Help me build a large CXA3070 Rig

HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
@SupraSPL - I'm working up a smaller unit to add to my other build - I've decided that 3590s are worth the investment on the big build, but I've got 10 3070s to add to my other test room that I'm running with Kessils. I'd like to add the warm white to that canopy to see if I can bump my numbers a bit. I'm trying to add 2 separate 1x4 rails with the Rosewill Z300 sinks. I'd like to drive them at around 35V. Which driver should I use? I'm not sure if I should run 4 individual + 1 for the fans, or which of the Meanwell (C700 or 1400?) will run 4 at my desired voltages. Also, I'm still trying to figure out how to apply power to the drivers (in an aesthetically pleasing manner). What other components am I missing?
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Assuming you want ~50W per COB, if they are CXA3070s you can drive (3) COBs on each HLG-185H-C1400. If they are CXB3070s you can run (4) COBs on each HLG-185H-C1400. That driver is a very good bang for the buck but if you want to use individual 1.4A drivers there are some good generics out there that work with CXA3070, CXB3070, CXB3590 36V:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50w-Waterproof-LED-Power-Supply-Driver-F-50Watt-High-power-LED-Chip-Bulb-85-265V/221661755959?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid=777000&algo=ABA.MBE&ao=1&asc=20131227121020&meid=e807515b711440148e073fc891296bb9&pid=100009&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=251594041909

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W20W30W50W100W-Watt-High-Power-Waterproof-LED-Power-Driver-Supply-AC95V-240V-/371300628836?var=&hash=item56733df964
 
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HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I was attempting to make a 4 COB long light bar, so I was shooting to only have to use one MW driver to drive all 4, but I'm not sure what I'd have to run in at, or if I can even achieve my desired 35W per COB on the one driver. As I'm shooting for aesthetics, I'd like to minimize wiring and components.

I thought I had a decent grasp on all of this, but the actual finishing of this is confusing me. I feel like I'm looking at end products with no idea how to get from point A to B. It's really bothering me because I hate having to have my hand held and walked through it, but I'm just not finding any guidance on the consolidation part. I was looking at how you made connector pieces, but I guess I'm just not grasping how everything ties in without having it in my hands to play around with.

I'm essentially trying to copy this - Bar.jpg
Trying to figure out how to run that, if I can run that, on one MW driver. Would I just run it in series? Or would I be better off running individual drivers to get my desired 35W per COB? How do all the drivers connect to the AC power box? Is there a reference anywhere on how to power the drivers themselves that I can study? I think that's my biggest mental hangup.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Assuming you want ~50W per COB, if they are CXA3070s you can drive (3) COBs on each HLG-185H-C1400. If they are CXB3070s you can run (4) COBs on each HLG-185H-C1400. That driver is a very good bang for the buck but if you want to use individual 1.4A drivers there are some good generics out there that work with CXA3070, CXB3070, CXB3590 36V:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50w-Waterproof-LED-Power-Supply-Driver-F-50Watt-High-power-LED-Chip-Bulb-85-265V/221661755959?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid=777000&algo=ABA.MBE&ao=1&asc=20131227121020&meid=e807515b711440148e073fc891296bb9&pid=100009&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=251594041909

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W20W30W50W100W-Watt-High-Power-Waterproof-LED-Power-Driver-Supply-AC95V-240V-/371300628836?var=&hash=item56733df964
Click to expand...
How many drivers are waterproof? I'm concerned about splash.
 
HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
@SupraSPL - If I went with 8 of these - https://www.fasttech.com/products/1320600

I'd still need something to drive the fans, yes? So what would power 4 fans without a problem? Studying the products a bit more, I'm seeing how they all tie in together a bit better. Still not sure about the Wago lever nuts though. So, if I'm understanding this correctly, I should have something like this -

20151005_173545.jpg
 
littlejacob

littlejacob

Well-Known Member
Bonjour
For the fans a simple cell phone 5V charger or an universal 12v psu (dimmable! )
And if you have cxa I believe a hlg-120-1050b is ok for 4 at 38/39w each...but check it!
And wago are very useful...easy and fast connection/disconnection...and cheap!
Have a great day ★
 
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SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
How many drivers are waterproof? I'm concerned about splash.
Click to expand...
All of the drivers mentioned in that post are waterproof. The Mean Well B version is IP67 because its dimmer is external. The generics are fully potted. If you are very concerned about waterproofing you can keep your AC connections out of the grow space by using a remote driver board instead of putting drivers on the modules.
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
HockeyBeard said:
Yeah, I was attempting to make a 4 COB long light bar, so I was shooting to only have to use one MW driver to drive all 4, but I'm not sure what I'd have to run in at, or if I can even achieve my desired 35W per COB on the one driver. As I'm shooting for aesthetics, I'd like to minimize wiring and components.

I thought I had a decent grasp on all of this, but the actual finishing of this is confusing me. I feel like I'm looking at end products with no idea how to get from point A to B. It's really bothering me because I hate having to have my hand held and walked through it, but I'm just not finding any guidance on the consolidation part. I was looking at how you made connector pieces, but I guess I'm just not grasping how everything ties in without having it in my hands to play around with.

I'm essentially trying to copy this - View attachment 3514863
Trying to figure out how to run that, if I can run that, on one MW driver. Would I just run it in series? Or would I be better off running individual drivers to get my desired 35W per COB? How do all the drivers connect to the AC power box? Is there a reference anywhere on how to power the drivers themselves that I can study? I think that's my biggest mental hangup.
Click to expand...
Gotcha so it sounds like Mean Well HLG-185H-C1050 is your ideal driver. It can power 5 CXA3070s at ~38W ea. I would recommend avoiding those fasttech 50W drivers, over time they have proven to be one of the the least reliable drivers I have come across so they end up costing the same as the Mean Well anyway.

