(F series -canceled) Vesta build with side lighting

[unkle_psycho]

Just spent a few hours going through local shops online. The cheapest heat transferring tape I found was 150e/ roll. I even searched all the product codes for 3m brand models, and not a single hit from our entire country. Only hits from forums where people complain about the same issue.
It seems many people go for heat transferring glue, if they need things to stick. Someone talked about metal glues, if electrical conductance is not an issue.
I found heat transferring glue in 5-10g tubes. I wonder how much I would need?

[tazztone]

5m 10m/Roll 8mm 10mm 12mm 20mm Width Transfer Tape Double Side Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape for Chip PCB LED Strip Heatsink
http://s.aliexpress.com/IJveI3QJ
that's the one i got

[unkle_psycho]

5m 10m/Roll 8mm 10mm 12mm 20mm Width Transfer Tape Double Side Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape for Chip PCB LED Strip Heatsink
http://s.aliexpress.com/IJveI3QJ
that's the one i got

I didn't even make it to town yet we got dream weather to kick of the summer, so busy all the time.

I did my first heat tests with the vestas, this was aiming at something I could just leave on all day, and it worked. I ran 6 2foot vestas of a single driver (75w), so 6.25w per foot, 12.5w per strip. Lying horizontally in static air, in a 25c room, they were 45c. I put a very low power table fan, moving so it would also cover my plants, on nro1, since one of my plants hates strong fans. It ran about 1 meter from the vestas, which ran stable at 35c rear, and 34c front. I could not measure the tc point yet, but they were not even warm to the touch, after being on for 12h. Tomorrow I will test the same but with 25w per strip.

[unkle_psycho]

And this is running nude, without the heatsink

[unkle_psycho]

Minor update.

Today I tested running some vestas two times harder. 12.5w/ foot, i.e. 25w per 2foot strip.

Lying horisontaly one end on the floor, and one end raised 2cm, they felt a little hot, slightly uncomfortable to hold my hand on it too long. But when I put them about 1m in front of the fan, they felt safe, so I left them for 12h. At lights out, I could hardly tell the difference (by hand) between yesterdays strips that were running at 12.5w, and todays, that were running at 25w.

So Tazztone, your estimate on half nominal with some fanning really works.

Tomorrow I should be visiting town, so I might get a new temp gun, so I'll be able to map out the temperatures from the tc points. I want to also see if I find a fan that specifies airflow, to leave it less vague. Fans don't come much worse then this though.

[unkle_psycho]

So I got a new temperature lazer pointer gun. Does anyone know if it can be used to check the tc point? didnt seem to change much from the actual top temperatures I was reading.

So I'm really surprised. I guess these strips have super lousy heat conductivity? the strip i'm running harder (12.5w per meter/ 25w per strip) reads about 30c on the 2700k side which is lit, and almost 50c on the 5000k side which is not connected. I wonder how a heatsink can correct such a design. Seems there would be great benefit for heat management in sharing the current between the channels... I just have them running next to a HID and 2700k already looks so cold.

I found an adhesive to attach to the extrusions. It really isn't easy, I visited a town with a population of about 1000. One shop, one restaurant, one bank, and one car repair shop. Turns out the car repair dude has a customer who builds high power custom cars, so the repair shop stocks a special spray for drag racing engine caskets:

Copper spray-a-gasket
This copper-filled adhesive sealant was designed to improve heat transfer, and eliminate hot spots. Effective in temperatures from -50f to 500f. Fills minor irregularities, and is especially effective in sealing non-absorbent surfaces. Prevents seizing of base connections, and treaded fittings. Ideal for exhaust manifolds, cylinder heads and turbocharger flanges.

I guess this should do the job? Have a look at this video, it leaves me wondering if I shouldn't just spray the back and cover the formed copper layer with a slice of aluminium foil to stop dust and muck, as its adhesive. It would be pretty cool to have a copper spray like this that would not remain sticky!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCoAeK667Z4

[tazztone]

these temp guns need to be set up for the specific surface type to give accurate measurements.
when i tested i had the same temps at the TC point as on the back of the aluminum profile the strip is attached to by heat transfer tape so i guess it doesn't really matter where you measure as long as it's near the middle of the strip where the LED are.. that being said, these epoxy PCB are indeed lousy heat conductors.

[unkle_psycho]

Today is cloudy and cold. Was planning to do some tests with foil, but I woke up feeling like I want to finish my top light, so I will do that today. Will continue the experiments with my 1foot strips later.
For now I will not attach separate drivers for the two color channels, will just have 1 TRP per 3 strips, and feed all channels. With over 20c temp difference between the left and right side of the strip itself, the strips should run pretty cool when I divide the current between the channels, and add the extrusions too.

I will test the actual difference in temperature between using 1 vs 2 channels on the 1ft strips later.

[unkle_psycho]

Yesterday managed to cut the heatsinks, build a frame and attach the heatsinks and drivers. Today I'm attaching the leds and doing the wiring.

[unkle_psycho]

So the first fixture is done. Went a little overtime, since the seal-a-casket could not hold the strip ends... I put a few drops of super glue at the ends and its fine.

Only running 3 drivers and the 2700k strips for now, with no dimmers, since I didn't make it to a big city in weeks.

Pity, the light would be so nice and light without the 3 drivers