spazatak
Well-Known Member
out of curiosity how do you ground your heat sink..I know that is a newbie question but still interested for my future knowledge to delve into the DIY world
DiY LEDs - How to Power Them
- Thread starter SupraSPL
- Start date
Positivity
Well-Known Member
I'll be reading through this today...I don't know enough either yet.
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/3.html
More links at bottom of page..
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/3.html
More links at bottom of page..
spazatak
Well-Known Member
perhaps Im a complete moron but Im more confused after reading that and looking at the diagrams...... think Im going to morph in to a bird
Positivity
Well-Known Member
Lol...I haven't read through it yet..
My first glance didn't get it either
My first glance didn't get it either
medicinehuman
Well-Known Member
I wish I'd read something before I started messing with electricity. Ever get ahold of a compressor coil when it's charged up? You can't let go til it goes through you and that takes a few seconds. Don't get your lips to close to a Hans panel power jack if it's plugged in when you try to blow in it to make sure it's clean. Ouch. There's more but you get the message BE SAFE. If you have a tester use it. Be safe and stay healthy. It's good to be alive and toking.
epicfail
Well-Known Member
The ground wire is the 3rd wire on a 3 prong plug. A 2 prong plug has no ground wire, usually the wire is green in North America. To ground your heat sink make sure you connect your ground wire from your wall to the driver and heatsink. If you have the if the drivers are in a metal case or connections are in a metal junction box make sure that is grounded also.
Can't be too safe when dealing with high voltage, I have zapped myself too many times too remember; growing up and tinkering with electricity. I've got a (bad) habit of changing light switches and receptacles without turning off the breaker. With 110-120 VAC I can feel it right up to my elbow, I have seen a guy change a fluorescent light tube on a aluminum ladder zap himself right off the ladder and onto the floor. He was holding the bulb by the metal end caps when he put it in.
I don't like 4 in 1 drivers, what if one channel fails? it reminds me of those old tv/vcr combos.
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spazatak
Well-Known Member
really... so 3 wires effectiuvely coming out of the earth from the power socket...
out of curiosity why cant you just earth the casing if the casing is then touching all other parts like heatsink ETC...
epicfail
Well-Known Member
3 wires, if they were wired correctly from the start (you should test this) then the black is line, white in neutral and the 3rd green wire is ground.
If the bare metal casing is actually contacting the metal heat sink then that would work, most steel casings I seen are powdercoated which would prevent proper contact between the two. For work, the light boxes I build need to be CSA approved and they make me ground the 60w 12v led drivers that have metal cases even if they are just 2 wire inputs, I have to do that by scraping away some of the powdercoat from the driver casing and make sure it grounded to bare metal.
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bicit
Well-Known Member
So if the driver doesn't have a grounding wire, then one would need to tap the metal case of the driver to ground the heatsink? Would that be done with a small self taping screw? Am I understanding you correctly?
What if the driver has a plastic case or no case at all? Would an anodized finish interfere like a powder coated finish would?
Fiveleafsleft
Well-Known Member
I hear what you are saying, and agree. But if it wasn't more pricy i would actually call it an advantage.. one light is out instead of four.
But i did buy the mean wells, mostly because they had an internal dimmer, but also cause they were a little bit cheaper. The 3% extra efficiency is also a bonus. The only downside is the high voltage..
epicfail
Well-Known Member
Anodizing will not interfere as it is electrically conductive. When dealing with plastic drivers I would just ground everything else. As for taping the driver to ground it; usually when I mount a metal driver I would just attach a wire to one of the mounting screws and scrape the paint off the driver where they contact. Also this is overprotective for low voltage but CSA makes me do it anyway. Most high voltage drivers will have a ground wire I believe, the HLG drivers from meanwell I know do for sure.
SupraSPL
Well-Known Member
I got a batch of all the JHX drivers the eBay seller perfectdeal_us offers, all of which work with CXA3070/Vero 29.
The small ones are decent, 260-270mA, runs up to 55vF, cost $5.09. 85% efficient, not power factor corrected
The medium drivers put out ~800mA and run up to 45vF, cost $8.49. 90% efficient and not power factor corrected, these are awesome!
The large puts out 1420-1460mA and run up to 40vF, cost $13. 90.5% efficient are are power factor corrected, very awesome but out of stock for a month +.
The X-large one claims 3A but actual output is 2230mA once warmed up and runs up to 39.5vF, cost $29, 89% efficient. It just barely works with the CXA3070, vF range cutting it so close that I cannot even bug in with my multimeter without knocking the current down. Some 3070s will have a low enough vF to get the 2.23A right off the bat, but some will have to warm up and wait for the driver to warm up and then they should get the full power as well. So that makes it the most powerful COB driver we have available for a reasonable price and it is power factor corrected, awesome for applications that take advantage of the COBs power for shorter term use like photography or workbench lighting.
