LSD Power Drivers

[ichabod crane]

Not saying that the numbers dont work in your grow room. But for me it takes 35 degree air blown into my lung room at 750 cfm to cool 4k of hps. This will keep my flower rooms right around 80 degrees. So the pay back on running the cobs at higher wattage just is not there in my grow.

But I am not sure yet if I can replace my hps with leds yet and still get the same yields. Besides heat I am square foot limited. I run 2k hps vert in 5 x 7 flower rooms. Running a average of about 4.5 pounds with mixed strains. I just bought some to run in the summer when I only run half my lights to see how they do.

 

[Atulip]

Yeah I'm at 78℉ right now with a 6" nobrand inline at ~75% power. 800w of cobs in a 4'x8' tent, I cranked the dehumidifier up all winter to pump more heat into the room.

16k hours is long enough for something cheaper&more efficient to come around imo, and that's why I'd rather go with something a little harder now.

 

[BOBBY_G]

Yeah I'm at 78℉ right now with a 6" nobrand inline at ~75% power. 800w of cobs in a 4'x8' tent, I cranked the dehumidifier up all winter to pump more heat into the room.

16k hours is long enough for something cheaper&more efficient to come around imo, and that's why I'd rather go with something a little harder now.

well keep in mind that 16k hours from now your drivers and heatsinks will work as efficiently as they do today.... and cobs will be much much cheaper so much so that the money will be in the infrastructure

 

[PurpleBuz]

Not saying that the numbers dont work in your grow room. But for me it takes 35 degree air blown into my lung room at 750 cfm to cool 4k of hps. This will keep my flower rooms right around 80 degrees. So the pay back on running the cobs at higher wattage just is not there in my grow.

But I am not sure yet if I can replace my hps with leds yet and still get the same yields. Besides heat I am square foot limited. I run 2k hps vert in 5 x 7 flower rooms. Running a average of about 4.5 pounds with mixed strains. I just bought some to run in the summer when I only run half my lights to see how they do.

maybe replace 30% to 50% of your hids and put leds in between ?
the different spectrums mixing together is probably synergistic.

 

[Atulip]

Oh yeah, that's just 16k hours going with a 56% build over a 50% at the best prices I could find. That's why I'm driving them harder now. New leds will be a cheap upgrade and right now the price ramps up too fast for the more efficient builds. Of course that changes depending on your electricity costs.

 

[ichabod crane]

maybe replace 30% to 50% of your hids and put leds in between ?
the different spectrums mixing together is probably synergistic.

That would be difficult to do since I run bare bulb with the plants run around the lights. I have 35 square feet with two bulbs run vert. That 35 feet allows me to get in and work on my plant as well.

But Lets talk about drivers instead of my grow ok.

 

[Organic Miner]

Whether you have led one or jumped on one, bandwagons have a way of running wild around here. Do we need to start considering Citizen cob's Fv in these driver talks.

I have started procuring the materials to build Citizen based flower room. This includes 75 1212C's. PLC was nice enough to order a set of 1.3A@156V units. I should be able to drive 4-1212's with those at just under 200W. When I get things assembled I will let you know how it works out. I am trying to target $1/W construction cost. The last piece of the puzzle is a heat sink, and I am narrowing in on that with 2 different vendors.

So, I do think we need to consider Citizens in these conversations; if it wasn't for their low cost, I could not build out my room sufficiently with Cree (can't afford it).

 

[Growmau5]

I have started procuring the materials to build Citizen based flower room. This includes 75 1212C's. PLC was nice enough to order a set of 1.3A@156V units. I should be able to drive 4-1212's with those at just under 200W. When I get things assembled I will let you know how it works out. I am trying to target $1/W construction cost. The last piece of the puzzle is a heat sink, and I am narrowing in on that with 2 different vendors.

