When is time to change my Cob LEDs
- Thread starter Fiete
- Start date
I'm still wondering about when it's time to chance the LED chips
I've been watching the technology mature so I'm an interested observer. I hope you don't mind some light hearted ribbing. I'm sure someone will be along soon to discuss this with you. In the meantime you might want to write about the signs you see that lead you to believe they are losing power.
Humans accommodate to their surroundings. So it is possible it may only be you are now used to the lights.
Gond00s
Well-Known Member
my hlg 550 I bought from 2017 still is good the driver failed tho so I just hooked up a 320 to it and I think the 320adoes a better job which the older 2017 board but with the new rspecs for 4 I would run them on a 320a that would be over enough for me because in a 4x8 im running 440 ish watts im lighting up the whole 4x8 with just that and it will be increased in power as the plant wants it but idk when u should replace them whats the voltage of the chip and would it be cheap to just replace the chip and mount idk
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
Maybe they need a cleaning. It is safe to wipe them with isopropyl alcohol.
Those cobs should last years of continuous use without losing a noticeable amount of light. I think the are rated somewhere around 30000 hrs, ran hotter than recommended will obviously shorten lifetimes
xtsho
Well-Known Member
Must be some mistake. LED's last for years. How can they be losing power and having parts that fail after just a few years? Now don't anyone get their panties bunched up. I'm not slamming LED's. Just pointing out that they have their flaws like any other piece of technology. And it doesn't matter how long the manufacturer rates them for. Things fail. I worked in high tech manufacturing years ago and ratings / life expectancy was just a number. All they really care about is the product lasting the duration of any warranty.
Gond00s
Well-Known Member
yup I get that that's why im going the route now where if something fails its not a huge dent if u know what I mean like shit the driver was just bad luck I guess
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
The number i threw up there is their estimate of when they degrade to 90% of initial output. Not life expectancy.
Drivers will fail, Leds can fail early due to something as simple improper handling. Our growing environment isnt exactly great for life expectancy either. Especially with these unsealed boards, cobs, and strip builds
The Shop i have bought told me they loosing 25% after 3 years. Not true?
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
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Maximusmin
Active Member
My 3070’s powered 53 watts apiece are 5 years old and I don’t see any degradation!
To really know you will need to measure the photons with a meter.
To really know you will need to measure the photons with a meter.
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
Their test was done at the max temp for over 1000 hrs continuous. Thats around a year and a half of 24/7 operation without noticeable decline or failure. Probably more hours than a typical grower has them on for 3 years.
If you wanted something more efficient you could do a direct swap with some cxb 3590's without changing anything but the cobs
xtsho
Well-Known Member
Good points. I remember the capacitor issue around 2003 when literally millions of electronic devices had bad capacitors. It affected Dell, Intel, Apple, and many other companies products. All of these companies had rigorous quality control systems in place but still they allowed bad capacitors to be used in their products. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't just take what the manufacturers state as fact. They're in business to sell product so they're always going to claim their products are the best just like Dell, Apple, and Intel claimed yet they sold millions of products with faulty components causing many of those devices to fail. And since the popularity of LED lighting is growing at such a rapid pace companies cutting corners to be "First to market" is not an unlikely scenario as is pushing the limits of the technology without adequate testing.
I don't know what amount of degradation to performance occurs over time. There are many factors that would determine that. I'm sure it happens but I don't think there are any reliable numbers available. By reliable I mean from an independent third party and not a manufacturer.
Overall I think LED will replace more and more lighting needs in the future. I don't see that as a bad thing. I'll probably make the switch but it will be in a couple years. I'm in no hurry. When I make the switch I'm not going to buy cheap garbage I'm going to buy the good stuff. I can wait for the price to come down and for the higher end models to have been out for a few years so I can be sure of their reliability. I'm not paying $1000+ for a light that might stop working a couple months after the warranty runs out. I'm going to give it a couple/few more years to see how things pan out. And by then the price should have come down significantly. I've just found over the years that products rushed to market can have significant problems down the road.
I don't think i can change the chips on my LEDs.?
This Panel i have 4 of them all 3070 if i can change the chips to 3590 i will do it!
thumper60
Well-Known Member
You must mean 10.000 hrs,1000 hr adds up to 6 weeks 24-7.
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
You right.. my math is not strong.
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
It is that easy. Those screw are for the cob holder. Shouldnt have to mess with anything else.I don't think i can change the chips on my LEDs.?
This Panel i have 4 of them all 3070 if i can change the chips to 3590 i will do it!
Just get some thermal paste for under the new led.
3500k would be better than those 6500k ones if thats what you have.
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I can replace it but 3070 and 3590 are not diffrent? Do you think the driver can handle the 3590?
What have the 3590 better than the 3070?