LEDgardener

Hi

I'm looking to build a grow light for an area of 1.5m x 0.8m.

I'm intending to build it with 22 x LT-F562B (2' Samsung SI-B8U261560WW) and I'll be driving it with a Meanwell HLG-480H-24B.

I've used the panel building tool on the site and it says this combination will work - can someone confirm this?

Do I need to add aluminum heat sink channel to the strips - I've seen some builds with no heat sinks at all - maybe just aluminum strips on the back?

Also, I need decide on how to layout the LEDs - attached sketch shows a couple of layout - any advice?

Thanks in advance...

B certainly looks like it will give you more uniformity. One thing Sdfoster on this site got me thinking aboot was splitting up a fixture into say 2 luminaires. That gives u the ability to have different hanging heights for different strains or even phenotypes that aren't feeling particularly conformist in their grow heights.

Professor Xavier wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:50 pm

... splitting up a fixture into say 2 luminaires ...

The guy I'm building this for has grown the same strain for about 8 years now, so can't see him changing anytime soon.

I've already got to build the array so it can be split into half for transport - luckily I know an engineer who's going to be milling me some custom joiners so I can join the 3/4"X3/4"X1/8" frame with a simple slide together...

Attaching the strips to the frame is all the heat-sinking most people need. Finally its all aluminium, so it becomes a question of surface volume.

Are those the 2 foot strips with a single line of diodes? How many % from max? If its around 10w per foot you won't need much heatsinks.

unkle_psycho wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 25, 2018 5:27 pm

Are those the 2 foot strips with a single line of diodes? How many % from max?

2' strips with single diode line. Will be running at 50%

This is going to be an 80% saving on U channel

Running at 50% you will be more then fine with the U-channels. Even flat bars would work at that power, but the more the merrier.

I made my first fixture with bridgelux vestas, I'm feeding 19w per foot with heatsinks equivalent to u-channels. They run cool. For my last two builds I just sprayed the back of the strips with a copper adhesive and stuck 40cm long strips of aluminium baking foil that I folded over itself. At 12.5w per foot they are absolutely cool. Was thinking of playing around and testing the limits of the foil-sink.

Here any decent heat-sinks cost more then strips, so it seems the universe wants me to study ghetto builds with high strip counts and creative cooling

At that price, it must be tempting to look at what a 3D printer could do for you Unkle_Psycho.

Professor Xavier wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:10 pm

At that price, it must be tempting to look at what a 3D printer could do for you Unkle_Psycho.

I've got a 3D printer and will be using it to make Wago mounts and wiring guides for the build.

demoneye wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:42 pm

Professor Xavier wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:10 pm

At that price, it must be tempting to look at what a 3D printer could do for you Unkle_Psycho.

I've got a 3D printer and will be using it to make Wago mounts and wiring guides for the build.

Making some popcorn. I've got an interesting build to follow.

I've bought a "B" model power supply to allow for dimming when working under the lights.

What size potentiometer should I be looking for - 100k correct?

I remember my last build I added a resistor into the dimming circuit so there was always a little bit of resistance when the dimming circuit was switched on - any idea?

When the dimming circuit was off, the dimming wires were left open.