DiY LEDs - How to Power Them

Beautiful looking haul Supra!

About to start my own DIY adventure and was wondering if you guys could give me any tips/pointers :)

Ordered a few cheapy 100w COBs from China to get a base of what should be going on and a handle on the wiring/soldering.

Been gathering information for what seems like weeks and landed on this thread the last couple of days and can't even begin to absorb all the great info everyone has put together!

I've got 6 sq. feet (3-4 plants MAX, most likely just 2 to hog all the light :bigjoint:) and after looking through this thread I think I've come to the conclusion that running 4 CXA 3070's (maybe 3590's?) at about 1.4-1.5A would most likely give me the most efficient footprint. (200+ watts of light?)

The easiest way to wire them all up would be to use one driver for each COB correct? Was looking at the
$13 you linked earlier in the thread somewhere.

Was going to use an arctic cpu cooler for each one.

Was also going to inquire about what spectrum would be recommended, would be using this panel for veg and flower. Was thinking about going 2 3000k and 2 5000k, but I guess it would really come down to availability. Also a little guidance on what bins to look out for would be awesome :D Seems like Z2 and Z4 are in abundant supply.

Thanks again for the plethora of knowledge that can be gathered here!
 
Sounds like it will be a nice set up! Here are the $13 drivers. Here is one of the most efficient blues available. You could click them on during the vegging cycle and during early flowering if you are getting too much stretch but other than that I would recommend straight 3000K. Discount code for the blues: OverstockRoyalBlues $1.99 ea
 
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Looks like some primetime nuggetry Supra.

Im thinking about ordering a Vero 10 3500K and a 3000K to test 4000K 3500K 3000K in combinations side by side. I liked the coverage with the V10s placed ~4" on center but not sure about 4000K alone for flowering, Flux does real well with his and buds look proper too just seems too white (although his are half 4000K, half 3500K but said he would prefer all 4000K if they were in stock when ordering). Maybe I will even end up doing half and half or a mix of color temps of V10s but its easier to tell when running a single spectrum whats doing what as far as growth and bud structure/quality are concerned, plus Id like to keep it simple if possible and not get overly scientific as long as the results are good.

Im going to try to take the square chip out of the holder, the solder pad and 75% of the lead to the COB tore out of the plastic holder and ripped clean off.
 
SupraSPL said:
Sounds like it will be a nice set up! Here are the drivers. Here is one of the most efficient blues available. You could click them on during the vegging cycle and during early flowering if you are getting too much stretch but other than that I would recommend straight 3000K. Discount code for the blues: OverstockRoyalBlues
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks a lot Supra!

Looking forward to getting started.
 
Now i have known, that for V29 needs - 38V+ , so, there is a lot of those 50W drivers, running with 1400mA - 1700mA.

One pair of cobs goes in smaller space, another pair in fridge, another pair in larger box, and another in even larger box.
That's why i need to know how to drive them more hardly (for bigger project), at least 70-80W from single COB.

What about this? 70W - 35-52V - 1500mA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Water-Resis...ing_Parts_and_Accessories&hash=item5b02cd67ca
 
Greengenes707 said:
Has anyone ever used alibaba to source meanwell drivers?
And if so are they legit or are some scams.
I have never used ali or anything like it, but hlg prices are through the roof state side. The most expensive suppliers over there are cheaper than 100 units through the more reputable channels.
I need like 12 hlg185's and 4 hlg120's. So hitting the smaller mins shouldn't be an issue.

Anyone got experience with this?

EDIT
420 my time...light up gentleman
Click to expand...

I use alibaba all the time, found some good suppliers. But never found a supplier who could deliver meanwell drivers a lot cheaper than in europe.
 
