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LED FAQ) Building and DIY

Loc Dog

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
gmanwho said:
so i was going back an forth with DIon about building multiple lights. an im not sure if hes around . so i'll post this up here

i ordered up 10 meanwell HLG-320H-2100b.
then 40 vero 29 cobs , 36.8v 2.1a. some 5k for flower, some 3500k for veg.

soldered 4 cobs in series w/14awg solid wire & connected to driver
wired driver input for 220v
installed a 100k linear taper rotary potentiometer for a dimmer.
plugged in the first prototype in an didnt light.

i was beat an i didnt wanna start diagnosing.

is this driver compatible with these cobs? i know a decent amount about electrical but im still not grasping some of the concept of matching the cobs to the driver. with variable voltage an current drivers etc.

the idea was to run 4 of these cobs at 80w to the 320w driver.
are these compatible? wondering what i messed up. my soldering connections were all solid. ive soldered quite often. also im wondering if the potentiometer was wired wrong. could a miss wired potentiometer not make the driver work?

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/hlg320h.pdf
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=976-1283-ND
Click to expand...

I am new to this, and not sure about drivers to cob's either. I would watch some of the growmau5 videos on youtube. Also hope you are not going to use 5000K for flower and 3500K for veg, since that is backwards.

I was going to buy these, since the drivers are matched to the cobs - http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut3122

this may also help - http://timbergrowlights.com/400-watt-vero29-v7-4-cob-grow-light-kit/

Watch the first 2 videos, at least. Exactly what you are looking for -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlM5uvO7sao&t=4s
 
Koondense

Koondense

Well-known member
Veteran
gmanwho said:
so i was going back an forth with DIon about building multiple lights. an im not sure if hes around . so i'll post this up here

i ordered up 10 meanwell HLG-320H-2100b.
then 40 vero 29 cobs , 36.8v 2.1a. some 5k for flower, some 3500k for veg.

soldered 4 cobs in series w/14awg solid wire & connected to driver
wired driver input for 220v
installed a 100k linear taper rotary potentiometer for a dimmer.
plugged in the first prototype in an didnt light.

i was beat an i didnt wanna start diagnosing.

is this driver compatible with these cobs? i know a decent amount about electrical but im still not grasping some of the concept of matching the cobs to the driver. with variable voltage an current drivers etc.

the idea was to run 4 of these cobs at 80w to the 320w driver.
are these compatible? wondering what i messed up. my soldering connections were all solid. ive soldered quite often. also im wondering if the potentiometer was wired wrong. could a miss wired potentiometer not make the driver work?

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/hlg320h.pdf
https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=976-1283-ND
Click to expand...

Hey dude:)
there are few issues I noticed in your description of your problem.
First, the driver link is not of HLG320H-C2100B but HLG320H-series. So I hope you got the 2100B as it's the driver you need if you're connecting the cobs in series. Be absolutely sure to check the +/- connections.
Second, the Veros you linked are not Gen7, the difference is in Vf but the driver should handle both cob models if you got the 37.7V version(Gen 7).

So the parts should be ok in my opinion(if you got what you mentioned, not linked).
Now re check your wiring and hope you find an issue.

Another thing, do all fixtures have the same issue or you built just one and found out it doesn't light?

Cheers

*I hope you put the cobs on heatsinks before lighting them!
 
gmanwho

gmanwho

Well-known member
Veteran
Koondense said:
Hey dude:)
there are few issues I noticed in your description of your problem.
First, the driver link is not of HLG320H-C2100B but HLG320H-series. So I hope you got the 2100B as it's the driver you need if you're connecting the cobs in series. Be absolutely sure to check the +/- connections.
Second, the Veros you linked are not Gen7, the difference is in Vf but the driver should handle both cob models if you got the 37.7V version(Gen 7).

So the parts should be ok in my opinion(if you got what you mentioned, not linked).
Now re check your wiring and hope you find an issue.

Another thing, do all fixtures have the same issue or you built just one and found out it doesn't light?

Cheers

*I hope you put the cobs on heatsinks before lighting them!
Click to expand...


i am certain the driver is HLG320H-C2100B. i just checked again.

as for the cob. what is the difference? i only installed 4 to start. wondering if it is worth the return an getting the other gen7?

