Meizhi Drivers for EB Gen 2 280mm Strips?

[Smokesmcghee]

Hello everyone! I am new to making my own DIY grow lights and really want to step away from blurples so I thought maybe I can use the Meizhi drivers that still work to drive some 280mm EB Gen2 strips. I currently have on hand 12 eb gen 2 strips at 280 mm and was wondering how many can I fit on these drivers from ~130w Meizhi light. Any help is appreciated.

[sdfoster22]

If I read correctly it says 668 and .680mA at 55-86v. That's really too many amps to be pushing to 4 strips in series. 700ma is max. You could try 2 parallel and 4 strips in series. That would split the amps down to like 334 and 340. So 8 strips.

[Smokesmcghee]

If I read correctly it says 668 and .680mA at 55-86v. That's really too many amps to be pushing to 4 strips in series. 700ma is max. You could try 2 parallel and 4 strips in series. That would split the amps down to like 334 and 340. So 8 strips.

Thanks! I'll give that a try and do some more reading and learning!

[sdfoster22]

Wiring in series adds total voltage of strips in that series and current stays the same.

Wiring parallel splits the current by however many parallel string you have and voltage stays the same.

You have 2 parallel strings so that driver will provide 668mA/2 to each string at 55-86v. That's 338mA per string.

1 strip runs about 19.4v at 338mA. 4 strips in that series adds up to 77.6v still run at 338mA (series wiring current stays the same, and voltage adds up,) So we're about mid range. Let's show you the wattage.

To get wattage, you take volts×amps=watts. So 77.6x.330= 26.22w. For a total of 52.44w. 26.22w×2 because we have 2 strings of the parallel.

Is that two separate drivers? I didn't put that together until now. If you got 2 more strips you could probably hook up 2 parallel with 3 In series to each driver for a total of 39.3w per driver, or 78.6w total.

If you did my 1st example on 2 drivers and bought 6 more strips you could get about 105w total. 52.44w per series.

[Smokesmcghee]

Wow thank you so much for explaining it so clearly! Yes there are 2 drivers in the meizhi light and so I will be buying 6 more strips and go with your 1st example. So excited to get these lights put together.

[sdfoster22]

Not a problem. Glad to help. = D

[Smokesmcghee]

Just finished putting it all together and It isn't pretty yet but here is my Frankenstein of a DIY light! I used wire racks for a super cheap $1 frame from the dollar store thinking that I wont need heatsinks if the lights are running at 338mA each. Total to 16 280mm eb gen 2 strips. Reused the rear shell of the meizhi light since it already has the drivers screwed down and an oulet cord available and already wired.





Thanks again for all the help sdfoster22!

[sdfoster22]

That looks pretty cool actually! Glad to be of service! Just keep an eye on the temps of the strips if possible. Better safe than sorry. = D

[alienfarts687]

Just finished putting it all together and It isn't pretty yet but here is my Frankenstein of a DIY light! I used wire racks for a super cheap $1 frame from the dollar store thinking that I wont need heatsinks if the lights are running at 338mA each. Total to 16 280mm eb gen 2 strips. Reused the rear shell of the meizhi light since it already has the drivers screwed down and an oulet cord available and already wired.





Thanks again for all the help sdfoster22!

Aluminium sheet should be pretty cheap (cheaper than U channels) and provide more than enough heatsinking at that low current. I've even seen people using aluminium baking sheets.

[Smokesmcghee]

Thanks! Yeah my next purchase will be a temperature gun for that very purpose. I've had it running for a couple hours so far to see how things go and the strips so far have been very warm to the touch which is an amazing difference from the stock meizhi light that just pumped out the heat.