So, I do think we need to consider Citizens in these conversations; if it wasn't for their low cost, I could not build out my room sufficiently with Cree (can't afford it).

very cool man! JorgeG's work with Citizens has really sparked a lot of interest around here. I am interested in them for myself as well,

 

[MrTwist1]

I just received my 200w LSD 1.4a driver from PLC (cheers GG) and it looks like a decent bit of kit - well built and compact. Looking at the voltage output specs (87v-145v) it seemed like I would need to run minimum 3x 3590s to draw enough current, but upon testing it I found it does work with just 2x 3590s. Is there a safety reason why not to under-run a driver like this, or would I only really be losing out on driver efficiency? cheers

 

[MrTwist1]

Ok so I'm struggling to get the dimming function on this driver to work... maybe someone here can help...

I am using this pot

http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Linear-Taper-Rotary-Potentiometers/dp/B008DFAKI6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

and this resistor

http://www.amazon.com/Projects-100EP51410K0-10k-Resistors-Pack/dp/B0185FGYQA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

and I have followed instructions found online - wiring the negative dimming wire to the wiper and positive to one of the outside pins. I have tried it with or without the resistor in series, and still nothing happens. Did I buy the wrong pot (this one says dual taper)? or is it something to do with the fact I am under-running the 200w 1.4a with only 2x 3590s totalling ~72vf? Any help appreciated. cheers

 

[Atulip]

You got any more cobs to put it in voltage range? I'd start there, then worry about your pot. Stick a multimeter and check your pot otherwise, or try wiring your resistor straight to the dim leads and see if it dims?

 

[Greengenes707]

Ok so I'm struggling to get the dimming function on this driver to work... maybe someone here can help...

I am using this pot

http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Linear-Taper-Rotary-Potentiometers/dp/B008DFAKI6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

and this resistor

http://www.amazon.com/Projects-100EP51410K0-10k-Resistors-Pack/dp/B0185FGYQA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

and I have followed instructions found online - wiring the negative dimming wire to the wiper and positive to one of the outside pins. I have tried it with or without the resistor in series, and still nothing happens. Did I buy the wrong pot (this one says dual taper)? or is it something to do with the fact I am under-running the 200w 1.4a with only 2x 3590s totalling ~72vf? Any help appreciated. cheers

I am was just coming on here to make an announcement about dimming issues with potentiometers on the 1.4's or 1.8's.
It seems that the dimming is not working with potentiometers. This is not correct and I am in contact with LSD to correct it. I will be video conferencing with them tonight to get this solved.

Dimming is working with PWM and 1-10 voltage.

The first batch was fine and worked correctly as well as all the samples they sent with potentiometers. This new batch is having the issues.

The driver will work perfectly fine, and isn't an issue for anyone running full power. So if people can get by at full power, or have a voltage dimming source, I will replace them as soon as I get it resolved with LSD, so you can have the dimming driver function that you purchased.

I apologize to all that have bought drivers so far, as well as LSD has sent their apologies and are eager to help fix the issue ASAP. They offer a 5yr warranty and will honor it.

 

[MrTwist1]

You got any more cobs to put it in voltage range? I'd start there, then worry about your pot. Stick a multimeter and check your pot otherwise, or try wiring your resistor straight to the dim leads and see if it dims?

Thanks man, good advice. I actually do have one more cob I can add to the circuit to test that theory!

Regrettably I don't own a multimeter yet... gonna have to add it to the list, although those things kinda scare me a bit cos I don't really understand them.

One thing I am curious about is whether u can mess with these dimmer cable connections while the driver is powered. I know it's a low power control circuit, but still my instinct tells me that is a bad idea lol. I am not sure I would notice the difference in brightness of wiring the resistor to the dim leads directly if I have to turn the driver off whilst I do it... will it dim to 10% if I do this?

 

[MrTwist1]

I am was just coming on here to make an announcement about dimming issues with potentiometers on the 1.4's or 1.8's.
It seems that the dimming is not working with potentiometers. This is not correct and I am in contact with LSD to correct it. I will be video conferencing with them tonight to get this solved.

Dimming is working with PWM and 1-10 voltage.

