Cola's big citi lights

Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
Parts have started arriving already for my first cob build. I am an absolute noob when it comes to building lights but you can see the bud I'm growing elsewhere :)

Parts sourced so far (some have arrived. Some are on the way)

Meanwell hlg320h c700a driver.

5 x citiled CLU048-1212C4-353H6M3-F1 3500k.

5 x citiled CLU048-1212C4-353H6M3-F1 3000k.

6.0m 25 x 25 x 1.5 aluminum square tubing.

3.6m framing angle 25mm.

5 x 146mm x 600mm x 22mm heatsinks. (ordered 3. Still need to order 2 but the design changed a bit after ordering the first 3).

10 x cob holders to fit citileds. (not too sure of the name but I know they work).

Voltmeter ammeter.

Potentiometer (don't think I actually need it with an A driver. Or if it's even possible to use one. If someone can let me know if it will that would be much appreciated).

4 x 6mm lifting eye hooks.

Still need to source wire when I figure out what the UK equivalent of 18 gauge alarm wire is.

Not even too sure if my heatsinks will be sufficient passive or whether it is worth adding active cooling.
All suggestions. Comments. Advice most welcome.
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Okay man, here goes.

Those chips will run about 33.9 volts each at 700ma at Tc 25C according to the Citi selection tool. So, 10 of those in series will be about 339 volts (this will drop a bit as Tc increases). At 700ma that's almost 24w each for 237w total (115ish PAR watts). Not too shabby, but you could safely add 2 more chips in series to get up to 284w total when you get some extra cash, which is what I would do.

On to the heat sinks. It looks like those heat sinks you ordered should have about 96cm^2 of surface area per cm of length. And at 60cm each, you've got about 5,766cm^2 per heat sink to play with. Two of those chips should require about 2,707cm^2 to cool passively, which means you could easily add a third, or even fourth chip to those bars if you wanted to.

Not possible to use an external potentiometer with the A series drivers, but it's cool because it will have voltage and current control built into the driver. You can dim the COBs with the current control knob, just need to get a little screwdriver.

Here's a link to the volt/amp meter I got. It runs on the AC side of the driver, so you will have to factor in about 6% driver loss to the wattage, but it gets the job done just fine. Also stores kWh numbers so you can track how much energy you're using. I love it so far.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXA5OXC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Euro 18 gauge should be 0.823mm^2.

Eye hooks are easy, find those at your local hardware shop.

It would be really easy to add a few 140mm fans to those heat sinks. Why not right? It will prolong the life of your COBs, they will run more efficiently, and get you better ROI. I would run one of these per heat sink:
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Bearing-Computer-Radiators/dp/B00314J422/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1498609450&sr=8-3&keywords=140mm+pc+fan
You could easily run all 5 in parallel on a Meanwell APV-8-12. $5 US.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/APV-8-12/?qs=/ha2pyFaduhPnCXvti/iuaCRfArAJmOK%2btyQ1noEj9I=
Just wire the fan driver in parallel with the HLG to the mains and they will come on/off at the same time, simple.

Hope that helps man! Let me know if any of that doesn't make sense!
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
xX_BHMC_Xx said:
Okay man, here goes.

Those chips will run about 33.9 volts each at 700ma at Tc 25C according to the Citi selection tool. So, 10 of those in series will be about 339 volts (this will drop a bit as Tc increases). At 700ma that's almost 24w each for 237w total (115ish PAR watts). Not too shabby, but you could safely add 2 more chips in series to get up to 284w total when you get some extra cash, which is what I would do.

On to the heat sinks. It looks like those heat sinks you ordered should have about 96cm^2 of surface area per cm of length. And at 60cm each, you've got about 5,766cm^2 per heat sink to play with. Two of those chips should require about 2,707cm^2 to cool passively, which means you could easily add a third, or even fourth chip to those bars if you wanted to.

Not possible to use an external potentiometer with the A series drivers, but it's cool because it will have voltage and current control built into the driver. You can dim the COBs with the current control knob, just need to get a little screwdriver.

Here's a link to the volt/amp meter I got. It runs on the AC side of the driver, so you will have to factor in about 6% driver loss to the wattage, but it gets the job done just fine. Also stores kWh numbers so you can track how much energy you're using. I love it so far.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXA5OXC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Euro 18 gauge should be 0.823mm^2.

Eye hooks are easy, find those at your local hardware shop.

It would be really easy to add a few 140mm fans to those heat sinks. Why not right? It will prolong the life of your COBs, they will run more efficiently, and get you better ROI. I would run one of these per heat sink:
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Bearing-Computer-Radiators/dp/B00314J422/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1498609450&sr=8-3&keywords=140mm+pc+fan
You could easily run all 5 in parallel on a Meanwell APV-8-12. $5 US.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/APV-8-12/?qs=/ha2pyFaduhPnCXvti/iuaCRfArAJmOK%2btyQ1noEj9I=
Just wire the fan driver in parallel with the HLG to the mains and they will come on/off at the same time, simple.

Hope that helps man! Let me know if any of that doesn't make sense!
Click to expand...
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
Mate. You have just reached legend in my opinion. Thankyou so much. I was considering running fans on the heatsinks. And now I think I will. I would run 12 chips if I could order singles but I can only find minimums of 5 and don't want to pay another 50 quid out.
I didn't think I could run a potentiometer with an A driver. Just the B which is why I ordered the B initially but would have had to wire in parallel. I was planning on running the 2 chips a heatsink for spacing as much as heat dissipation if that makes sense so I'll happily buy the other 2. 3 have cost me like £100. I will read through this again properly when I fully wake up. Was a long night with my lad teething so I'm zombied today bro. Sure you understand.
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Crazy man... you're waking up and I'm about to call it a night... I totally feel you about the teething thing. Try soaking a corner of a blanket/washcloth in water and freezing it. They love the cold.

Anyway man, try Component Distributors Inc. for the single chips. Here's a link to the 3500k:
https://www.cdiweb.com/ProductDetail/CLU0481212C4353M2M2F1-Citizen-Electronics-Co-Ltd/43814/

That's where I got my chips. Great prices and fast shipping. No idea what cost to you would be though...
Also, octopart and findchips will help you find pretty much anything you need. They're like search engines for electrical distributors. Finds you the best price from basically all the major distributors.

I'm glad I could help man! That's why I'm here and why I enjoy this community so much!
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
My bad, looks like my link isn't the high CRI like you ordered... anyway, dig around, I'm sure someone has singles.
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
xX_BHMC_Xx said:
Crazy man... you're waking up and I'm about to call it a night... I totally feel you about the teething thing. Try soaking a corner of a blanket/washcloth in water and freezing it. They love the cold.

Anyway man, try Component Distributors Inc. for the single chips. Here's a link to the 3500k:
https://www.cdiweb.com/ProductDetail/CLU0481212C4353M2M2F1-Citizen-Electronics-Co-Ltd/43814/

That's where I got my chips. Great prices and fast shipping. No idea what cost to you would be though...
Also, octopart and findchips will help you find pretty much anything you need. They're like search engines for electrical distributors. Finds you the best price from basically all the major distributors.

I'm glad I could help man! That's why I'm here and why I enjoy this community so much!
Click to expand...
I speak to a few people in the US. Canada. Australia etc now so timescales for replies are all mad af. We use something called tincture of matricia for the teething. It's cracking stuff but we do use frozen teething rings and stuff too. If I can find 2 more chips with good shipping then why not. I might even scrap the 5th heatsink and run 3 on each. That would justify £30 on chips anyway.
And I love RIU for the same reason. I wouldn't be able to do half of what I've achieved so far without it. Like I said it's very much appreciated brother and I have my homework for the day now too. I'll let you get your head down mate. Peace ✌
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Colanoscopy said:
I speak to a few people in the US. Canada. Australia etc now so timescales for replies are all mad af. We use something called tincture of matricia for the teething. It's cracking stuff but we do use frozen teething rings and stuff too. If I can find 2 more chips with good shipping then why not. I might even scrap the 5th heatsink and run 3 on each. That would justify £30 on chips anyway.
And I love RIU for the same reason. I wouldn't be able to do half of what I've achieved so far without it. Like I said it's very much appreciated brother and I have my homework for the day now too. I'll let you get your head down mate. Peace ✌
Click to expand...
Who am I kidding? I don't sleep regardless lol
Dude, googled that tincture; wish I would have known about that. Props man! It's all UK websites that come up, so I'm guessing that's a British thing... Love my peeps across the pond, you guys just have a better way of looking at things.

