...All Things Vero...

Mechmike said:

The Vero line has a bit more red than the Cree CXA. I use the 3500k for that reason. The 3500k has plenty of red for flowering and would be OK for the little ones too. 5000k is what I use for clones, vegging and to keep my mother plant.
Also, your plans look good to me. I like that you're planning to drive them at 700ma. You'll get much better efficiency driving them soft.
You don't need 18 gauge wire for your led strings. 20 gauge is really overkill but that's what I use. The Molex connectors for Vero I bought from Digikey had really tiny wires, like 30 gauge and they worked fine powering 4 on a string.

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Abiqua said:

I bought the same Molex connectors, think they are actually 28 gauge. This is the smallest I have seen so far at least....last night after reading came across something that I think is pertinent.

28 AWG Strand was rated for 1.4A for chassis wiring and .144 amps for power transmission and 30 was less [thinking this was for 1 foot of return loop, so 2 feet of 28 is where the rating is calculated I believe]. However that is for AC and I haven't looked again for DC standards. FIY, that is about 25 watts on the AC side. So I wonder about powering long strings?
What am I missing?

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kamikaza said:

Hello gang

i am not hanging alot in this forum, but i know this is the place for DIY leds

i built already 150W led bar with 3 CXA3070 driven at 1.4A to supplement my 2 600w HPS, and i am happy with the resolts (thanks for all the heros here - you gave me the inspiration)

now i want to build a led bar for a friend, he grows in a small closet and wants to supplement his led panel with COB's bar to cover some space the panel doesn't.

the space we need to cover is 80 centimeter long and 20 cm wide.

i am thinking about 4 vero18 driven at 700 ma. that's 20.1 watt per COB at 25 TC, 80.4 watt total for the light bar.

do you think it's a good planing?

which color is the best from clone to harvest? the guy veg the clones for 10 days, and then flower. so i was thinking to get the vero18 3000k 80 cri, but now i tend to buy the 3500k 80 cri. what do you guys think?


the COB's will be placed 20 cm apart from each other, so my bar should be slightly longer then 60 cm, the 2 end ones will be on the edges of it. i will use activ cooling, so i hope there won't be heat issues.

i ordered from heatsinkusa the 4.230", 27" long.
this one - http://www.heatsinkusa.com/4-230-wide-extruded-aluminum-heatsink/

the aluminum bar will be cooled by two 92mm sunon fans, 55 cfm each, forcing air down to the heatsink. those - http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ME92251VX-000U-A99/259-1650-ND/4247625


the total vf of the 4 COB's will be around 115vf, so i want to get the meanwell LPC-100-700. it's voltage output is 72-143v.
http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=lpc-100


the driver will be mounted on the heatsink itself, and i hope the air movment from the fans will cool it a bit.

all 4 COB's will be on stream of course, and i want to use the MOLEX and WAGO connectors. i didn't find in the molex information about the maximum VF possible. is it 18 AWG wires? will it handle 115 vf?
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?mpart=0688014229&vendor=900
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321592049392?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

any comments or sugestions are wellcomes, thanks!

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Abiqua said:

Has anyone tried using reflectors on their Vero's and specifically on 10's?

I have a hit and miss list. Rough compile.......

11mm reflectors for the V10 i believe? Same for the V13/V18?

http://www.lumotrix.com/bridgelux-reflectors/
http://www.lednlight.com/index.php?page=gaggione_distributors
http://www.ledwerx.com/bridgelux-reflectors

Mirella base $0.54 ea
https://www.verical.com/part/748481-C12480-MIRELLA-50-S-PIN#searchCriterion=1&searchName=&searchTerm=Mirella-50&landingPage=catalogMpnView&_i_=4

Verical also listed some, but not a part# and when I asked the LiveChat, I was told they couldn't look for them without a part #, even though I dropped them the direct link.....loco.

Digikey also has strange listings, anyone order thru them?

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AquariusPanta said:

Have you tried this link yet?

http://www.ledil.com/products/?y

I haven't incorporated either lenses or reflectors into my DIY projects but that may change in the near future. I think heat buildup is my biggest concern but maybe someone could reassure me. I will have to look into some additional threads to gather more user-based experience in order to move forward.

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Abiqua said:

Thanks AP, unfortunately, that doesn't help locate distributors, I have found the Miranda bases though, those are LEDIL, so I will have to look through that link

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doctorflux said:

I tore down a Vero 10 that I damaged and took some pictures with a microscope. Check it out:

After removing the overmolded plastic, the aluminum substrate is visible. The COB substrate itself is polished aluminum. GaN-on-silicon chips are epoxied to the polished aluminum surface and wirebonded in a parallel-series configuration.

Bridgelux specializes in GaN on silicon; in fact, they have a partnership with Toshiba where Toshiba makes the chips and Bridgelux packages the chips into COBs. According to press releases, it appears this is how the Vero series is manufactured.

Silicone phosphor encapsulant with some bond wires visible.

A close up of a bonded wire; likely made of gold. You can also see the phosphor particles in the silicone.

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bondoman said:

Here's my 3 x Vero 18 setup. The drivers support .7, 1.0, and 1.2 amps. At the full 1.2 and the fans on, the heatsinks just get very slightly warm. Total watts at .7 including fans is about 67 watts. Vero's are the 4000k. The old school type reflector seems to put the light exactly where I want it. Loving those wagos and these drivers, no soldering required./QUOTE]

Are those drivers outside the grow room?

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bondoman said:

Here's my 3 x Vero 18 setup. The drivers support .7, 1.0, and 1.2 amps. At the full 1.2 and the fans on, the heatsinks just get very slightly warm. Total watts at .7 including fans is about 67 watts. Vero's are the 4000k. The old school type reflector seems to put the light exactly where I want it. Loving those wagos and these drivers, no soldering required.




View attachment 3306725 View attachment 3306726 View attachment 3306727

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bondoman said:

The old school type reflector seems to put the light exactly where I want it. Loving those wagos and these drivers, no soldering required.

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