Is it worth adding miscellaneous heatsinks to lights that 'don't need a heatsink'

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drcucumber

Well-Known Member
I have one of the basic LEDs that are supposed to be fine with no heatsink, but I would just prefer if it were cooler. Is it worth adding for example various heatsinks from computer parts to the top of it.

Obviously the heatsinks designed for such boards is an option but then you are defeating the object of getting a cheaper ' no heatsink required' board
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
If they’re good without a heat sync, all you would really need is a 1/8th sheet of aluminum to mount it to and it would be plenty. Adding a heat sync will help put heat upward and help a little with the longevity of the board

if you are driving the board above recommended wattage you may want to get a real heatsync and make sure it doesn’t overheat
 
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PhatNuggz

Well-Known Member
When I got my BML SPYDR 600 back in 2014 the 6 bars got pretty warm. I had a 15" oscillating fan that could be raised high enough to fan both the leaves and the top of the bars. This meant keeping the front flaps open, which is not a problem for me as the tent is in a separate dark room. I contacted BML who said cooling the fins would improve the efficiency (which should increase the life expectancy of the diodes). Obviously, you can't see the fan. I am still using this light!
ReVeg.JPG
 
Skewbong

Skewbong

Well-Known Member
2 Questions:

1. Are you just worried about the heat of your leds? They can handle the heat

2. Are you looking to eliminate the Temps in your tent/area?
Nothing will change if the heat isn't removed from the tent...the energy will just transfer from the heat sink to the environment and only make the air warmer. Just at a faster rate.

I apologize if I'm missing the mark, just want to help my homies!

And quantum boards are fine, often without heat sink (don't know if we are talking about a QB, just an assumption) mine doesn't go over 50-55C, or 120-130 F. Just a hot day in tx or nv...look at the Canadian talking like he knows USA heat:cool::bigjoint:

My $0.02...
 
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1212ham

Well-Known Member
drcucumber said:
I have one of the basic LEDs that are supposed to be fine with no heatsink, but I would just prefer if it were cooler. Is it worth adding for example various heatsinks from computer parts to the top of it.

Obviously the heatsinks designed for such boards is an option but then you are defeating the object of getting a cheaper ' no heatsink required' board
Click to expand...
I wouldn't add various sinks due to hot and cool spots, but little airflow is quite effective.
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
1212ham said:
How does 1/8" aluminum sheet improve cooling if it doesn't add surface area?
Click to expand...
It adds thermal mass. Same amount of power has to heat more mass. Just like a small fire will not heat up 100l of water but might do a good job with 10l, even if you use a wider pot. Infact, the amount of mass in your heatsink is one of the main factors in thermal resistance.
 
cobshopgrow

cobshopgrow

Well-Known Member
if you put the small fire long enough under the 100l it will become as hot, just later.
also thats not a fair comparsion, the 100l you think of will have a larger surface area then the 10l to get rid of the heat.
if you make the surface for heat exchange comparable you probably will see that the 100l just take longer to reach the same the working temparature.

for leds, check the datasheet and see yourself, modern whites can takea lot heat, they still run slightly more efficient cooler... while not by that much.
check some temp curves for samsung lmb301 or such.
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
cobshopgrow said:
if you put the small fire long enough under the 100l it will become as hot, just later.
also thats not a fair comparsion, the 100l you think of will have a larger surface area then the 10l to get rid of the heat.
if you make the surface for heat exchange comparable you probably will see that the 100l just take longer to reach the same the working temparature.

for leds, check the datasheet and see yourself, modern whites can takea lot heat, they still run slightly more efficient cooler... while not by that much.
check some temp curves for samsung lmb301 or such.
Click to expand...
Maybe not a fair comparison but more mass adds thermal resistance even if surface remains the same.
 
cobshopgrow

cobshopgrow

Well-Known Member
with added mass you need longer to heat the mass, the thing is, we let our leds run for hours a day so the thermal mass will be saturated soon after we switched our led to on.
with more mass it heats up lil later but it will be not more then a few ten minutes, maybe an hour.
the surface area and air exchange is what makes the things cool.
@Rocket Soul think it practically doesnt matter that much for your usecases anyway, as you drive em so low, you need no area.
 
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