I'm Looking To Upgrade My Lighting, But Should I Upgrade It?

Abiqua · Mar 3, 2015

AquariusPanta said:
What would we do without you, Abiqua?

Here is the thread I made recently on tapping.

Don't be so modest AP, you are a hell of a grower and have got in and gotten dirty. Inquisitive minds keep me offering up what I remember, but I still am learning the "grow" part, hopefully everyday to my last.....

@KnowledgeNeeder

AP's Frankestein Crowns -Vero 18's
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-led-frankensteins-crown.848100/

another nother option.....

The Vero 18....if you are going to run softer currents, these babies output great even up to 1.4 amps....but 700mA or 1050 is killer....and they are less than half the cost of Vero 29's...with a slight efficiency penalty...

another slight trade-of, but another cost saving one too :peace:

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 4, 2015

Abiqua said:
@KnowledgeNeeder

AP's Frankestein Crowns -Vero 18's
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-led-frankensteins-crown.848100/

another nother option..... The Vero 18....if you are going to run softer currents, these babies output great even up to 1.4 amps....but 700mA or 1050 is killer....and they are less than half the cost of Vero 29's...with a slight efficiency penalty...

another slight trade-of, but another cost saving one too

I'm super pumped about building this light now!! I sat at my desk all day at work and drew up three different sets of plans for it.. I enlisted the help of a buddy today also, he's a sheet metal fabricator and he's going to help me build an enclousre to mount the heat sinks and house all the wiring.. I actually have a couple questions about the wiring and the driver.. Could I use the Meanwell LPC 150 driver you linked me to yesterday, with 4 of the Vero 18 cobs, and wire them in parallel, so that each cob would receive 1050ma? I mean would that be to much of a wattage load for that driver or could it handle it? I understand the basics but I'm not really sure how to figure the wattage and voltage loads.. I just wanna make sure that I don't burn my apartment to the ground, that would be a bitch lol..

Abiqua · Mar 4, 2015

KnowledgeNeeder said:
I'm super pumped about building this light now!! I sat at my desk all day at work and drew up three different sets of plans for it.. I enlisted the help of a buddy today also, he's a sheet metal fabricator and he's going to help me build an enclousre to mount the heat sinks and house all the wiring.. I actually have a couple questions about the wiring and the driver.. Could I use the Meanwell LPC 150 driver you linked me to yesterday, with 4 of the Vero 18 cobs, and wire them in parallel, so that each cob would receive 1050ma? I mean would that be to much of a wattage load for that driver or could it handle it? I understand the basics but I'm not really sure how to figure the wattage and voltage loads.. I just wanna make sure that I don't burn my apartment to the ground, that would be a bitch lol..

Fuck yeah, spending the time at work doing something Important!

1st You can use the LPC, but it is better in series......That is why it was picked with high voltage throughout the current range.....[notice: if you ran say, the 1050 model in parallel to four cobs, they would be all getting 140v's and 1/4 of the amperage,,,,wrong way or parallel wiring to begin with....

Series wiring - add voltage - current remains constant

Parallel wiring - add current -voltage remains constant

Arguable, you can't really wire LED's into parallel...although it is possible, but because of constant current, there has to be some redundancy to protect the parallel circuit, when powered from a constant current driver.....

One of the funky rules ^, as AC is constant voltage.....

I just bought this driver today from Ebay.....cost me $50 shipped NEW....might power 5x Vero 18's @ 1050mA!!!
Mean Well HLG-120H-C105A

As far a Wattage / Voltage Calcuations....

Watts = Volts x Amps

1st and Foremost .....The Datasheet, every # you could imagine is usually included....

2nd, I have a cheat sheet, made by the great SupraSpl, to help us quickly calculate cost/Par/ wattage etc.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-HLG-120H-C105A-/261741899678?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 4, 2015

Abiqua said:
Fuck yeah, spending the time at work doing something Important!

1st You can use the LPC, but it is better in series......That is why it was picked with high voltage throughout the current range.....[notice: if you ran say, the 1050 model in parallel to four cobs, they would be all getting 140v's and 1/4 of the amperage,,,,wrong way or parallel wiring to begin with....