At 2.23A the CXA3070 is dissipating 88W. My 80mm Arctic CPU cooler with Z4 attached can barely handle the heat. I will try the AB bin on a 92mm cooler and compare temps.
The 3000K Vero 29 @ 2.1A is is 32.3% efficient and cost $1.50/PAR W.
The CXA3070 Z2 bin @ 2.1A is 31.5% efficient and cost $1.53/PAR W.
The CXA3070 Z4 bin @ 2.1A is 33.8% efficient and cost $1.60/PAR W.
The CXA3070 AB bin @ 2.1A is 36.2% efficient and cost $1.66/PAR W.
The small ones are decent, 260-270mA, runs up to 55vF, cost $5.09. 85% efficient, not power factor corrected
The medium drivers put out ~800mA and run up to 45vF, cost $8.49. 90% efficient and not power factor corrected, these are awesome!
The large puts out 1420-1460mA and run up to 40vF, cost $13. 90.5% efficient are are power factor corrected, very awesome but out of stock for a month +.
The X-large one claims 3A but actual output is 2230mA once warmed up and runs up to 39.5vF, cost $29, 89% efficient. It just barely works with the CXA3070, vF range cutting it so close that I cannot even bug in with my multimeter without knocking the current down. Some 3070s will have a low enough vF to get the 2.23A right off the bat, but some will have to warm up and wait for the driver to warm up and then they should get the full power as well. So that makes it the most powerful COB driver we have available for a reasonable price and it is power factor corrected, awesome for applications that take advantage of the COBs power for shorter term use like photography or workbench lighting.
At 2.23A the CXA3070 is dissipating 88W. My 80mm Arctic CPU cooler with Z4 attached can barely handle the heat. I will try the AB bin on a 92mm cooler and compare temps.
The 3000K Vero 29 @ 2.1A is is 32.3% efficient and cost $1.50/PAR W.
The CXA3070 Z2 bin @ 2.1A is 31.5% efficient and cost $1.53/PAR W.
The CXA3070 Z4 bin @ 2.1A is 33.8% efficient and cost $1.60/PAR W.
The CXA3070 AB bin @ 2.1A is 36.2% efficient and cost $1.66/PAR W.
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Greengenes707
Well-Known Member
Great info supra. I have been eyeing the 800ma ones for a little bit now. They say 900ma on them right? Just like the 1500ma runs closer to 1400ma
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
How to power vero 29...
Oh.. Four 9V batteries, of course!!!
Oh.. Four 9V batteries, of course!!!
Hey..Thanks to Supras threads I almost doubled my harvest in my 1,5sqft mini box with 2 CXA3070 on 1400mA...However due to restricted height the leaf tips wehre burned a bit at a distance of 10-15cm from the COBs.
What do you specialists think of this dimmable Driver: http://www.satisled.com/Wholesale/50W-Power-LED-Driver-AC180V-240V-input-DC21V-42V-output-Dimmable-is-1-sid-1.html ?
With http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800W-230V-Lamp-TRIAC-dimmer-module-/281329156220? (1 for 2 drivers)
Is Triac dimming a valid solution for us growers?
What do you specialists think of this dimmable Driver: http://www.satisled.com/Wholesale/50W-Power-LED-Driver-AC180V-240V-input-DC21V-42V-output-Dimmable-is-1-sid-1.html ?
With http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1800W-230V-Lamp-TRIAC-dimmer-module-/281329156220? (1 for 2 drivers)
Is Triac dimming a valid solution for us growers?
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
Not at the moment. I'm really liking the even radiation pattern. I guess it will depend.
That's a small detail for me at this point. I'm just glad all the light wants to go down and not up.
I'm not sure how long the 4@9V batteries will last. Probably not very long at this rate
That's a small detail for me at this point. I'm just glad all the light wants to go down and not up.
I'm not sure how long the 4@9V batteries will last. Probably not very long at this rate
I picked up a pair of 3070's recently and would like the ability to run them at lower power 700-1000ma and higher power 1400-1900ma. I will be mounting them on the alpine 11 plus coolers. Am I better off buying a dimmable driver per led or a couple different drivers I can swap out? What would be a good dimmable driver that would work with these?
SupraSPL
Well-Known Member
The HLG-185H-C1400A is dimmable from 700-1400mA, total cost $75. Swapping out drivers would work well. You can get 800mA drivers from the list above and as far as 1400mA drivers, you can wait until perfectdeal_us gets them back in stock or use the meanwell LPC-60-1400.