The first batch was fine and worked correctly as well as all the samples they sent with potentiometers. This new batch is having the issues.

The driver will work perfectly fine, and isn't an issue for anyone running full power. So if people can get by at full power, or have a voltage dimming source, I will replace them as soon as I get it resolved with LSD, so you can have the dimming driver function that you purchased.

I apologize to all that have bought drivers so far, as well as LSD has sent their apologies and are eager to help fix the issue ASAP. They offer a 5yr warranty and will honor it.

Ah ok! Thanks for the update. I was beginning to think I was going crazy!! At least now I know it's not me lol.

I was actually just waiting to get the dimming function on this one to work before I ordered a second unit... guess I'll hold fire for now and get them sent together (I live in the tropics and have to get everything shipped over here from US forwarding service at $4 per lb on top of domestic shipping rate).

Any issue with running them at a lower vf than advertised spec dude?

 

[Atulip]

So if I've wired up my drivers straight to a 75k it's not going to do anything? Because I just finished wiring them this morning lol.

 

[ichabod crane]

How long will it take to get the new units in to replace to bad ones you have now?

 

[Greengenes707]

How long will it take to get the new units in to replace to bad ones you have now?

This is not correct and I am in contact with LSD to correct it. I will be video conferencing with them tonight to get this solved.

I will replace them as soon as I get it resolved with LSD, so you can have the dimming driver function that you purchased.

I apologize to all that have bought drivers so far, as well as LSD has sent their apologies and are eager to help fix the issue ASAP. They offer a 5yr warranty and will honor it.

I'll know tonight hopefully.

Ah ok! Thanks for the update. I was beginning to think I was going crazy!! At least now I know it's not me lol.

I was actually just waiting to get the dimming function on this one to work before I ordered a second unit... guess I'll hold fire for now and get them sent together (I live in the tropics and have to get everything shipped over here from US forwarding service at $4 per lb on top of domestic shipping rate).

Any issue with running them at a lower vf than advertised spec dude?

Replacements will most likely come from the factory direct in China. Not sure if that helps your post, but either way it will be covered.

As for being outside spec...it's never recommended and will void warranties.
98% of the time you will get away with things liken running outside spec. The drivers and the cobs are pretty resilient...but that doesn't make it good or ok unfortunately. If something were to happen, it would be to the cobs getting too much voltage somehow not so much harming the driver. A string of cobs cost more than a driver.

So if I've wired up my drivers straight to a 75k it's not going to do anything? Because I just finished wiring them this morning lol.

View attachment 3700437

Based on what I have tested here, and the ones other customers have already brought up to me, it shouldn't work unfortunately. But I would love to be surprised. So let us know.

 

[Bill Lidgate]

0-10V dimming is spec'd at 2mA per unit so this little (85mA) Mean Well $5 unit can provide enough juice to dim 40 power supplies!
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/IRM-01-12/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuWiaalG5TUgO6fhgi59iJoYR4FH4stG3M5nBBGPjnlgA==
its not in stock but this bigger (250mA) one is
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/IRM-03-12S/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuWiaalG5TUgO8rUjGa1nRmf6aS0if2uAeOhAw3SHRtWg==
both output 12V but plugging that into the following circuit (2 resistors and a pot) will give about 1-11 VDC for dimming.

this is a voltage divider, described here:
http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/voltage-divider-calculator

with 12v input (at V+/V-), the following values
R1= 470
R2=47
R3=5k
gives an output of 1-11V, and 0.5W resistors and pot would be enough current for many PSs
If you have to have the 0V dimming a DPST switch on the output or a SPST switch on the input of the 12V PS would do it.

 

[Atulip]

Well that seems a lot more complicated and expensive than wiring a $.10 resistor up. I just need this sucker to give me 150w not 200w

I won't have leds for another week, I'll wire them up and see what she pulls on the killawatt. If not working then we're waiting on replacements from China? As long as I can get this thing done in the next month, I've got enough light to cover the crops till then.

 

[BOBBY_G]

any thing worse that bad LSD?