DIY CXB2530 3000K 80cri U2 bin (Vero Killers!)

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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Not only will this kill martians and bad dogs, it should also be more than capable of killing veros and even cxa3070 3000k AB!

- 11x Cree CXB2530 3000k 80cri U2 bin
- 11x IDEAL 50-2102CR chip-lok cob holders
- 2x 10" profile cut to 15"
- 1x 10" profile cut to 5"
- M3 0.5 pitch 6mm length screws (preferably socket head, with flat bottom like panhead).
- A 94% efficient constant current driver that will go unnamed for safety reasons. (if you can't figure it out on your own, you aren't allowed to know which it is)

So far I have one of the panels done.

IMAG0283.jpg

IMAG0284.jpg

Almost ready to kill vero 18s. This one will orbit earth.
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
One thing I'm really liking about these ideal chip-lok holders is the key hole shaped screw holes... It allows you to put the screws in before installing the cob, and is much easier to get on. You just push the holes over the screw heads, and twist... then tighten. It's also more tolerant of slightly misaligned holes than vero 18's plastic holes.
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Could you tin the wire ends a bit?
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I was thinking of doing!! Either way, it's not nearly as secure as soldering or lever nuts. I'll have to think of something. When I first started up, the lights flickered on and off. I unplugged the panels, and shorted the supply (on purpose to discharge the capacitors)... man was that stupid... POP!!! lol. Anyway, after discharging the capacitors, I checked all the connections and one of them fell out when i tugged it. I put it back and it worked when I fired it up... Insanely bright.

I got the B model driver, so I will need to attach a pot for dimming to test individual LEDs to see if any are dead.
 
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mc130p

mc130p

Well-Known Member
churchhaze said:
That's exactly what I was thinking of doing!! Either way, it's not nearly as secure as soldering or lever nuts. I'll have to think of something. When I first started up, the lights flickered on and off. I unplugged the panels, and shorted the supply (on purpose to discharge the capacitors)... man was that stupid... POP!!! lol. Anyway, after discharging the capacitors, I checked all the connections and one of them fell out when i tugged it. I put it back and it worked when I fired it up... Insanely bright.

I got the B model driver, so I will need to attach a pot for dimming to test individual LEDs to see if any are dead.
Click to expand...
Seems to me like they're pretty secure if you have tinned or solid strand wire. You have to poke a wire into the other hole to pull it out; I tugged it sorta hard, but nothing crazy and it is solid.

Hurts my eyes just looking at the pics:)
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Awesome design man, as far as I am aware it deserves the title - best grow lamp ever built :clap:
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Thanks Supra! Obviously you helped a ton in the design. 3000k 80cri, ~49.1% efficiency, and 94% driver efficiency. Everyone's going to call me a liar now... although so far I've never been called a troll fucker!! thank god...

It's obviously not the best quality build. I don't even know how to make cases yet. SDS and positivity, mechmike, etc, all have me beat on build quality. (Maybe not the frankenstein crown!! lol!)
 
DonPetro

DonPetro

Well-Known Member
tightpockt

tightpockt

Well-Known Member
churchhaze said:
Not only will this kill martians and bad dogs, it should also be more than capable of killing veros and even cxa3070 3000k AB!

- 11x Cree CXB2530 3000k 80cri U2 bin
- 11x IDEAL 50-2102CR chip-lok cob holders
- 2x 10" profile cut to 15"
- 1x 10" profile cut to 5"
- M3 0.5 pitch 6mm length screws (preferably socket head, with flat bottom like panhead).
- A 94% efficient constant current driver that will go unnamed for safety reasons. (if you can't figure it out on your own, you aren't allowed to know which it is)

So far I have one of the panels done.

View attachment 3361612

View attachment 3361613

Almost ready to kill vero 18s. This one will orbit earth.
Click to expand...
Nice..what current are you running them at? What was the cost of the whole build?
I'm jelly
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
DonPetro said:
Wow that is amazing! Do you prefer passive cooled luminaires over actively cooled?
Click to expand...
I like to be as passive as possible. Higher efficiency should theoretically mean less heat sink requirements to begin with.

tightpockt said:
Nice..what current are you running them at? What was the cost of the whole build?
I'm jelly
Click to expand...
500mA, which according to supra puts them at 49.1% efficiency.

It cost about... 600 dollars maybe? something around there. Of course it's totally worth spending 600 bucks on a 200W lamp! That's what DIY is all about, right?

It would have been significantly cheaper had I been able to get 100 cobs. Then it would be significantly less per cob.
 
Mellodrama

Mellodrama

Well-Known Member
Tinning the leads helps.

One big problem is using wire that's too big. 18AWG works best for me. I wanted to use the biggest wire I could to avoid voltage droop. What I found out was that I could jam larger wires into the Ideal holder clip but they'd pull right back out. If you were worried about voltage droop you could use a short length of AWG18, then go up in wire size.
 
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