Eye Protection and COB's

cdgmoney250 said:

I'm currently using the M7 rendition hps+. They help out quite a bit with strain on the eyes.

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Good to hear. Thank you! Might try and pick up a pair during the holiday sales.

sanjuan said:

I'd be more worried about the blue spike in a high-powered COB veg room. (But not as much as when I had a 1,000W MH in there; cheap welding goggles were not comfortable.)

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED Components and Modules/XLamp/XLamp Application Notes/XLamp_EyeSafety.pdf

"To date, the testing shows that Cree’s blue and royal blue LED components (450-485 nm dominant wavelengths) pose a higher potential eye safety hazard than its white LED components. Other colors of LED components, such as green and red LED components, do not pose as significant of an eye safety risk. "

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From which my understanding in the laser LED world I dabble in, can cause *bleaching?* of the eye.

Although I'm not sure how my 1w 445 nm laser LED that can burn holes through CD cases over 15-20 ft away, compares to regular blue leds for lighting and its effects on eyes.

Bottom line IM little old O the effects of blue LEDs on biological processes is still not fully understood so without a doubt use protection of some kind, though dimming and turning the fuckers off for a moment seems prudent, no? And while a bit ghetto, home made reflectors, or limiters as I think of them, can really cut down on your exposure and cost nothing compared to the damage one can/may sustain from these suckers.

You youngsters out there should really take care, especially when they tell us 30 years from now that raw COBs cause cataracts or some other shit since it seems that most of the time only time tells us what we think is true is actually true . See the history of X-ray.

It seems almost all CREE CXA's are all what's called RG-2 and are a moderate risk for damage, but a risk nonetheless. The only CREE that is RG-3 is the CREE Royal Blue XR-E which CAN cause damage looking straight at it for just a moment. That is from the July 2015 CREE Eye Safety doc. CXBs/3590(36v)s/3070s have not been included yet so wrap those rascals folks. Interesting that in some cases people run their arrays so low that the classification slips into RG-1. Another reason to drive your CXA/B/Veros softer .
http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED Components and Modules/XLamp/XLamp Application Notes/XLamp_EyeSafety.pdf

And to the OP, some people with sensitive eyes have complained quite a bit about some of CREEs offerings bothering their eyes, especially their early lightbulbs. Higher CRI seems to help the eyes but not necessarily the plant. ATM .

Every once in a while I like to check the temp of my heat sink, and I do this by actually touching it near the COB while the light is running (never been more than warm so far). Obviously I don't want to touch the COB, so I need to be able to see what I'm doing. I use these, about $9 from Home Depot. They are good for any time you need to work on the light while its on.

@FranJan - I am thinking about making some home made reflectors from individual muffin tins. How did you attach the one in your picture to your heat sink?

Humanrob said:

Every once in a while I like to check the temp of my heat sink, and I do this by actually touching it near the COB while the light is running (never been more than warm so far). Obviously I don't want to touch the COB, so I need to be able to see what I'm doing. I use these, about $9 from Home Depot. They are good for any time you need to work on the light while its on.

@FranJan - I am thinking about making some home made reflectors from individual muffin tins. How did you attach the one in your picture to your heat sink?

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Foil tape. I'm too cheap to use Kapton . Been using it for years on different panels. Never a problem.