CUTTER Strip build wiring questions

diggs99 · May 27, 2019

1212ham said:
FWIW, I think your plan is fine, along with the AC cord you linked. Multiple wires can be used in each port of Wagos and other connectors, though I suggest they be twisted together before insertion. Four 18Ga. wires can be twisted together and still fit in one Wago port. The din rail terminals are an interesting idea, but a little bulky IMO.

These Terminal Blocks could also be used and you can easily get two wires under each screw.
This buss bar is another option. The ports are 5mm diameter, so several wires could/should be used per port.

Thanks bud, appreciate the response.

Ya I liked the din rail but wasnt keen on the bulkiness.

Someone mentioned earlier about multiple wires per port, that would def help cut down on amount of wagos used.

I'll search the buss bar, see what its all about.

Thanks for replying

1212ham · May 27, 2019

Some 8 port Wago copies. https://www.ebay.com/itm/WAGO-222-Connector-2-3-4-5-8-Way-Spring-Lever-Reusable-Wire-Terminal-Block/113705538464?hash=item1a7960d3a0:m:mBA361TX1_RxwNtU93nBz3w

Airwalker16 · May 27, 2019

diggs99 said:
Who exactly are you arguing with? When did Anyone in this thread ever say stripping wire was difficult?

I get it bro, I'm not in your level of expertise, it's ok. I'm fine with that. This is so I can build a fkn grow light, it's not effecting my real life much so i dont care that im no natural. Just need to get the lights built and functioning. Thats it

Not sure what the problem is

You interpreted that wrong. I was just stating that his grandpa's trick was indeed very efficient.

Airwalker16 · May 27, 2019

1212ham said:
Some 8 port Wago copies. https://www.ebay.com/itm/WAGO-222-Connector-2-3-4-5-8-Way-Spring-Lever-Reusable-Wire-Terminal-Block/113705538464?hash=item1a7960d3a0:m:mBA361TX1_RxwNtU93nBz3w

Yep that's the ones I knew I had seen before. Look pretty damn good.

diggs99 · May 27, 2019

Airwalker16 said:
You interpreted that wrong. I was just stating that his grandpa's trick was indeed very efficient.

Thanks for clarifying that, def not the first time ive done so.

Just here trying to figure this stuff out, i need all the help i can get from all of you.

1212ham said:
Some 8 port Wago copies. https://www.ebay.com/itm/WAGO-222-Connector-2-3-4-5-8-Way-Spring-Lever-Reusable-Wire-Terminal-Block/113705538464?hash=item1a7960d3a0:m:mBA361TX1_RxwNtU93nBz3w

Man i keep forgetting to even look on ebay for stuff anymore, thanks bud. If i can place multiple wires per port, i wouldnt need many 8 ports to get the job done.

Chip Green · May 27, 2019

One fine day diggs, the culmination, the day this light goes online, operational....
It will then, qualify to be awarded the title of,
The mostest researched build ever builted.

diggs99 · May 27, 2019

You can never be too sure bro lol

diggs99 · May 28, 2019

So i stole a pic from @whytewidow thread to use as my example. I plan to build each fixture very similar to this, only difference really being , i will have outside frame pieces on both ends. So the strips and wiring will all be the same. I may install drivers remotely tho.

Using the 8 ways that 1212 linked, can 1 use 2 of those per side ( 1 for all black and 1 for all reds) to handle all the wiring from the strips and back to driver? So 4 per fixture? A few ports would have to be doubled up to make room . Is there a min/max required length we must use for wire when connecting the strips to wagos?

Having said that, can i then use the diagram that AW shared ( posted below) and wire my strips the same way using the 8 way wagos?

Cutters have both +/- connectors on the same end, so all of my wiring will run around the center beam as whytewidows does

Rocket Soul · May 28, 2019

diggs99 said:
So i stole a pic from @whytewidow thread to use as my example. I plan to build each fixture very similar to this, only difference really being , i will have outside frame pieces on both ends. So the strips and wiring will all be the same. I may install drivers remotely tho.

Using the 8 ways that 1212 linked, can 1 use 2 of those per side ( 1 for all black and 1 for all reds) to handle all the wiring from the strips and back to driver? So 4 per fixture? A few ports would have to be doubled up to make room . Is there a min/max required length we must use for wire when connecting the strips to wagos?

