper heatsinks. Basically if one led is drawing more current the way it is wired there that led can be allowed to draw more current than the others. That wouldnt happen if they were all in series.

If an led is drawing more current it runs hotter and becomes less efficient and actually starts to draw more and more current which results in failure. Then once one fails the others will all start to go.

If they have proper heatsinks i think there is less risk of that.

My guess is its cheaper for them to do it that way because you would probably find it hard to find a driver that could run them all in series. To do it that way you would be better off running 2 smaller drivers.
 
ruby fruit

ruby fruit

Well-Known Member
2easy said:
Well my knowledge is limited. Im guessing it would be a small risk if you have proper heatsinks. Basically if one led is drawing more current the way it is wired there that led can be allowed to draw more current than the others. That wouldnt happen if they were all in series.

If an led is drawing more current it runs hotter and becomes less efficient and actually starts to draw more and more current which results in failure. Then once one fails the others will all start to go.

If they have proper heatsinks i think there is less risk of that.

My guess is its cheaper for them to do it that way because you would probably find it hard to find a driver that could run them all in series. To do it that way you would be better off running 2 smaller drivers.
Click to expand...
Isn't there some that don't have a heat sink now ?
Bare in mind I'm talking about something I don't know about just hear a mate talking bout led the other day in the local.
 
reza92

reza92

Well-Known Member
2easy said:
Connecting multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver in parallel is not recommended.

Constant current LED drivers are used to power LEDs that have no internal current regulation. When you connect multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver in parallel, you run the risk of reducing the life span of your LED’s.



Why?
First, it is important to understand that all LEDs have a manufacturing tolerance. This means that even though you are using several LEDs with exactly the same part number, there can be slight variances in the voltage at which the LEDs start up.

For example, you may have a constant current LED driver with a 1A output powering 5 LEDs with an input current rating of 200mA.

Due to the permissible manufacturing tolerance one of the LEDs will come on once the output voltage of the LED driver reaches 9V, another will come on at 9.3V, and the others at 9.5V, 9.6V and 9.7V.

Because the first LED is on before the others it will draw a slightly higher current than it needs. The other LEDs will be slightly under powered. As the first LED is being over driven, there is a risk that its lifespan will be reduced and it could fail prematurely.

This failure has a knock-on effect. Because there are now only four LEDs connected to the LED driver, they will all be driven with a current of 250mA.

This means all 4 LEDs are now being overdriven.

This will most likely result in another of the LEDs failing soon. Of course, this then means the remaining 3 LEDs are now driven with 333mA, which means it won’t be long before they too fail.

Should you need to connect multiple LEDs to a constant current LED driver, it is advisable to connect them in series. This way the power is cut should one of the LEDs fail, protecting the other LEDs from being over driven.

If you have any questions about wiring LEDs to a MEAN WELL LED driver, please do not hesitate to contact MEAN WELL Australia.
Click to expand...
Series wiring is only recommended when then voltages stay bellow 200v anything higher and you should start using parallel or a combination of both.
 
G

giglewigle

Well-Known Member
58C44622-2C22-43A9-9AB7-CF4C586307BB.jpeg C3D0B647-7AD4-4644-8141-487B497F8C18.jpeg FE0CC81D-665B-47B7-9398-A9AB211F4AEE.jpeg 58C44622-2C22-43A9-9AB7-CF4C586307BB.jpeg C3D0B647-7AD4-4644-8141-487B497F8C18.jpeg Those spike things suck ass thay don’t hold shit gunna end up cutting branches off wanted to ages ago but I kno I will cop shit for it but I’ll be fucked if I’m gunna come out to a branch on my plant fuck that personally I think it should of had branches trimmed off n trained better owell dam good cammo tho so far everyone has been like what weed plants lol 58C44622-2C22-43A9-9AB7-CF4C586307BB.jpeg
 
reza92

reza92

Well-Known Member
2easy said:
Well my knowledge is limited. Im guessing it would be a small risk if you have proper heatsinks. Basically if one led is drawing more current the way it is wired there that led can be allowed to draw more current than the others. That wouldnt happen if they were all in series.

If an led is drawing more current it runs hotter and becomes less efficient and actually starts to draw more and more current which results in failure. Then once one fails the others will all start to go.

If they have proper heatsinks i think there is less risk of that.

My guess is its cheaper for them to do it that way because you would probably find it hard to find a driver that could run them all in series. To do it that way you would be better off running 2 smaller drivers.
Click to expand...
Unless your using mismatched boards ( ie boards made by different manufacturers or from different batches etc) and are running them harder then the manufacturers max current rating you shouldn’t get thermal runaway. If you building a light with multiple boards (or strips) and plan on running them really hard (not recommend anyway) buy the boards or strips all together so they come from the same batch and bin.
 
2easy

2easy

Well-Known Member
ruby fruit said:
Isn't there some that don't have a heat sink now ?
Bare in mind I'm talking about something I don't know about just hear a mate talking bout led the other day in the local.
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Mate honestly i dont really know what im on about either. I have done some research into what i want to build and the best way to do it. But my info is like an engineer on a building site. Its the best specs and most accurate way but then someone with actual on site experience might walk up and say alot of that isnt necessary in real world circumstances
 
reza92

reza92

Well-Known Member
2easy said:
Mate honestly i dont really know what im on about either. I have done some research into what i want to build and the best way to do it. But my info is like an engineer on a building site. Its the best specs and most accurate way but then someone with actual on site experience might walk up and say alot of that isnt necessary in real world circumstances
Click to expand...
That’s pretty much the nuts of it. The absolute best way to stop any problems is series, But if you start getting into the 200v plus being delivered from The driver one short circuit can result in a dead person, in That case loosing some boards/strips to thermal runoff is the better trade. In saying that there are plenty of people driving the boards hard and I haven’t seen any issues with thermal runaway yet.
 
jungle666

jungle666

Well-Known Member
Morning all, can I have your thoughts on these plants, they've been treated for bugs in the last few days with neem oil which seems to be working but to me they seem to be lacking something or am i being a little impatient with their recovery, cheers jPART_1541966903444.jpeg PART_1541966886725.jpeg PART_1541966870857.jpeg
 
2easy

2easy

Well-Known Member
reza92 said:
That’s pretty much the nuts of it. The absolute best way to stop any problems is series, But if you start getting into the 200v plus being delivered from The driver one short circuit can result in a dead person, in That case loosing some boards/strips to thermal runoff is the better trade. In saying that there are plenty of people driving the boards hard and I haven’t seen any issues with thermal runaway yet.
Click to expand...
Yeah honestly most drivers wont let you run over 200v thats why you see a lot of people split it up and run multiple smaller drivers
 
Bongsmoke420

Bongsmoke420

Well-Known Member
Fuck sick as today, been :spew:since 12 last night, gastro I think fuck don’t drink the tap water here a notice went round the other days saying there is Gardia in the water lol sucks coz I only found out last night lol
 
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