atomicData's First CXB3590 Build

[atomicData]

Hey!

So this will be my first thread, and also quite a big deal for me, as it is about my first COB LED build. I am excited, to say the least. I am still gathering parts to put it all together, but I am close to being ready, and I wanted to share it with you all.

I have to credit @Growmau5, @Greengenes707, and @robincnn with the inspiration to do this. I have been thinking about it for a while, then watched all of Growmau5's YouTube videos and a bunch of Greengenes's YouTube videos, and I felt it was time. Initially I wanted to jump on one of the Mau5 kits from Cutter, but I was too impatient to wait for them and got the ball rolling on my own. I went with components from Kingbrite, Northern Grow Lights, and PLC. Of course, there will be some things I will just pop in to the local Home Depot for as well.

At the heart of the kit are 5 Cree CXB3590, 36 volt, 3500K, CD bin COBs. These I got from Kingbrite along with a Mean Well HLG-240H-1400B, and the free Ideal Chip-Lok COB holders, Ideal reflector adapters, and knock-off reflectors. I am growing in a Secret Jardin DR60, so five 3590s is a bit of overkill, but the Kingbrite MOQ is 5 COBs, so I figured "what the hell." The driver is dimmable, anyway.

Next, Robin at Northern was swell enough to hook me up with an order of five of the pin-type heatsinks and a very handy junction box, along with a potentiometer and a bunch of hardware.

I am anxiously waiting on a few things from PLC. Namely some Angelinas, the LEDiL RZ lenses, and the thermal interface pads they carry.



For the frame, I went whole-hog. I sourced out an excellent extruded aluminum profile system and the associated hardware, all made by a company called MiniTec. This stuff is "the shit." Yes, it is expensive, but when I build another light I will probably still buying it.



I know this is a light for a small tent, but I will likely be growing in a small tent for a while, and I wanted something nice. I can be just a bit picky and obsessive about this sort of stuff.

I have a layout in mind that I think will work very well, but the nice thing about a profile system like this is that the parts can be moved later so I can adjust the positioning of the COBs if I need to and may only have to redo some wiring to accommodate for it.



As you can see, I had originally planned to mount the driver and junction box directly to the light fixture. I have since changed my mind. I want to keep down the weight of the light, and there isn't quite enough wire coming out of the driver to meet the junction box in this configuration. Instead, I will have the junction box and driver remote from the fixture, outside of the tent, mounted on the wall.

I am happy that I decided to watch @Growmau5's latest video on the Cutter configurations. For one, I always enjoy his videos, and also I discovered through this video that I need to buy a heavier gauge of wire to run the power to my COBs. I think I am going to need over ten feet of cable to go from the driver to the first COB, and according to mau5's video, this means I need to step up to 14 gauge wire. I was going to use 18 gauge wire for this purpose, as all of the wire coming out of the driver is 18 gauge.

And this is the part where I ask for help : D . . .

Would someone be so kind as to tell me why heavier gauge wire needs to be used? I was also going to have a 10-foot power cord. Do I need at least 16 gauge wire for this as well, or is 18 gauge okay for the AC side?

And I would also like some suggestions for a quick-connector to connect the power at the fixture. The best option I have found is a 3-pin Molex connector (3-pin because I want to run a ground back to the junction box from the fixture too). I figure a quick-connector would be a good idea and make installing and maintaining the light much less cumbersome than having the power cord hard-wired. Any suggestions?

I am super-stoked, ladies and gentlemen. As soon as my final mail-order parts come in, this thing is getting assembled, and I can't wait.

Thanks for all of your help.

I will leave you with a couple shots of my current grow.

 

[JorgeGonzales]

Nice looking build and grow!

I'm really not sure why the 14-16awg wire recommendation. I'm assuming it's to prevent voltage drop, but even 20ft of 18awg at 180V is only .43% drop according to the calculator I just googled. I'm no electrician and could be missing something obvious however.

You might want to try a 4 pin XLR for quick disconnect. I'd prefer not to use 3 pin, but they are probably a bit cheaper and easier to find, just don't plug a microphone into your driver.

 

[atomicData]

Nice looking build and grow!

I'm really not sure why the 14-16awg wire recommendation. I'm assuming it's to prevent voltage drop, but even 20ft of 18awg at 180V is only .43% drop according to the calculator I just googled. I'm no electrician and could be missing something obvious however.