Having said that, can i then use the diagram that AW shared ( posted below) and wire my strips the same way using the 8 way wagos?

Cutters have both +/- connectors on the same end, so all of my wiring will run around the center beam as whytewidows doesView attachment 4340997 View attachment 4341000

You might have a hard time summoning Whytewiddow, theres some issues with his close ones that keep h away from Riu.

On your plan: seems ok but its a bit different from what you started out with. Ww fixture is 7, not 9 per section. Also its a linear fixture for 4 foot width with the strips across, not parallel to the long section. I would sincerely rec parallel to your 12 feet side. First, cause youre 3 feet wide and not 4 like ww. Next cause of spread: with strips theres allways a bit with less light, towards the edges. But you can deal with this by playing with distance between strips. Ww have done so, the top 2 strips are closer so that the short edge have a bit extra density of diodes. But the longer sides, where the tips of the fixture will be, will have less light and less even. With this kinda build this i allways an issue on one dimension. The way this build is done the bit with lower chip density is in the longest side. I suggest its better to design so the your shortest end is the bit that suffers from lower light/less spread.
This is not me poopooing on WWs build, with the watts its designed for (and also thinknit goes in a reflective tent) he can raise it up a bit for more spread. Also hes build is a lot sleeker and elegant than the shit i produce.

But i i believe theres a definite benefit for align your strips to the longest length, adjusting the distance between the outer strips on the long side to your liking, and then getting the fixture down on to the cannopy instead of using over a foot for hanging height. The whole idea is to be able to bring your fixture down so that the distance to cannopy is the same as distance to between strips. Usually at this height you get a good and even spread.

My 2 cent, and also from my understanding that this is a open space ur growing in.

diggs99 · May 28, 2019

Rocket Soul said:
You might have a hard time summoning Whytewiddow, theres some issues with his close ones that keep h away from Riu.

On your plan: seems ok but its a bit different from what you started out with. Ww fixture is 7, not 9 per section. Also its a linear fixture for 4 foot width with the strips across, not parallel to the long section. I would sincerely rec parallel to your 12 feet side. First, cause youre 3 feet wide and not 4 like ww. Next cause of spread: with strips theres allways a bit with less light, towards the edges. But you can deal with this by playing with distance between strips. Ww have done so, the top 2 strips are closer so that the short edge have a bit extra density of diodes. But the longer sides, where the tips of the fixture will be, will have less light and less even. With this kinda build this i allways an issue on one dimension. The way this build is done the bit with lower chip density is in the longest side. I suggest its better to design so the your shortest end is the bit that suffers from lower light/less spread.
This is not me poopooing on WWs build, with the watts its designed for (and also thinknit goes in a reflective tent) he can raise it up a bit for more spread. Also hes build is a lot sleeker and elegant than the shit i produce.

But i i believe theres a definite benefit for align your strips to the longest length, adjusting the distance between the outer strips on the long side to your liking, and then getting the fixture down on to the cannopy instead of using over a foot for hanging height. The whole idea is to be able to bring your fixture down so that the distance to cannopy is the same as distance to between strips. Usually at this height you get a good and even spread.

My 2 cent, and also from my understanding that this is a open space ur growing in.

Ugh, im sorry bud, i guess i should have been a little clearer, my bad man, my strips will still run parallel to the 12` and wil still be 3 x 4

i just used his pic as example....mine will still be same specs as before 18 strips on 9 sinks ...3` x 4` and my strips will run parallel to the 12` length of the room. thats why i used that pic, my fixture will look the same as the pic, + the 2 side frame parts....his fixture is turned the opposite way when installed , mine will be placed like the pic above over my plants.

diggs99 · May 28, 2019

ill be using 3 frame parts....middle beam as WW has done and 2 outside frame pieces. so if you take his pic as it is and add 2 36" pieces on each end, thats what mine will look like

i hope that made sense, im not even sure after reading it lol

Rocket Soul · May 28, 2019

Sounds great. Sorry if my comment was superfluous to you. Maybe it helps some noob in the future.