First RIU post here...cheers everyone for sharing your smarts on this forum...and double cheers to @SupraSPL...Just got a 20 pack of 3070 AB's and looking to make (5) 24"panels with 4 cobs each...if i run them soft @1A that should provide 50W/ft2 (760W/15ft2 assuming 38W/cob)...thinking of driving each panel with a MW HLG-185H-C1050A driver to keep it very simple...each panel has a 140mm Prolimatech Vortex fan (12V/0.2A)...is that the right driver for the job?
Second question deals with power distribution...looking to consolidate cob/fan power supplies together in a spare chassis and hang it above lights and run quick connect cables to each panel...would a 4 wire (18g/600V) cable work? ( 2 for fan and 2 for driver) any suggestions on a suitable connector for cable? thanks
 
Finally got a route to the cree pct that works on my phone.
2014_11_18_14_10_55.png

So the 77v 3590 really doesnt want to be driven soft. Its really just a way to buy one cob and get 80 watts with decent efficiency [121 lm/w]. If you want 35w or less from a single cob then i think 3070 ab is your horse.
 
uzerneims said:
i need to know how to drive them more hardly (for bigger project), at least 70-80W from single COB.
What about this? 70W - 35-52V - 1500mA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Water-Resis...ing_Parts_and_Accessories&hash=item5b02cd67ca
Click to expand...

That driver looks liek it would put out the same as the 1450mA $13 ones. But the big brother of the one you linked (84W) might come in handy if it really puts out 1800mA once warmed up. But because of its tripled cost of the driver, it is probably cheaper to use the $13 ones and run them at 1450mA.

But it would be easy to run the Vero18 very hard because of its lower Vf we have many more driver options, 2.1A for $26
http://www.ebay.com/itm/20W-150W-Wa...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item19f1c55151
Cheap dimmable 3A driver thanks Caretak3r!

Still, it might be better to run the Vero29 At 1475mA for $13 that is really tough to beat. The CXA3070 AB is also a great choice for 1450mA.
 
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You have a good point Nogod, but in this scenario the CXA3070 3000K AB cost almost 2X to achieve those numbers.

For example, the CXA3590 146lm/W at .5A cost $3.10/PAR W. The CXA3070 at .5A is 167lm/W but cost almost $6/PAR W.

Another way to look at it, the CXA3590 3000K BD 146lm/W at .5A but cost $3.10/PAR W. The CXA3070 at 1.05A is 147.4lm/W and cost $2.90/PAR W.

So if you match them by cost they are pretty evenly matched. That said, both the COBs are currently out of stock for most folks.
 
@DonPetro Regarding the Fasttech Cree MKR, it is available in 4 bins but the bin is not mentioned unfortunately. If we assume 2nd lowest bin, here is how the MKR stacks up against the Vero 13 3500K:

If you ran the MKR at 700mA it dissipates 8.3W at 35.3% and cost $2.63/PAR W.

The Vero13 at 350mA dissipates 11W at 40% and cost $2.07. So in this case the Vero is much more efficient and much cheaper.
MKR vs Vero 13.png

Another way you could look at it by playing more to the Veros strengths, if you ran the Vero 10 hard enough (.5A 13.5W) to match the efficiency of the MKR (.7A 8W), the MKR is almost triple the cost for the same efficiency.
MKR vs Vero 10.png
 
SupraSPL said:
@DonPetro Regarding the Fasttech Cree MKR, it is available in 4 bins but the bin is not mentioned unfortunately. If we assume 2nd lowest bin, here is how the MKR stacks up against the Vero 13 3500K:

If you ran the MKR at 700mA it dissipates 8.3W at 35.3% and cost $2.63/PAR W.

The Vero13 at 350mA dissipates 11W at 40% and cost $2.07. So in this case the Vero is much more efficient and much cheaper.
View attachment 3296649

Another way you could look at it by playing more to the Veros strengths, if you ran the Vero 10 hard enough (.5A 13.5W) to match the efficiency of the MKR (.7A 8W), the MKR is triple the cost for the same efficiency.
Click to expand...

The Vero 10 and 13 would be better choices IMO, for both cost, efficiency, and most likely reliability. The main difference I noticed between say the V13 and the MKR is the voltage required. Typically any driver at or under the Vero 18 can be found under $13.

I'm not sure if drivers get cheaper or not at lower voltages.
 