You might want to try a 4 pin XLR for quick disconnect. I'd prefer not to use 3 pin, but they are probably a bit cheaper and easier to find, just don't plug a microphone into your driver.

Hi, Jorge! XLR is a great idea, man. Thanks for your input (pun totally intended). Why 4-pin and not 3-pin?

 

[JorgeGonzales]

Hi, Jorge! XLR is a great idea, man. Thanks for your input (pun totally intended). Why 4-pin and not 3-pin?

Because 3 pin XLR is a microphone cable, and it just seems wrong to me. Completely irrational unless you have music gear at home.

I mean OK, you probably aren't going to accidentally plug your led driver into a microphone, speaker, or mixing board, but how many people have said the same thing to themselves and then blown up their expensive stuff? Probably nobody, ever. Still gives me the willies.

 

[robincnn]

Nice fixture and shots
18 for DC side. 16 for AC side sounds good. I use this chart.
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

 

[atomicData]

Hahaha. Thanks again, @JorgeGonzales!

And thank you, @robincnn. Super helpful, as always! I think that I will just do both sides in 16 gauge and be done with it.

 

[atomicData]

So I started my build today and got through wiring the junction box to the driver, and the AC and DC power cords and plugs But I won't be able to test everything out until tomorrow.
Because of this, I decided to bust out the multimeter and see what the driver was putting out. I tested the voltage no problem; 177v volts. But then I thought that it would be a good idea to check out the current and see if the dimming was working properly. I plugged the red lead into the 10A max port and left the black lead in the COM port and set the multimeter to 10A. I touched the probes to the poles of the DC out cable plug while the driver was running which resulted in a bright spark where I touched the probe to the plug pole. Yes, this was stupid to fiddle with while being relatively untrained and I know how very little amperage it takes to stop the human heart.

Right now I am only concerned that I may have ever damaged the driver. Is it likely that I have done some harm to the driver?

 

[VegasWinner]

You can use some security wire from Homedepot ->http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cerrowire-500-ft-18-2-Security-Alarm-Cable-225-1002J2/202206434 works great for extending the DC side of a build. You can purchase a three wire extension chord for the AC side of the fixture. Use Wago's for your connectors when you can for versatility. nice build. it looks like the cutter kit. clean. here is my build with remote driver installed. peace

 

[VegasWinner]

So I started my build today and got through wiring the junction box to the driver, and the AC and DC power cords and plugs But I won't be able to test everything out until tomorrow.
Because of this, I decided to bust out the multimeter and see what the driver was putting out. I tested the voltage no problem; 177v volts. But then I thought that it would be a good idea to check out the current and see if the dimming was working properly. I plugged the red lead into the 10A max port and left the black lead in the COM port and set the multimeter to 10A. I touched the probes to the poles of the DC out cable plug while the driver was running which resulted in a bright spark where I touched the probe to the plug pole. Yes, this was stupid to fiddle with while being relatively untrained and I know how very little amperage it takes to stop the human heart.

Right now I am only concerned that I may have ever damaged the driver. Is it likely that I have done some harm to the driver?

Caution, never energize a driver without the LED's attached for loading purposes. I have never done that before, So I am not sure if your driver is still working. peace.

 

[atomicData]

Caution, never energize a driver without the LED's attached for loading purposes. I have never done that before, So I am not sure if your driver is still working. peace.

Thanks for your input, @VegasWinner. I knew that it was not OK to hook up a driver to the LEDs while it was running. I wasn't aware that I shouldn't run it at all without a load on it. Maybe @robincnn, @Greengenes707 and @Growmau5 would be so kind as to weigh in on this too?
I will be completing the frame, mounting and wiring the COBs tonight or tomorrow. I don't want to be hooking up an effed driver. I have a feeling that the driver is alright. I understand that the Mean Well drivers have safety features built in. But if I have to I will source out a new driver.

 

[robincnn]

I run driver with no load all the time during testing and had no issues. But it may not be a good thing
Meanwell drivers have all sort of protection to protect itself..... But not so much protection for cobs. I assume Over voltage protection kicks in if you run without load.
Driver without load will probably have voltage around over-voltage protection voltage and it may damage cobs if connected to cobs. So best to wire before powering
Capacitors store plenty of charge on DC side.
If you run driver with no load then after you unplug, leave it for 1 minute to let the voltage go down on DC side.

 

[Greengenes707]

No load is fine for the driver...shouldn't break 95% of drivers in anyway.
The issue is called "hot plugging"...and means a driver powered with no load(so full voltage output) then connected to a string or single diode/cob. That's how they fry...because there is way too much voltage going through them before they can correct the circuit.

