Micro Greenhouse with LUXEON XF-3535L LED Strips

robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
I needed a small Greenhouse for Kitchen Herbs. Got a $20 small greenhouse from Ikea and decided to install a small light in it. Came across 5050 LED strips and they did not have much power. I tried the LUXEON XF-3535L 3000K but then decided to go with 4000K to avoid stretching. These strips are very efficient and 4000K gives around 147Lumen/watt

LUXEON XF-3535L LED Strips Datasheet and Application notes
http://www.lumileds.com/uploads/487/DS142-pdf
http://www.lumileds.com/uploads/538/AB142-pdf

Available on Mouser in 4 sizes 300mm 600mm 525mm 1150mm
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=LUXEON+XF-3535L

I am using Standard 18V power supply, which i will be replacing with Meanwell $12 GS25U18-P1J soon.
Heatsink ebay 150mm*20mm*6mm, Anodized at home and sanded installation side.
Heatsink USA 1.813" can work well too and is big enough for 2 parallel strips

Notes.jpg

These Strips are a little more expensive than Vero's but easier to install. Vero would have been a point source with better light penetration but I decided to try the strip for more even light distribution.
Multiple Strips can be attached in parallel for higher intensity and should work well in small grow spaces.

Spectrum.jpg

On spectrum side it seems it seems Luxeon has more orange and green. Vero has more red. Not sure about the blue side.

Related Thread:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/active-and-passive-cooling-on-anodized-heatsinks.873356/#post-11669849
https://www.rollitup.org/t/red-blue-vs-white-3000k-on-kitchen-herbs.870789/#post-11592229
 
robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
I thought the small greenhouse would keep humidity high and would be perfect for seedlings.
But this ikea greenhouse had too many gaps and the humidity inside was almost the same as outside. I filled some of the gaps in the base and now the humidity inside is consistantly 10% higher than outside. If needed I will add perlite to raise humidity in winters.

Cycle 17hrs On, 7hrs Off
Humidity around 55%-65%
Some random free seeds, Peppermint and Basil

Growth in 10 days
Day 1 and 10.jpg
Will have to trim some leaves so the seedlings get more light

Day 1
day1.JPG

Day 4
day4.JPG

Day 10
day10.JPG
 
Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
pretty pretty pretty good

Have a link to the datasheet? I will look but in case I get lazy later on :joint:

I use to love my Luxeon 3k light bulbs, still run all of them in the house...but certainly not as efficient as147/w...
I like these strips though.....Very doable for side lighting too...
 
robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
Hey got a couple of questions if you don't mind.....


The smallest strip is 300mm, but your heatsink is 150mm? Didn't seem like you had two joined together....

Backside is adhesive, correct?

and did you solder these yourself or are those factory joints in the pic? nice either way :peace:
 
robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
Abiqua said:
Hey got a couple of questions if you don't mind.....
The smallest strip is 300mm, but your heatsink is 150mm? Didn't seem like you had two joined together....
Backside is adhesive, correct?
and did you solder these yourself or are those factory joints in the pic? nice either way :peace:
Click to expand...
Sorry, The heatsink i used was 300mm*25mm*12mm. Like this one
The strip can be cut to shorter length if needed. The heatsink USA 1.813" profile is more suitable for mounting more than one strips in parallel.
Yes backside is adhesive. Strip mounting instructions on page 9 here
I used the TIN contact option and solder the wire. I am not sure how IDC connectors works. Looks like you just have to push the right gauge wire into it.
image11.jpg

 
robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
PAR at 10 inches from center of single strip 100 PPF µmol (photons) m-2 s-1
twice for 2 strips in parallel.
The seedling in the photos is getting around 250 PPF

The heatsink gets close to 50 degrees. In applications notes they don't seem too worried about heatsink.

iah.jpg
 
salmonetin

salmonetin

Well-Known Member
...just for curiosity...

...they use this model of xitanium driver...
http://download.p4c.philips.com/l4b/9/913713220162_eu/913713220162_eu_pss_aenaa.pdf

...i saw xitanium drivers with wago connectors on board... ...maybe these model comes with these options too... i dont know...

pd... Wilson.... time to shout my mouth...and back to the cavern... im a bit KO yet... need a bit of fresh night air... cheers...