Series wiring - add voltage - current remains constant

Parallel wiring - add current -voltage remains constant

Arguable, you can't really wire LED's into parallel...although it is possible, but because of constant current, there has to be some redundancy to protect the parallel circuit, when powered from a constant current driver.....

One of the funky rules ^, as AC is constant voltage.....

I just bought this driver today from Ebay.....cost me $50 shipped NEW....might power 5x Vero 18's @ 1050mA!!!
Mean Well HLG-120H-C105A

As far a Wattage / Voltage Calcuations....

Watts = Volts x Amps

1st and Foremost .....The Datasheet, every # you could imagine is usually included....

2nd, I have a cheat sheet, made by the great SupraSpl, to help us quickly calculate cost/Par/ wattage etc.

View attachment 3364848

Thanks for the education in voltage and current, I believe I have a good handle on what I must do now to assemble this light.. I owe you big time, I may have to name my first born strain after you, I'll call it Abiquadabra or something lol..

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 11, 2015

I ordered all of the components for my light today.. I went with 4 Vero 18's and the Mean Well HLG 120H driver.. I also found a bad ass power supply for my fans on amazon.. It has four channels and each channel has it's own speed control dial.. I cant wait to get her put together and hanging in my cabinet.. I'll post some pics of her when she's finished.. Thanks again @Abiqua for all of your help..

Here are some pics of my lady today, she is in week 3 day 3 of flower.. She's starting to show her first trics and she smells like a skunk pissed in a berry patch.. As thick as her stems are and as tight as her nodes are I'm thinking she is going to be a good yielder..

Abiqua · Mar 11, 2015

KnowledgeNeeder said:
I ordered all of the components for my light today.. I went with 4 Vero 18's and the Mean Well HLG 120H driver.. I also found a bad ass power supply for my fans on amazon.. It has four channels and each channel has it's own speed control dial.. I cant wait to get her put together and hanging in my cabinet.. I'll post some pics of her when she's finished.. Thanks again @Abiqua for all of your help..

Here are some pics of my lady today, she is in week 3 day 3 of flower.. She's starting to show her first trics and she smells like a skunk pissed in a berry patch.. As thick as her stems are and as tight as her nodes are I'm thinking she is going to be a good yielder..
View attachment 3370053 View attachment 3370055 View attachment 3370057 View attachment 3370058 View attachment 3370059 View attachment 3370060 View attachment 3370061 View attachment 3370062

Nice bondage you got going on!

All

and

here, as I am stoked to hear about your setup....Top Shelf never hurts.
I like those fan controllers, Positivity mounted a version meant for a cpu in their newest fixture.....in the LED threads....

I have some PWM fans, so I have been working with dimming my fans AND drivers too

....but I would have to buy a new driver, so that's gonna have to wait a bit....

"abiquadabra" mind if I throw that lil tidbit in my sig? I think its dope :peace:

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 11, 2015

Abiqua said:
Nice bondage you got going on!

All and here, as I am stoked to hear about your setup....Top Shelf never hurts.
I like those fan controllers, Positivity mounted a version meant for a cpu in their newest fixture.....in the LED threads....

I have some PWM fans, so I have been working with dimming my fans AND drivers too ....but I would have to buy a new driver, so that's gonna have to wait a bit....

"abiquadabra" mind if I throw that lil tidbit in my sig? I think its dope

Thanks, I'm getting pretty good at tying my bitches up lol.. The fan controller I got is ment for a computer also, but it has a 4 pin molex connector for an input, and I found a power supply that has a 4 pin molex output, so they should work perfect together.. I'm planning on dimming my driver for veg and I thought it would be nice to be able to turn the fans down as well.. I think I'm going to veg around 700ma then flower at 1050ma or maybe even 1400ma, depending on how hot the driver gets.. I think it will be well worth the extra money it cost to be able to have complete control of my lighting system like that.. Yeah, fell free to use Abiquadabra in anyway shape or form that you like, coining a word is a cheap price to pay for the education you gave me on led lighting and basic electronics..