Now that you say it, ditch the 5th heat sink and run 4 sets of 3. Saves you some dough, and you will get a more even spread. Plus you get the most out of that driver with 12 chips. Man, I can't wait to see how this build comes out!
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
xX_BHMC_Xx said:
Who am I kidding? I don't sleep regardless lol
Dude, googled that tincture; wish I would have known about that. Props man! It's all UK websites that come up, so I'm guessing that's a British thing... Love my peeps across the pond, you guys just have a better way of looking at things.

Now that you say it, ditch the 5th heat sink and run 4 sets of 3. Saves you some dough, and you will get a more even spread. Plus you get the most out of that driver with 12 chips. Man, I can't wait to see how this build comes out!
Click to expand...
I had a look at cdi before. And came to the conclusion that I will order another 5 and then knock a little side light up with the extra. Just seems simpler to me. I am gonna go with the 4 heatsink, 3 cob layout.

We do the whole organic thing for little man. Try to be as natural as we can. And as for tinctures and stuff. Victorian English were spot on with some stuff. (other bits damn stupid too I might add) lol.

I've been toying with a few drawings. none that I'm happy to post yet but keep an eye out they should be done soon.
Any recommendations for fans. Don't mind spending a little bit on decent fans.
I wanted the driver mounted to the light because I'm a tent grower (more difficult to place outside the grow space with my setup) anything I should consider there that I'm missing.

And all I have seen from my brothers and sisters across the pond your way is love.
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Colanoscopy said:
I had a look at cdi before. And came to the conclusion that I will order another 5 and then knock a little side light up with the extra. Just seems simpler to me. I am gonna go with the 4 heatsink, 3 cob layout.

We do the whole organic thing for little man. Try to be as natural as we can. And as for tinctures and stuff. Victorian English were spot on with some stuff. (other bits damn stupid too I might add) lol.

I've been toying with a few drawings. none that I'm happy to post yet but keep an eye out they should be done soon.
Any recommendations for fans. Don't mind spending a little bit on decent fans.
I wanted the driver mounted to the light because I'm a tent grower (more difficult to place outside the grow space with my setup) anything I should consider there that I'm missing.

And all I have seen from my brothers and sisters across the pond your way is love.
Click to expand...
Coolermaster fans are great if you want to save a few bucks. Arctic is better if you really want the best. AC Infinity fans are top notch too, they run on AC power, so they're a little tricky, and noisy as hell. Try to mount the driver as close to the fan as possible to get the best cooling. Other than that, not a whole lot to worry about. Since you're mounting the driver right to the heat sink, you won't need a separate ground wire. You're going to be a bit over voltage on your COB holders, nothing to worry about at such low current though.
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
xX_BHMC_Xx said:
Coolermaster fans are great if you want to save a few bucks. Arctic is better if you really want the best. AC Infinity fans are top notch too, they run on AC power, so they're a little tricky, and noisy as hell. Try to mount the driver as close to the fan as possible to get the best cooling. Other than that, not a whole lot to worry about. Since you're mounting the driver right to the heat sink, you won't need a separate ground wire. You're going to be a bit over voltage on your COB holders, nothing to worry about at such low current though.
Click to expand...
I think I'm gonna go for arctic fans. You're pretty much building this for me. But at least I'm starting to grasp a few bits I couldn't before. Nice one bro. Looking at going grabbing a drill press in a bit just so I can tap nice and neat. Hand drill won't cut it I don't think
 
Colanoscopy

Colanoscopy

Well-Known Member
Screenshot_20170628-130446.png

These are the ones mate. They say nothing about any rating. I'm guessing they're not solder less but I have an iron anyway
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Colanoscopy said:
I think I'm gonna go for arctic fans. You're pretty much building this for me. But at least I'm starting to grasp a few bits I couldn't before. Nice one bro. Looking at going grabbing a drill press in a bit just so I can tap nice and neat. Hand drill won't cut it I don't think
Click to expand...
The drill press is well worth it if you can find one for a decent price. You can do it with a hand drill, but it's such a hassle. Arctic is the way to go IMO, I went with Coolermaster cause I'm, how do you say, "thrifty" lol
 
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