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LED FAQ) Building and DIY

krood

Active member
Looking nice koondense. Dion i have a question i just received my arctic 11 plus heatsink/fans, and it has a part on the heatsink face that is raised. Looks like the pictures you posted on pg 20, i also have ideal holders on the way, but i think they are going to hang over the sides of the raised section of the heatsinks. The raised heatsink face measures 2"x 1 3/4" while the ideal chiplock cobholder has a 1.97" or 50mm diameter. Am i going to have to rethink my gameplan? The screwholes and chips should work just worried about the overhang of the holder mostly i guess.
 

krood

Active member
I still havent figured out how to do pictures yet, but the heatsinks seem to be the exact ones in the pic you posted on pg 20
 

Dion

Active member
Looking nice koondense. Dion i have a question i just received my arctic 11 plus heatsink/fans, and it has a part on the heatsink face that is raised. Looks like the pictures you posted on pg 20, i also have ideal holders on the way, but i think they are going to hang over the sides of the raised section of the heatsinks. The raised heatsink face measures 2"x 1 3/4" while the ideal chiplock cobholder has a 1.97" or 50mm diameter. Am i going to have to rethink my gameplan? The screwholes and chips should work just worried about the overhang of the holder mostly i guess.

dont worry bout it

as long as the cob is on the sink u r golden

play around until u get the whole back of cob onto sink mark and drill
 

BuddyColas

New member
Need some help. I have been inspired by this thread and have ordered all my parts save the Ideal cob holders. A good source for the Ideal holder would be appreciated. Thanks
 

krood

Active member
Ok, ill play around with it like that and just make sure that the chip is on the right spot thanks dion
 

krood

Active member
Buddycolas i went to idealind.com and found the type of holder for the cob that i was using, then i googled the part number and two sites popped up newark.com is the one that i chose.
 

BuddyColas

New member
Arrow.com has the lowest price of $2.42 usd

Thanks for the tip. I have wanted a good LED for quite a while, but have not found a factory one to give uniform coverage of a 2x4 foot space…until reading the DIY LED threads on the forums lately and getting acquainted with the Cree cobs. I ultimately made the leap and went with the CXA2530s at 3K and 80cri. I got 10 of them at a good price. I know I am not at the forefront of technology, but 5 each on 2 40” x 4.85” heatsinks should make for a uniform PAR print for the girls.
 

Dion

Active member
Thanks for the tip. I have wanted a good LED for quite a while, but have not found a factory one to give uniform coverage of a 2x4 foot space…until reading the DIY LED threads on the forums lately and getting acquainted with the Cree cobs. I ultimately made the leap and went with the CXA2530s at 3K and 80cri. I got 10 of them at a good price. I know I am not at the forefront of technology, but 5 each on 2 40” x 4.85” heatsinks should make for a uniform PAR print for the girls.

sounds good to me

what current are you driving them at?
 

BuddyColas

New member
sounds good to me

what current are you driving them at?

First thanks for making this thread. I have read and re-read it trying to learn the basics. I spent some quality time with the Product Characterization Tool…very instructional. And finally I am getting the relationship between binning vs current vs lumens vs lumens/watt. I ultimately went with the CXA2530s because they were the best lumens/dollar…particularly because this is my first try at a DIY LED project.

And to your question, I will start at a modest 700ma and see with my IR meter how the heatsink responds (this is all new to me). I am going to try and go passive if the temps are low enough. I will be using 2 Mean Well ELG-150-C1050A for drivers, so I can drive them from 525ma to 1050ma. I figure with a T2 bin and 45C (assumption), that current range would give me around 2400 to 4200 lumens per light (correct me if you see the chart different). I am hoping in that range the girls will respond well!

So assuming 37v at the LEDs and 525ma to 1050ma to the LEDs, that would make the combined power of the 2 light bars about 200 to 400 watts. I am thinking I will need fans if I try and push it.

Also, I have a modest Lux/Lumen meter that does not measure PAR but it is an excellent tool for measuring the uniformity of a light foot print. I really think with 10 points of light it will blanket my 2x4 area well. All the parts are in the mail, but when I get it built and running, I can include some actual measurements and pics. :biggrin:
 

Dion

Active member
First thanks for making this thread. I have read and re-read it trying to learn the basics. I spent some quality time with the Product Characterization Tool…very instructional. And finally I am getting the relationship between binning vs current vs lumens vs lumens/watt. I ultimately went with the CXA2530s because they were the best lumens/dollar…particularly because this is my first try at a DIY LED project

true dat! the 2530 is a a great choice(lowest $ per lumen) for that reason especially if u are in the states and can easily get the meanwells(total cost is very nice)

Im glad the thread helped u i wanted it to help ppl understand how to desighn a light for thier own needs rather than just offer a couple or the "best" options
:tiphat:


And to your question, I will start at a modest 700ma and see with my IR meter how the heatsink responds (this is all new to me). I am going to try and go passive if the temps are low enough. I will be using 2 Mean Well ELG-150-C1050A for drivers, so I can drive them from 525ma to 1050ma. I figure with a T2 bin and 45C (assumption), that current range would give me around 2400 to 4200 lumens per light (correct me if you see the chart different). I am hoping in that range the girls will respond well!

yea in a 2x4 that will be killer( overkil even) I would have prolly gone for the 700mA version because @ 1050mA that is over 10k lumens per sq foot!!!! and only 110L/w assuming u can passively cool those(42w each to 45c)

I look forward to ur temp tests(what sink u using?) because i think u will find at about 750mA temps will be way more managable and still u will be getting 8000 L/sq ft @120L/w