 

[atomicData]

Thanks so much dudes. I feel relieved. It sounds like I probably haven't fucked up too badly. I can't wait to hook it all up. Will update with photos when I do.

 

[Growmau5]

@atomicData can you post a shot of your multimeter as well.

 

[HydroRed]

Awesome build! Is your driver grounded to the frame in any way on the AC side?

 

[atomicData]

Alright! So an update from last night's work is due. The junction box and power cords are all wired up. I wanted to do something super-slick to mount the junction box and driver to, but I settled for a nice piece of 1/2" plywood.



Then I got the COBs mounted to the heatsinks. I am glad that I ordered an extra TIM pad-- I pulled a total rookie move and removed both protective sheets from the first one and fucked it up while attempting to apply it. The other five went much more smoothly. The COBs look so slick when they are mounted!

Oh, and just for your information: the reflectors that come free from Kingbrite would not mount to the Ideal reflector adaptors when the adaptors are mounted in their proper position as below. The bottom of the knock-off reflector is too wide, and conflicts with the housings for the electrical contacts.



And I bought the LEDiL RZ lenses to give them a try...



I hope tonight to be able to get the COBs wired and fired up, but I think that that will probably happen tomorrow. Tonight I will probably just make my brackets for mounting the heatsinks and hit the bed.

@Growmau5, here's a shot of my meter.




Thanks again, y'all!

 

[atomicData]

Awesome build! Is your driver grounded to the frame in any way on the AC side?

Yes indeedy, I am going to run a ground back from the frame to the junction box. Thanks for asking.

 

[robincnn]

Oh, and just for your information: the reflectors that come free from Kingbrite would not mount to the Ideal reflector adaptors when the adaptors are mounted in their proper position as below.

Not sure if i understand

I like your COB cable. Did it fit through the hole in heatsink.

 

[atomicData]

Okay! So, I managed to finish up my build last week and I have got some pictures for you all.

Here is a detail shot of the aluminum profile with the rectangular nuts inserted into the channels of the profile, waiting for a heatsink to be mounted:





The fully assembled rig from the top and the bottom, before I wired up the COBs






The COBs with the LEDiL reflectors and lenses installed:

I think that I may trim the reflector on the centre COB back to give it a wide spread and try and even out the light distribution. I bought an extra reflector so I can modify one to fool around with its configuration.






After the cobs were wired up:

I used 18 gauge solid core wire, protected with mesh wire sleeve. I used a 3-pin XLR connector for the quick connection to my remote driver, as was suggested by @JorgeGonzales. Thanks very much for the suggestion. It provides a very secure connection.

Next time around though, I might try an aviation-style "GX16" connector, which I found on eBay. They have a threaded cuff which keeps the connection secure and I am assuming that they are easier to disconnect than an XLR connection. I always find XLR connectors a hassle to pull apart. Of course, this is good in the sense that the connection is secure, but if I can get a connector that is secure and I don't have to struggle to pull apart, that would be more ideal.





And firing it up for the first time! That shit is bright! Once my current grow is done I will hang it in my tent and run temperature tests while my next batch of seeds are getting started. I have a feeling that this will run cooler than my current set up.

Please let me know if you guys and girls have any questions about the build. I am more than happy to answer them.

 

[atomicData]

Not sure if i understand

I like your COB cable. Did it fit through the hole in heatsink.

Hi, @robincnn. I just used the 16/3 cable to get power to the rig, then solid-core 18 gauge wire to wire up the COBs.

I couldn't get the Kingbrite reflectors to mount. The lip of the base of the reflectors, where the reflector attaches to the reflector adaptor, is too wide. It conflicts with the electrical lead housings on the COB holder.

LEDiL on the left:



The margin outside of the attachment points for the holder clips is wider in the Kingbrite reflector.

The LEDiL reflector is narrow enough to fit down in between the lead holders on the COB holder:





Whereas the Kingbrite reflector sits on top of these parts and the attachment clips in the reflector adapter can't reach up in to the reflector to clip in:





A CXB3590 fully mounted and wired with Ideal COB holder and adapter for LEDiL reflector.





The LEDiL reflector with the reflector adapter clips fully engaged:






Because the Kingbrite reflector base is wider and sits on top of the electrical lead housings, the clips can't reach up in to the reflector and engage: