My Low budget build - Chanzon 100w Full Spectrum / Meanwell SE-600 36v power supply

[electrok-d]

I had first noticed that people were using buck converters with random power supplies while I was researching cob LED's on Amazon. There was at least one horror story about how a buck converter would fail and destroy strings of COB leds. It kinda soured the idea for me, until I read a thread in the General forum about using non-conventional power supplies. User bvolt linked to a DROK adjustable voltage regulator that once again peaked my interest.

After reviewing what Meanwell has to offer, I found a voltage adjustable power supply for over 50% less than their dedicated LED driver. The Meanwell SE-600 watt 36 volt power supply offers almost all of the same specs as its HLG 600 counterpart. The functionality of the DROK made me feel safe enough to pull the trigger on buying parts.

My objective was to try and figure out the cheapest LED light build out that I could expand upon in the future. Here is a list of the parts that I used:

1.) Meanwell SE-600 36 volt power supply
$80.83

2.) DROK NC adjustable voltage regulator
$46.69

3.) Two - Chanzon - 100W - Full Spectrum (380nm-840nm / 3000mA / DC 30V-34V / 100 Watt)
$17.38

4.) Wagos
$6.35

5.) Adjustable light hangers
$5


6.) Artic silver thermal paste
$9

7.) Flat screen tv mount panel
$0

8.) Zip ties
$0

9.) 12 gauge wire
$0

10.) Two - 100 watt CPU heatsink w/ 12v fan
$0

11.) Connection block
$0

12.) Velcro
$0

I cobbled a quick and dirty version of this on my kitchen table for testing. WARNING! People aren't kidding when they say COB leds are bright. I wasn't paying attention, flashed one on to test, and was seeing a neon greenish-yellow square in both of my eyes. I wandered around my house for about 5 minutes muttering under my breath about how much of an idiot I was for doing that.

After running them for about an hour at 75 watts, they averaged about 88 degree F temperature. I used a laser thermometer and zapped it directly at the center of the chip. This is almost half the recommended maximum heat for the chips.

I'll probably keep them at 75 watts, but could potentially take then up to 100 watts due to the active cooling. There aren't really any reviews, tests, or usable specs for these LEDs and I have no idea how efficient these things are. They were high powered and cheap though. Cheap being the key here. If I destroy them with this experiment, I'm not going to cry. My low voltage tests at least showed that all of the leds light up.

It took me awhile to scavenge parts for the build. I really didn't want to build out a frame, so I happened upon a decommissioned flat screen tv mount in my garage. It was perfect. I drilled holes into the random cpu heatsinks I had laying around and screwed in the chips. This was after breaking four drill bits, due to not having a drill press. The leds/heatsinks are zip tied to random pieces metal that I scavenged from discarded parts at my print shop. I scavenged a barrel plug out of a Centurylink Modem I had laying around and used its 12v/1a power supply for the fans.

The end result is hopefully enough power to keep the starts that I had under two fluorescent light banks happy. Right now my main concerns are heat sink fan failure, voltage regulator failure, and cheap COB led failure. So far, it is about a $182.63 experiment.

If this whole thing doesn't melt down, I can potentially add about six more cobs to the system @ 75 watts each. I don't want to max the system out, so I'll most likely add 4 more. I have two more heatsinks with glass lens coming from China from LED world that were about $15 a piece. I may order two different COB chips to test. I'll report back here with more results.

[sdfoster22]

Subbed up to this. This seems interesting.

[electrok-d]

So far so good, but...

I'm having an issue increasing voltage for some reason on the DROK device. Even if the Meanwell voltage is set to its highest available power, I'm only getting about 29.5v. I should be able to set it up to 60v. The chip's packaging suggests 30-34 v.

The DROK utilizes both CV and CC modes, but I'm not sure if I have any control over that. They offer a two page instruction sheet, but there is no info about it on there. Right now it is operating in CC mode. I posted the instruction sheet in the general forum .

I've got the amperage set to 3a, so I'm getting nearly 90 watts per chip. I'm at about 90 degrees at the center of the chip with the laser thermometer. I'm not sure if that is an effective way to measure it. Everything is cool to the touch. Measuring the side metal tabs shows about 70 degrees F. It would be nice to have a power/temp curve to view to see where the point is for max efficiency with these chips. If someone finds one, please let me know.

I'm game to try to more LED's from a different manufacturer that are on the cheap side. Does anyone have any suggestions? There are so many out there now that it's getting difficult to weed through them all. I'd like to find a chip that offers the same power specs at these Chanzon's and with a full spectrum.

[majorana]

I haven't kept up to date with the COB world (niches beget subniches), but I don't remember hearing the Chanzon name being used often. It might be better to invest in a brand name to assure QC, for whatever that's worth. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXkOxP5hka4

[electrok-d]

I haven't kept up to date with the COB world (niches beget subniches), but I don't remember hearing the Chanzon name being used often. It might be better to invest in a brand name to assure QC, for whatever that's worth. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXkOxP5hka4

At this point, the objective is to find a comparable, cheap cob led for this experimental build. That way, if it goes south and destroys the chip, I'm not out a bunch of loot.

[majorana]

I know nothing of Chanzon, for better or worse. I just know quality control and assurance is a major issue in the field -- I just got ripped off by one of the bigger Shenzhen suppliers -- and that it can be worth paying an extra for it. This, obviously, depends on how much these Chanzon cost compared with other companies (e.g., Citi, Cree, Bridgelux, etc.) . Either way, that voltage regulator looks great, makes your build look extra solid -- you're definitely doing that right

[LEDG]

Agreed. I really like the look of that device.

[bvolt]

I love this thing, I'm glad you took a chance on it. Using it in a fixture-build is very cool as it gives you the push-button on/off and after about 5 minutes of use, you're familiar enough with the buttons to quickly navigate and use the knob to dim.

I mounted mine in a project box with a couple of banana-jack terminals and use it as a-kind-of bench power supply:



It's got programmable over-voltage, over-current, and over-power settings (you could use it in CC or CV without worrying about thermal runaway/blown chips)... it really does quite a bit.

Sorry, I haven't cleaned up for a while...

I really love this idea of finding lower-priced components that perform comparably with their pricier counterparts. But I also have some concerns about the chip choice. I know I'm like a broken record with this, but the Citi 1212 @ $8 is a ridiculous deal (cobkits.com).

[bvolt]

So far so good, but...

I'm having an issue increasing voltage for some reason on the DROK device. Even if the Meanwell voltage is set to its highest available power, I'm only getting about 29.5v. I should be able to set it up to 60v. The chip's packaging suggests 30-34 v.

The DROK utilizes both CV and CC modes, but I'm not sure if I have any control over that. They offer a two page instruction sheet, but there is no info about it on there. Right now it is operating in CC mode. I posted the instruction sheet in the general forum .

I've got the amperage set to 3a, so I'm getting nearly 90 watts per chip. I'm at about 90 degrees at the center of the chip with the laser thermometer. I'm not sure if that is an effective way to measure it. Everything is cool to the touch. Measuring the side metal tabs shows about 70 degrees F. It would be nice to have a power/temp curve to view to see where the point is for max efficiency with these chips. If someone finds one, please let me know.

I'm game to try to more LED's from a different manufacturer that are on the cheap side. Does anyone have any suggestions? There are so many out there now that it's getting difficult to weed through them all. I'd like to find a chip that offers the same power specs at these Chanzon's and with a full spectrum.

You need to make sure the over-voltage and over-current settings aren't too low (the actual voltage and current are the top two parameters).

If you've got your V set to 36 and A to 1, but OPP set to 35W, it'll just shut off (cuz it's really wanting 36W)*.

So when I've got a COB on there, I'll set the V to 36 and the OVP to 37 (or 36.8, for example) - so if it starts spiraling out of control - as soon as it start wanting to pull 37V, it'll shut off,

The same is true for OCP (over current) and OPP (over-power (watts)).

[tazztone]

i wonder about the overall efficiency of this setup (consumption from the wall vs power output).