Driver cost is a good point. The higher voltage requirements of the MKR and Vero may actually help in some cases because small drivers do not perform well with low vF like single XML2 and XPLs. We have some very good and cheap drivers that will work great for the Veros:
$2 300mA
$2.50 300mA longer strings, 89% efficient

Wow this seller has so much to offer, $3 might as well throw in a great gag gift for your best friend:
Mouth tightener.jpg
 
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CB DEE said:
thinking of driving each panel with a MW HLG-185H-C1050A driver to keep it very simple...each panel has a 140mm Prolimatech Vortex fan (12V/0.2A)...is that the right driver for the job?
Click to expand...

Welcome to RIU, awesome setup! :leaf: Yep the HLG-185H-C1050A/B should serve you well. You could get it done even cheaper with these 1050mA X 4 Inventronics if you want to avoid higher voltages and dont need dimming and dont mind a lower driver efficiency.

CB DEE said:
Second question deals with power distribution...looking to consolidate cob/fan power supplies together in a spare chassis and hang it above lights and run quick connect cables to each panel...would a 4 wire (18g/600V) cable work? ( 2 for fan and 2 for driver) any suggestions on a suitable connector for cable? thanks
Click to expand...

For the AC connections I recommend 300-600V jacket rating and for the main wire feeding your lamps. If you want tough and beefy, you could use 14 awg rubber power tool wire sold by the foot at home depot. You could get away safely with something as simple as 16 gauge extension cord cable from Walmart.

For the distribution inside the AC box you can use 600V 18 gauge wires with high rated jackets like this or you can cut up pieces of the the extension cord cable (harder to work with).

For the DC side, you can use 18/4 security cable. If you use the HLG-185H, the voltage rating of the jacket may come into consideration (144V in your case). The CL2 wire jackets were rated for 150V but now no longer have a voltage rating (if I understand correctly). Operational voltage rating by NEC <30V. They are commonly used for in-wall installation for LED circuits but they are not normally reaching our level of voltage.

"CL2 circuits are limited to up to 100VA of power at 30V, and up to 0.5VA between 30V and 150V"

In our case, 144V * 1.05A = 151 so according to that statement we can't even run 30V through them with the HLG. However, those standards are set for permanent in-wall installation and that is up to your discretion.

If you prefer to go with a higher voltage rating on the DC side you can use the 600V TEW wire linked above no problemo. Just a slightly less clean look to the installation.
 
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Supra, I pushed on the yellow center part with my thumb while pulling the plastic holder towards the thumb and the COB chip came out of the holder, had to use a decent amount of force until the contact points broke free from the holder. There are 4 contact points on the corners of the chip two positive and two negative, a pair for solder connections and a pair for the molex connector. The negatives are labeled with a black - and I assume you could solder wires onto the contacts if you were careful enough. The COB chip is just a hair under 1/2" square in the Vero 10s.

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Also tonight I ordered a Vero 10 2700K 80 CRI, 3000K 80 CRI, 3500K 80 CRI, 5000K 80 CRI to check some other spectrums out. I got 4 of the little Pico-EZ mate molex connectors so I can just plug and play easier without having to solder/unsolder a lot. If I end up building the 35 V10 setup I think I might use the connectors they are almost $1 each though which is kind of crazy for what they are there is a small price break on multiples though.

I already spent $45 on the drivers, Veros, connectors and shipping just to test them out but I want to make fairly sure the next fixture I build is one that will work really well and I can be happy and stick with it for an extended period.
 
@Bueno Time

Those Molex connectors are a must. . Especially with the wago's which are hidden inside, plug and play within minutes.....Here is a small sample size
vero cob.jpg vero assembly.jpg

Beware though, they do come in different gauges. For my 3500k's, I ordered [6x] of the 12" variety and they are like a 30AWG or so, thinner than the one pictured above. My new wire cutters won't even strip it, because they are so small, lol.
Basically, in Digikey I picked the $1.12 and 12" option. Don't have a part # right at the moment, but there are 3 different gauge sizes for each length of strand of 6",12", 18", but they seem to do a poor job of listing them, or I did a poor job of reading :peace:
 
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