****i am gonna check the potentiometer next. i wired in the negative to the potentiometer as well, an i see the meanwell pdf says leave the - open an not connected.

so this is some old experience with wiring ballasts talking here.....the driver is a multiap based on the voltage range from 90-305vac. but the white neutral on the meanwell ballast was labeled just that, neutral. but on other digital ballasts ive wired the neutral will switch an accept the opposite phase 120v an now run at 220v. all my lights are setup for 220. will this ballast do as i described taking the 2nd 120 an then use the ground as neutral? or do i rewire the power cord to ballast , wire the plug ground to both the ground of the ballast an then the neutral?



so what is the differences on the cobs i ordered. " VF" ? nothing right away jumps out to me when reading the datasheet. but i msure there is a differnce. but is it worth sending back an doing a reorder??

and yes they where connected to a heatsink before trying to use.



EDIT ***** after my morning fog cleared i compared the datasheets between the vero 29 i ordred an the vero 29 gen 7 an it was 44 lumens per watt difference. so on a 4 light setup there was a difference of 14080 lumens. enough of a difference for me to send back.****
 
gmanwho

gmanwho

Well-known member
Veteran
An btw, cutter shipping to the states removed any savings, an actually increased cost, compared to ordering within the states. then to have to send something back or deal with a warranty issue, tech support...... rather use a US based company.
 
jikko77

jikko77

Active member
try to leave the dim + and dim - open.
if this work change the pot, a linear one is enough.

if the cob used are the one into the digikey link the vf is 36.8
36.8V*4=147.2 that driver should do for a string of 4, the datasheet say 76 ~ 152V.

are you sure of your wiring?
 
Sante

Sante

In DoPa
gmanwho said:
i am certain the driver is HLG320H-C2100B. i just checked again.

as for the cob. what is the difference? i only installed 4 to start. wondering if it is worth the return an getting the other gen7?

****i am gonna check the potentiometer next. i wired in the negative to the potentiometer as well, an i see the meanwell pdf says leave the - open an not connected.

so this is some old experience with wiring ballasts talking here.....the driver is a multiap based on the voltage range from 90-305vac. but the white neutral on the meanwell ballast was labeled just that, neutral. but on other digital ballasts ive wired the neutral will switch an accept the opposite phase 120v an now run at 220v. all my lights are setup for 220. will this ballast do as i described taking the 2nd 120 an then use the ground as neutral? or do i rewire the power cord to ballast , wire the plug ground to both the ground of the ballast an then the neutral?



so what is the differences on the cobs i ordered. " VF" ? nothing right away jumps out to me when reading the datasheet. but i msure there is a differnce. but is it worth sending back an doing a reorder??

and yes they where connected to a heatsink before trying to use.



EDIT ***** after my morning fog cleared i compared the datasheets between the vero 29 i ordred an the vero 29 gen s an it was 44 lumens per watt difference. so on a 4 light setup there was a difference of 14080 lumens. enough of a difference for me to send back.****
Click to expand...
Did you see my PM? Do not focused too much on lm/w!
Actually vero 29SE gives 38v each at 2.1A(152v and 219w for 4 COBs) so it's fully compatible with the driver you choosen even if dimm at full power (152v and 319w at 2.1A ) and with an unrealistic temperature of 25°c
 
Last edited:
Koondense

Koondense

Well-known member
Veteran
gmanwho said:
EDIT ***** after my morning fog cleared i compared the datasheets between the vero 29 i ordred an the vero 29 gen s an it was 44 lumens per watt difference. so on a 4 light setup there was a difference of 14080 lumens. enough of a difference for me to send back.****
Click to expand...

Good call.
Still double check if your ordered model is the 37V one.

*do I read right, the Gen7 is cheaper than the old models? Insane.
I remember paying 45usd for a CXB3590 almost 1,5 years ago :/
 
Sante

Sante

In DoPa
Koondense said:
Good call.
Still double check if your ordered model is the 37V one.