:peace:

Salud..os
 
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robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
Before with Philips LUXEON XF-3535L Strip 10 watts 4000K.
See in my previous posts above how all the leaves looked purple with 4000K.
3.jpg

After with 12V Samsung SI-B8R071300WW Strip 7watts 5000K.
Looks like purple color on leaves in gone in 2 weeks
Note this one has bat wing light distribution.May be good to grow small plants. Less light in middle and more on sides. sides have about 2ce the light intensity than center.
upload_2015-9-19_16-18-50.png
1.jpg

The basil on left was planted outside. Replaced it with chocolate mint. Regular on right and chocolate mint on left. I may consider planting an autoflower in there during peak winter to see what happens.:weed:

Heatsink USA 20 inches long 2 inch profile. Has a very thin base so might not spread COB's heat but works perfect for strips. Samsung SI-B8T341560WW 135 lm/W
4.jpg
I like BigYellowCob idea, cheep pre built option
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-4-ft-LED-Utility-Shop-Light-73990/205110548
3700 lumens @ 38 watts

Lastly some mold
2.jpg
Got too humid at night after I recently watered it. Will leave the hatch open to dry out the soil a bit.
Looks like the tiny space can hold humidity and should do well in winter when humidity in less than 20%
 
bicit

bicit

Well-Known Member
I've also had issue getting purple basil to stay purple under two 4000k, 42 watt vero 18's. When I had the 2700k, 97cri emitter in there as well I had issues with it trying to bolt, but only half purple.

A 6500k, 125w, CFL produced green purple basil.
Sunlight yields happy vibrant purple basil.

Maybe UV radiation is the missing component? Just postulating.
 
robincnn

robincnn

Well-Known Member
Needed a better looking lamp for kitchen herbs.
I had this lamp
4.jpg

It has some fancy red and white LED's 3.jpg
and light was not enough. 75 µmol photons m−2s−1, 1.jpg
15.45V @ 0.32amps

Need to beef up the strip and heatsink. Replacing the strip with Samsung SI-B8T113280WW
5.jpg

Also needs new heatsink to handle extra heat
Got a new power supply as well.
Nice now I have around 200 µmol photons m−2s−1 instead of previous 75 µmol photons m−2s−12.jpg
6.jpg

8.JPG

7.jpg

Heatsink stays around 43C
24.4V, 0.37A = 9 watts
 
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PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
robincnn said:
Not much to update. Switched to the Meanwell $12 GS25U18-P1J.
On for about 12 hrs a day. Not sure why the peppermint in turning a little purple.
I take out a few leaves and water once a week. The seedling did not do well and was removed.
I am considering switching to 5000K or higher from current 4000K
View attachment 3471103
View attachment 3471104
Click to expand...
It would be good to know why the other light caused them to turn purple, not sure if this is related but hey.

Why Are Plant Leaves Turning Purple?
When you notice a plant with purple leaves rather than the normal green color, it is most likely due to a phosphorus deficiency. All plants need phosphorus (P) in order to create energy, sugars and nucleic acids.

Young plants are more likely to display signs of phosphorus deficiency than older plants. If the soil is cool early in the growing season, a phosphorus deficiency may develop in some plants.

Other Causes for a Plant with Purple Leaves
If you have a plant with purple leaves, it may also be due to elevated levels of anthocyanin, which is a purple colored pigment. This pigment builds up when a plant becomes stressed and normal plant functions are interrupted. This problem can be very hard to diagnose as other factors can cause the pigment buildup such as cool temperatures, disease and drought.
 
PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
robincnn said:
Before with Philips LUXEON XF-3535L Strip 10 watts 4000K.
See in my previous posts above how all the leaves looked purple with 4000K.
View attachment 3503368

After with 12V Samsung SI-B8R071300WW Strip 7watts 5000K.
Looks like purple color on leaves in gone in 2 weeks
Note this one has bat wing light distribution.May be good to grow small plants. Less light in middle and more on sides. sides have about 2ce the light intensity than center.
View attachment 3503379
View attachment 3503366

The basil on left was planted outside. Replaced it with chocolate mint. Regular on right and chocolate mint on left. I may consider planting an autoflower in there during peak winter to see what happens.:weed:

Heatsink USA 20 inches long 2 inch profile. Has a very thin base so might not spread COB's heat but works perfect for strips. Samsung SI-B8T341560WW 135 lm/W
View attachment 3503369
I like BigYellowCob idea, cheep pre built option
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-4-ft-LED-Utility-Shop-Light-73990/205110548
3700 lumens @ 38 watts

Lastly some mold
View attachment 3503367
Got too humid at night after I recently watered it. Will leave the hatch open to dry out the soil a bit.
Looks like the tiny space can hold humidity and should do well in winter when humidity in less than 20%
Click to expand...
I am very interested to know how well the strips and the feit shop light stack up against the philips greenpower production modules.

I might just be a noob but the pdf shows the Philips output is only 50ppfd @ 35w and that seems really low. If these are already outdated tech I need to reevaluate the lighting for my greens. I'm running two of them.
 
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