LED light question (HLG)

So I just got an HLG Scorpion Rspec 600w. I let my plants get a bit too tall for my tent. Well... more than a bit. My light needs to be like 12-15 inches above the canopy, but that puts my light pretty close to the top of the tent. So, my question is this: Will the light or the driver of an LED light get hot enough to catch a tent on fire? I’d like to run the light full blast but that puts the driver only 4 inches or so from the top of the tent.

Mine get , the driver, about 110f

So shouldn't start a fire no

Most of the fixtures I have will run at about 50degC in ambient air.
No worries about fire, but you need to be able to exhaust the heat the fixture will produce.
My 480w qb clone fixture runs about 5" below the tent top with zero issues.

GBAUTO said:

Most of the fixtures I have will run at about 50degC in ambient air.
No worries about fire, but you need to be able to exhaust the heat the fixture will produce.
My 480w qb clone fixture runs about 5" below the tent top with zero issues.

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ahhh thank god lol. Yeah I changed my exhaust setup and put the ducting through the top of the tent above the driver.

You really need some space around the driver. You're going to be putting it in the hottest area with little air flow. Keep in mind that the driver will be running for months.

According to the spec sheet on HLG drivers. The longest life is measured at 70% of power and below the max temp as listed on the driver case.

My driver is attached to a wall. Then wired from a distance. Away from heat. In a spot that gets air circulation.

Beehive said:

You really need some space around the driver. You're going to be putting it in the hottest area with little air flow. Keep in mind that the driver will be running for months.

According to the spec sheet on HLG drivers. The longest life is measured at 70% of power and below the max temp as listed on the driver case.

My driver is attached to a wall. Then wired from a distance. Away from heat. In a spot that gets air circulation.

Click to expand...

I could run it a little below max power. I plan on putting a small fan directed at the driver. My main concern here is my tent catching on fire. Is that something I need to worry about with these lights?

ddeck96 said:

ahhh thank god lol. Yeah I changed my exhaust setup and put the ducting through the top of the tent above the driver.

Click to expand...

That's probably wise. Your tent won't catch fire but a shorter distance between lamp and tent can allow for heat to build up. Built-up heat will in turn heat the lamp and can potentially decrease the efficacy and lifespan of both the driver and the diodes.
While we all experience temperature a bit differently, most people can hold their hand on the lamp fairly comfortably at 50c/122f.
60c/140f creates an unpleasant feeling and it would be painful and probably even difficult for most to keep the hand on the lamp for 5-10 seconds, at 60-65c/140-149f.

65c/149f won't kill your lamp instantly or make your tent catch on fire but it might be worth considering increasing the airflow even further around/above the lamp. 50C/122f and below is a good temperature. Just a tip

ddeck96 said:

I could run it a little below max power. I plan on putting a small fan directed at the driver. My main concern here is my tent catching on fire. Is that something I need to worry about with these lights?

Click to expand...

No. The driver heats up from 37°C to 43°C

My driver is at 53 volts. 10 Cobs. 50k lux two feet off the rack. Its running 42.2°C case temp.

If the driver was to heat up enough to catch a commercially sold tent on fire. The driver will burn itself out before that temp. No more heat.

The actual leds can run 55.5°C. On the face. The sink(s) about 37.8°C.


Edit: (LEDtonic was quicker on the draw).

I'm not sure what exact driver you have, ddeck, but you can find the specifications for your driver on google.
Here's a screenshot of the expected lifetime VS case temperature for a random 600w inventronics driver.

It's also difficult to say what exact temperature your driver will reach as it is dependant on the temperature of the air around it, as well as the airflow and how close it is to other warm objects, such as a heatsink and PCB.

Here's a thermal test we did not long ago. Our lamps are designed to stay below 50c/122f at full load in a 25c/77f room with no air circulation.
Placing a driver on the 50c/122f warm PCB will result in 60c/140f+ temperatures.
Hanging the driver in the air freely results in just below 50c/122f temperatures.
The PCB was also 6 degrees celsius warmer right where the driver had been mounted.
This is why we have our driver hanging freely instead of having it mounted on the lamp.

All drivers work differently and reach different temperatures in different grow spaces, but it's always wise to try keeping them (and the lamp) as cool as possible.

Hlg advises against moving the driver(s) on their prebuilt, so a small circulation fan pointed at the driver/boards can help alleviate some of your concerns

Recommended heights for Scorpion Rspec from HLG Blog.

Driver has 7 years warranty at 75°C case temp but will last 200,000 hours if ambient is 25°C