I tend to avoid giving too much AC advice because I never know how familiar the person might be to be with working with AC. So if it is your first time definitely worth doing some studying first or consulting an electrician. That said, what we are doing is tying all the hots together, all the neutrals together and all the grounds together. So the AC side is all connected in parallel. The WAGO lever nut can tie 5 wires together quickly and securely.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
All of the drivers mentioned in that post are waterproof. The Mean Well B version is IP67 because its dimmer is external. The generics are fully potted. If you are very concerned about waterproofing you can keep your AC connections out of the grow space by using a remote driver board instead of putting drivers on the modules.
Click to expand...
I'm not planning on power washing my lights, but I am concerned about someone touching them while standing in a puddle of water.
 
HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Gotcha so it sounds like Mean Well HLG-185H-C1050 is your ideal driver. It can power 5 CXA3070s at ~38W ea. I would recommend avoiding those fasttech 50W drivers, over time they have proven to be one of the the least reliable drivers I have come across so they end up costing the same as the Mean Well anyway.

I tend to avoid giving too much AC advice because I never know how familiar the person might be to be with working with AC. So if it is your first time definitely worth doing some studying first or consulting an electrician. That said, what we are doing is tying all the hots together, all the neutrals together and all the grounds together. So the AC side is all connected in parallel. The WAGO lever nut can tie 5 wires together quickly and securely.
Click to expand...

Good, I didn't really want to use those drivers to be honest. I'm familiar working with AC. I've got soldering experience, but I've never totally assembled something like this with a power supply. Wiring it all in parallel makes sense. So, all my wires of the same lead go into the wago, and then it appears as if there is a port at the top to apply the lead from the outlet, is that right? If that can run 5 at 36W, it should be able to handle 4 + fans, right?
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Normally I power fans with a small AC-DC switching power supply like this. That example is 500mA which could power 2 small fans in most cases. It may be possible to power fans from the driver DC side using a DC to DC adapter but I have not tested it yet so I cannot vouch for it.

Yes you can plug the lead from the outlet into any of the 5 ports on the WAGO and it will tie them all together. So if you had 3 Wago 5s you could connect the incoming power wires, 3 drivers and 1 fan PSU.

ttystikk said:
I'm not planning on power washing my lights, but I am concerned about someone touching them while standing in a puddle of water.
Click to expand...
The HLG drivers are potted and grounded, the shell is grounded, so if someone were to touch the driver that would ground them.

Worth considering, if the puddle was hot for some reason and they were barefoot they would get zorked when touching the driver or anything that was grounded. If there were a GFCi anywhere in the circuit that was making the puddle hot, it would detect that "leakage" and shut the circuit down the instant the person touched the driver. So a GFCi is highly recommended if you are working with AC in a potentially wet environment. You can get GFCi breakers, outlets, adapters or extension cords.
 
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HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Normally I power fans with a small AC-DC switching power supply like this. That example is 500mA which could power 2 small fans in most cases. It may be possible to power fans from the driver DC side using a DC to DC adapter but I have not tested it yet so I cannot vouch for it..
Click to expand...
What would you recommend to run 4 fans off of? Is there a good MW driver that can handle 4 fans? If 500mA powers 2 fans, would it stand to reason at small, 20W 1A driver could handle 4? Or would I want to give it a little extra for tolerances?
 
alesh

alesh

Well-Known Member
chinuh man said:
Okay, everything I have been reading in these forumns is starting to make more and more sense. Thank you @ttystikk

So LER is the total efficiency of the driver and COB? The higher the efficiency the higher the ppfd per watt dissipated?

Edited:
I no longer think LER is important. It only factors visible light, not PAR? Efficiency of both the drivers and LEDs can be sourced so learning the formulas shouldn't be big concern, right?
I plan on starting with a sea of green method style grow in a 3' x 3'. So my first step would be to calculate the PAR W/ft² correct? Then blueprint out the highest efficiency light possible for the best results?
Sorry for all the questions. Just want to feel confident before ordering the main parts needed. Thanks in advance RIU!
Click to expand...
LER is a physical quantity of a spectrum. It's needed in order to convert lumens (which are based on human vision) to a more relevant units (based the radiated energy).
 
HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
Ok - I ordered those Rosewill Z300s, so that's the fan I'm driving. That APV-12-12 seems cheap enough - will it drive all 4 of those fans? It's been so long since I've calculated voltage drops, I'm not sure if I can run all 4 or if I should get two.
 
P

PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
The HLG drivers are potted and grounded, the shell is grounded, so if someone were to touch the driver that would ground them.
.
Click to expand...
well actually the hlg case is anodized, so you have to touch the driver in just the right location to be grounded.
 
B

benbud89

Well-Known Member
HockeyBeard said:
Ok - I ordered those Rosewill Z300s, so that's the fan I'm driving. That APV-12-12 seems cheap enough - will it drive all 4 of those fans? It's been so long since I've calculated voltage drops, I'm not sure if I can run all 4 or if I should get two.
Click to expand...
What did you end up with for powering four fans? I need to do the exact same thing, just to power some different fans, but same same, it would seem. Please do let me know, this is my main concern for the time being. Thanks :)
 
littlejacob

littlejacob

Well-Known Member
benbud89 said:
What did you end up with for powering four ? I need to do the exact same thing, just to power some different fans, but same same, it would seem. Please do let me know, this is my main concern for the time being. Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Bonjour
Why don't you buy a 12V 1A universal psu...dimable from 4.5V to 12V...and cheap (8$)
That is what i use and it work very well...4.5V in winter and 12V in summer...
Have a great day★
 
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