Abiqua · Mar 11, 2015

KnowledgeNeeder said:
Thanks, I'm getting pretty good at tying my bitches up lol.. The fan controller I got is ment for a computer also, but it has a 4 pin molex connector for an input, and I found a power supply that has a 4 pin molex output, so they should work perfect together.. I'm planning on dimming my driver for veg and I thought it would be nice to be able to turn the fans down as well.. I think I'm going to veg around 700ma then flower at 1050ma or maybe even 1400ma, depending on how hot the driver gets.. I think it will be well worth the extra money it cost to be able to have complete control of my lighting system like that.. Yeah, fell free to use Abiquadabra in anyway shape or form that you like, coining a word is a cheap price to pay for the education you gave me on led lighting and basic electronics..

Im just glad you took a positive from this...

Just pass it on, when you build it and if you show it off, people WILL ask about it!

I say I can only provide 5% the rest is up to you :joint:

Couple of things:

When running high voltage, remember to make all those connections tight! None exposed....and hide your Ac Mains to Driver connection in a junction box, if you can....

Also you should check out the Arduino UNO if you are interested in the future in dimming your driver and fan, by an outside controller...I am working on certain aspects right now, but really just getting started....

I too once started at the multiple fan controller stage and then hit on the Arduino and haven't looked back :peace:

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 12, 2015

Abiqua said:
Im just glad you took a positive from this...

Just pass it on, when you build it and if you show it off, people WILL ask about it!

I say I can only provide 5% the rest is up to you

Couple of things:

When running high voltage, remember to make all those connections tight! None exposed....and hide your Ac Mains to Driver connection in a junction box, if you can....

Also you should check out the Arduino UNO if you are interested in the future in dimming your driver and fan, by an outside controller...I am working on certain aspects right now, but really just getting started....

I too once started at the multiple fan controller stage and then hit on the Arduous and haven't looked back

Once I get it put together I'm going to post a build thread in the led section with all the links to order the parts and step by step pictures.. So Hopefully the knowledge you passed along to me will benefit others as well.. I've never really worked with high voltage so I am a bit nervous about that, but I think with all the connectors I ordered everything should pretty much be plug and play.. I've done some soldering on my guitars before, do you think it would be better for me to solder my connections instead of using the connectors? I ordered the 18" ez connectors for the cobs so that I would have plenty of wire to hide all of my connections inside of junction boxes.. I going to have one box for each cob/fan connection, one box for the driver/power supply connection, and one box for the A/C connection to the driver. The power supply for the fans comes hard wired with a plug on it already.. I'm def going to make sure this light is over engineered, when it comes to electricity and fire hazards I'm not going to play around and half ass it.. I don't think I'm going to have my buddy build an enclosure for me though, I'm just going to mount all the boxes and drivers to the top of my cabinet and then suspend the lights below it.. That way everything can get maximum airflow and stay nice and cool.. I do have another question for you though, How much space should I leave between the top of my cabinet and the heat sink fans? Every inch I can save in headroom will help me tremendously.. The Arduous looks interesting it would be awesome to be able to dim your lights and your fans with one controller.. I don't even have this rig built yet and I want to upgrade it all ready lmao..

Abiqua · Mar 12, 2015

KnowledgeNeeder said:
Once I get it put together I'm going to post a build thread in the led section with all the links to order the parts and step by step pictures.. So Hopefully the knowledge you passed along to me will benefit others as well.. I've never really worked with high voltage so I am a bit nervous about that, but I think with all the connectors I ordered everything should pretty much be plug and play.. I've done some soldering on my guitars before, do you think it would be better for me to solder my connections instead of using the connectors? I ordered the 18" ez connectors for the cobs so that I would have plenty of wire to hide all of my connections inside of junction boxes.. I going to have one box for each cob/fan connection, one box for the driver/power supply connection, and one box for the A/C connection to the driver. The power supply for the fans comes hard wired with a plug on it already.. I'm def going to make sure this light is over engineered, when it comes to electricity and fire hazards I'm not going to play around and half ass it.. I don't think I'm going to have my buddy build an enclosure for me though, I'm just going to mount all the boxes and drivers to the top of my cabinet and then suspend the lights below it.. That way everything can get maximum airflow and stay nice and cool.. I do have another question for you though, How much space should I leave between the top of my cabinet and the heat sink fans? Every inch I can save in headroom will help me tremendously.. The Arduous looks interesting it would be awesome to be able to dim your lights and your fans with one controller.. I don't even have this rig built yet and I want to upgrade it all ready lmao..