@650mA u are getting 7000L/sq ft and 125L/w

I know you know this and have looked at the pct, the point i am trying to highlight is that its in ur best interest to keep these cool

a cooler chip at lower current can achive better/= total photon output than a hotter chip @ higher current AND will be more efficient

so driving them harder wont always give more light

picture.php


as u can see the temp on the right is 70c( ive had temps go up to 79c before i eventually cooked the chips)

if the heatsink reaches its max thermal capacity there is no point running the chips higher

we see here if a heatsink can handle only 20w(whcih u would have to check and see) then driving the chip higher will not increase light output-infact light out put will continue to decrease(as will efficiency) as we increase current until we reach around 625mA then it will be the same while consuming about 9% more power-unfortunately i cant be fuct running this analysis for increase in temp as the current increases but i hope you get the idea

here is another chart to illustrate the point

picture.php



anyway do the tests(plz share i love info) and then u could add a teeny tiny ram card fan (.smth watts) per bar and see a huge dif in temps
 
Last edited:

morgandecaptain

Active member
My new DIY beast that's 63% efficient, 9 CXB3590's CD 3500k at 800 ma and passive cooled over a 3x3 scrog.
 

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BuddyColas

New member
true dat! the 2530 is a a great choice(lowest $ per lumen) for that reason especially if u are in the states and can easily get the meanwells(total cost is very nice)

Im glad the thread helped u i wanted it to help ppl understand how to desighn a light for thier own needs rather than just offer a couple or the "best" options
:tiphat:




yea in a 2x4 that will be killer( overkil even) I would have prolly gone for the 700mA version because @ 1050mA that is over 10k lumens per sq foot!!!! and only 110L/w assuming u can passively cool those(42w each to 45c)

I look forward to ur temp tests(what sink u using?) because i think u will find at about 750mA temps will be way more managable and still u will be getting 8000 L/sq ft @120L/w

@650mA u are getting 7000L/sq ft and 125L/w

I know you know this and have looked at the pct, the point i am trying to highlight is that its in ur best interest to keep these cool

a cooler chip at lower current can achive better/= total photon output than a hotter chip @ higher current AND will be more efficient

so driving them harder wont always give more light

View Image

as u can see the temp on the right is 70c( ive had temps go up to 79c before i eventually cooked the chips)

if the heatsink reaches its max thermal capacity there is no point running the chips higher

we see here if a heatsink can handle only 20w(whcih u would have to check and see) then driving the chip higher will not increase light output-infact light out put will continue to decrease(as will efficiency) as we increase current until we reach around 625mA then it will be the same while consuming about 9% more power-unfortunately i cant be fuct running this analysis for increase in temp as the current increases but i hope you get the idea

here is another chart to illustrate the point

View Image


anyway do the tests(plz share i love info) and then u could add a teeny tiny ram card fan (.smth watts) per bar and see a huge dif in temps

Thanks for the prompt feedback. I am so looking forward to getting those light bars up and running and checking the current vs heatsink temps. The heatsinks are from heatsinkusa.com. It is 4.850” wide at goes for $0.98/foot.

And having built some of these, how close would you go with the end LED to the end of the heatsink? And inch? Two inches?
 

BuddyColas

New member
My new DIY beast that's 63% efficient, 9 CXB3590's CD 3500k at 800 ma and passive cooled over a 3x3 scrog.

Nice looking photon generator you got there! A few questions for the led noobs. Where did you find the figure 63% efficient? Or if it is a calculation, please share how you did that...inquiring minds want to know. Also, if I read the charts right, each LED puts out about 9200 lumens at 800ma. Is that what you figure? Lastly, a few more mechanical shots on the top side on how you built it would be good (hint).
 

Dion

Active member
I was thinking about using some Nichia serie 60 with similar data but much lower price, at least for us living in Europe.

http://www.leds.de/en/High-Power-LE...EDs/Nichia-Chip-on-Board-Modul-Series-60.html

How do you people think about that,it´s half the price for the led´s.

Rilla.

hey Rilla, I actually wanted to ask you about that site

they dont seem to list the binning they sell-only top binning of the model

ie that cob is listed as NFCWL060B sm503/G2450,G2650/R8000

so unclear which bin you actally get?

a few of the cree chips i was looking at dont even list possible binnings....

am I missing smth?
 

Dion

Active member
Thanks for the prompt feedback. I am so looking forward to getting those light bars up and running and checking the current vs heatsink temps. The heatsinks are from heatsinkusa.com. It is 4.850” wide at goes for $0.98/foot.

And having built some of these, how close would you go with the end LED to the end of the heatsink? And inch? Two inches?

doesnt really matter for active cooling

for passive prob about 5cm

but i advise u to desighn the spacing around canopy uniformity then worry bout temps once u check them


FYI that heatsink is sold per inch not foot

98 cents per inch

the thermal capacity is listed as C/W/3": approximately 2.25

which as i understand means it can handle about .75w per inch(which doesnt seem right by looking at it[far too low] althoug converting those antiquated measurements into smth useful does confuse me)

perhaps others can help

anyway based on that and assuming you will drive thses 2530s @ 25w(power consumption not heat output which would need to be calculated based off efficiency which i dont bother with because no one ever regretted keeping leds too cold) you would need
10 inches per cob

that however sounds way off i must be missunderstanding the " C/W/3": approximately 2.25 "

other please chime in
 
Last edited:

GoeRilla

Active member
hey Rilla, I actually wanted to ask you about that site

they dont seem to list the binning they sell-only top binning of the model

ie that cob is listed as NFCWL060B sm503/G2450,G2650/R8000

so unclear which bin you actally get?

a few of the cree chips i was looking at dont even list possible binnings....

am I missing smth?

Yes i´m also not sure about that, i will have to ask them when i decide to buy( or if i will buy )
Same with many other sellers i think, not much info about bin.

Rilla.
 

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