*do I read right, the Gen7 is cheaper than the old models? Insane.
I remember paying 45usd for a CXB3590 almost 1,5 years ago :/
Click to expand...
From china cxb3590 33 usd and vero29Dgen7 24.5 USD ...not a great price diffeeence for a few COBs and quite the same efficiency, cxb has a better solderless connection by ledil connector, pico ez mate is almost useless when you wire in series more than 3 cobs...but pros is that vero do not need an holder if you do not want to install a reflector..finally maybe the best buy is...citizen;)
 
Last edited:
gmanwho

gmanwho

Well-known member
Veteran
Sante, id did get your pm. thank you for the info. i am a little confused on wiring in the 10kohm resistor. can you explain better? i am having a problem with the potentiometer.

THE PROBLEM: so it was either the potentiometer being wired wrong. i put the red + to center post, then negative to i forget which post, the left or right. or it was the setup of trying to run 220v with the neutral on the driver not switching?

swapped driver out with new. setup for 120v & no potentiometer. lights worked.
next i attached the potentiometer to + of dimmer output, an left - open & taped off. potentiometer did not adjust light intensity.

so either these drivers wont run 220v, or the potentiometer i misswired fried the driver.

now i gotta figure the potentiometer out.

new vero 29 gen7 5k already in mail

the poteiometers i ordered where ...... from amazon
Uxcell a15010500ux0823 20 Piece 100K Ohm Linear Taper Rotary Potentiometer 100KB B100K Pot with Knobs

next i gotta make sure the heatsink absorbs enough heat.
 
jikko77

jikko77

Active member
linear, 100k omh, is all you need.

the pot have 3 pin, dim+ on the left most, connect the resistor (10k ohm) from the pin to the cable, middle pin dim -.
the driver you linked was good for both 110 and 240v.

edit: even the pot linked looks right.
 
Koondense

Koondense

Well-known member
Veteran
potentiometer%2Bpolarity.jpg

R = resistance

Could be useful.
 
wildgrow

wildgrow

, The Ghost of
Veteran
Definitely. 1st thing I thought after reading Gmans post - wrong wires soldered to the wrong posts.

Good luck Gman.
 
gmanwho

gmanwho

Well-known member
Veteran
Thanks everyone for the help.

Koondense thank you for the pot pictures
im gonna look into wiring the pot. the meanwell sheet shows no connection on the - dimmer wire.

so how should it be wired to the pot. center post + . but where does the 10k resistor come into play?? negative dimmer wire to right post an 10k resistor in between connection?

also. what should be an acceptable temp for the heatsink near the cob? i have a laser temp gun. i also know to put a piece of tape to get accurate reading on laser reading site.

now if its not enough cooling i will add in some 120v pc fans. heatsink use says the heatsink has a rating of C/W/3": approximately 2.50

i ordered from heat sink usa the 3.5" heat sinks. ordered them 48" long. placed 4 cobs on one heatsink. 6 inches in from ends, then 12" apart. nice an solid light strip.



the replacement vero 29 gen7 cob's arrived yesterday, units shipped within hours of my order. 2 days on a normal post office priority mail delivery. which was the cheapest or 2nd cheapest delivery option. i ordered early monday afternoon, they arrived wednesday afternoon. had to be close a 1000 mile journey. pretty quick imo.

thanks everyone..... bsafe


picture.php


picture.php

picture.php
 
jikko77

jikko77

Active member
i'm crying inside ...

standard wire works fine, even if not tined.
cable are rated for differnt use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring:

Electrical wiring uses insulated conductors.

Wires and cables are rated by the circuit voltage, temperature and environmental conditions (moisture, sunlight, oil, chemicals) in which they can be used, and their maximum current. Wiring safety codes vary by country, and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is attempting to standardise wiring amongst member countries. Colour codes are used to distinguish line, neutral and earth (ground) wires.
Click to expand...

differnt cable have a different sheath as well, some made in silicone other made with particular plastic matirial rated for different temp use, voltage rating and other stuff like that.

spend big money on cobs, and goes cheap on cable is the best way to fucking burn out your cob.

if i use a cable rated for, lets say, 12v max and i let pass through 120v, what would happen to your cable and his sheath? it would melt, period.

dont fucking go cheap on the wiring, if you mind to preserv what you have bought.
 
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