How's this for close?

Abiqua · Mar 12, 2015

I have been running like this for about 2 days now...even with a single muffin fan and without my bottom intake in proper working order, I am still maintaining 25-26C in ambient temps...near perfect, if such existed

I am going to lower it a tad 2nite actually, because I am paranoid about my fans and I can't see if their running except to jam a mirror up there or something....lol
:peace:

I will put up more of my recent build picks in my thread and link them.....I too ran boxes almost identically to how your describe your setup and I have some pics to show you the goods and they you work off those and change them for your setup :joint:

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 12, 2015

Abiqua said:
How's this for close?
I have been running like this for about 2 days now...even with a single muffin fan and without my bottom intake in proper working order, I am still maintaining 25-26C in ambient temps...near perfect, if such existed

I am going to lower it a tad 2nite actually, because I am paranoid about my fans and I can't see if their running except to jam a mirror up there or something....lol

I will put up more of my recent build picks in my thread and link them.....I too ran boxes almost identically to how your describe your setup and I have some pics to show you the goods and they you work off those and change them for your setup

Wow, that's exactly what I need!! I was planning on hanging them 3 inches or so underneath, but after seeing your pic I may hang them at an inch under.. Your temps are running about 10 degrees F cooler than mine right now, and I'm running a 4" exhaust fan and two 6" intake fans.. I figure the cobs will run at about the same temps as the CFLs, but since I'll be cutting my number of lights in half, I'm hoping my temps will drop at least 10 degrees F.. It would be sicker than tits if you could link me to some pictures of your build.. I have a pretty good idea of what I gotta do, I've made a bunch of drawings

but seeing actual pictures would be the shit..

Abiqua · Mar 12, 2015

KnowledgeNeeder said:
Wow, that's exactly what I need!! I was planning on hanging them 3 inches or so underneath, but after seeing your pic I may hang them at an inch under.. Your temps are running about 10 degrees F cooler than mine right now, and I'm running a 4" exhaust fan and two 6" intake fans.. I figure the cobs will run at about the same temps as the CFLs, but since I'll be cutting my number of lights in half, I'm hoping my temps will drop at least 10 degrees F.. It would be sicker than tits if you could link me to some pictures of your build.. I have a pretty good idea of what I gotta do, I've made a bunch of drawings View attachment 3370647 but seeing actual pictures would be the shit..

Working on it now, had to take a break, walk the dog, rescue another dog, eat something, smoke a phattie, and almost there.....but here is what series wiring should look like...... :peace:

Abiqua · Mar 12, 2015

I loaded up what I took today and last night.....
http://rollitup.org/t/small-spaces-led-organics.849178/page-4#post-11402369

I also built this little Veg light a couple weeks ago and did a write up on it...supposed to be a step by step, but I probably space a few things.....
tiny thread, I have wiring diagrams in here, which are the exact same I use in all my builds so far minus or add the number of diodes in series, but other than that, the wiring circuit is virtually unchanged :peace:

http://rollitup.org/t/vero-10-5000k-veg-light-diy-step-by-step-build.861762/

KnowledgeNeeder · Mar 12, 2015

Abiqua said:
Working on it now, had to take a break, walk the dog, rescue another dog, eat something, smoke a phattie, and almost there.....but here is what series wiring should look like...... View attachment 3370711

Sounds a lot like what I was doing, but only instead of rescuing a dog I was trying to buy a hooker.. When she asked if I wanted a price for me or my pitbull I decided it was best to just walk away lol.. I'm glad I posted my wiring diagram, I would have had things all messed up.. My whole cabinet probably would have burst into a big ass ball of fire and the smoke from my plant probably would have gotten the whole building high.. I mean I dont mind sharing my herbs but I'd rather burn it in bowls not electrical bon fires.. My landlord probably would have gotten all pissed of too, because he wasn't there for the smoke out.. So thanks for saving my lease and my lady bitch.. Now I'm in debt to you again lol.. I think I may have just smoked too phat of a phatie.. I'm going to check out your posts and pics now.. Thanks again..

I'm Looking To Upgrade My Lighting, But Should I Upgrade It?

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