You need a 10way solution for what you wanna do. Either daisy chain or make a "tree" as described above, which in the end is very similar to Aw16/ledgardeners way.

3 frames with middle beam will work great as long as you keep the electrics separate on each side of the middle beam. Afrer that you can use your driver for 2-4 sections acording to how much light you need. Weve done 4x3 with 240 and it worked great, but 11weeks as said.
I seriously think you got it all now, congrats and hope to see pics soon.

diggs99 · May 28, 2019

Rocket Soul said:
Sounds great. Sorry if my comment was superfluous to you. Maybe it helps some noob in the future.

You need a 10way solution for what you wanna do. Either daisy chain or make a "tree" as described above, which in the end is very similar to Aw16/ledgardeners way.

3 frames with middle beam will work great as long as you keep the electrics separate on each side of the middle beam. Afrer that you can use your driver for 2-4 sections acording to how much light you need. Weve done 4x3 with 240 and it worked great, but 11weeks as said.
I seriously think you got it all now, congrats and hope to see pics soon.

I hope so bro.

1 more question, if you dont mind , can i cut the wires for hooking up strips whatever length i want? or is there a minimum and maximum length i should use?

Thanks for all the help, its very much appreciated

oldbeancounter · May 28, 2019

Stray Dog said:
For lots of parallel connections I would go with din rail terminals with linking strips. There is a million brands of them and the come in screw type and spring type, I prefer the spring type, Wago or Phoenix are good brands but something like the following from amazon will work. Sorry cant post links yet.
Dinkle Combiner DK2.5N-BL 10 Gang Power Distribution Dk2.5N-BL 10 Gang Box Connector DIN Rail Terminal Blocks, 12-22 AWG, 20 Amp, 600V Solar Combiner

Great idea!
This might work with that as an option
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FQ1CX7N/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=A2FXDLLSONFSKL&psc=1
instead of wago another option
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KJGTPFT/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07KJGTPFT&pd_rd_w=wKsOO&pf_rd_p=4b7c8c1c-293f-4b1e-a49a-8787dff31bcb&pd_rd_wg=vcAew&pf_rd_r=DXDFAPAB0C7MW9C72BTA&pd_rd_r=5e91f847-8172-11e9-b06b-1967775fe31c&smid=A28ZWXW3ZSVNZU
Would that be too easy if it does and way faster.
just examples you can get higher amps and bigger terminal blocks

Rocket Soul · May 28, 2019

diggs99 said:
I hope so bro.

1 more question, if you dont mind , can i cut the wires for hooking up strips whatever length i want? or is there a minimum and maximum length i should use?

Thanks for all the help, its very much appreciated

You could argue that you should keep length of cable the same but i never noticed a difference. Min/max length? Not as far as i know, as long as things are sorta within reason.

1212ham · May 28, 2019

What is the voltage of these strips? Where can we find the specs for these strips, where's the datasheet?? I can't find shit on the Cutter site.

ChiefRunningPhist · May 28, 2019

Other terminal blocks..

Other bus bars...

You can get terminal blocks for a bit cheaper than bus bar's on Amazon it looks like.

Amazon terminal block (6) - $14...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M59HCY4/ref=sspa_mw_detail_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon bus bar (1) - $19...

https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Terminal-Bus-Bar-Kit/dp/B07PS4CYV7/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=bus+bar&qid=1559065373&s=gateway&sr=8-14

Amazon bus bar (2) - $30...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07C4W7YKG/ref=sspa_mw_detail_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rocket Soul · May 28, 2019

1212ham said:
What is the voltage of these strips? Where can we find the specs for these strips, where's the datasheet?? I can't find shit on the Cutter site.

Check Tekniks cutter strip test thread for how they tested out (spoiler: good enough, and available at 90 cri!)

Youd have to extrapolate the rest of the data using the cree datasheet. I think theyre 48v but not sure.

1212ham · May 28, 2019

@welight Where are the datasheets or specs for sol-skins?

Airwalker16 · May 28, 2019

1212ham said:
What is the voltage of these strips? Where can we find the specs for these strips, where's the datasheet?? I can't find shit on the Cutter site.

The picture on the site says 48v right on it...

CUTTER Strip build wiring questions

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