Quick question, am I missing anything?

O

orangesabc123

Member
So yea, meant to LED a while ago but didn't.

About to order:
4x - BXRC-40E4000-F-23 ( Vero 18 )
HLG-120H-C1050A

The driver should be able to handle as few as 3 and as many as 5 of the vero 18's and go from .5A to 1A, correct? I picked it out a while ago and don't remember. Would there be a cheaper driver that could handle 2-3 vero 18's? I think 2 drivers would better suit my purpose. Ideally wouldn't want to spend twice as much for the convenience.

Also, the vero's come with cob holders and I already have wire, so, nothing special needed there? I think I might need tape to hold them to the heatsink?

Also, is it still the consensus that the most cost effective way to cool such LEDS are the little 15$ cpu heatsinks?

Also, why are these items not sold at the same site? -_-
 
Last edited:
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Voltage of the COBs at the selected current compared to the max voltage of the driver. Keep in mind with the A series drivers the dimming is internal so no fancy switches or knobs.
 
O

orangesabc123

Member
Oranges unite!

But yea, I never really knew, so it wouldn't really be a refresher.

I know that it's variable because it says it, I don't see the lower bounds though, I'm just going off what people have said in these or other forums as far as the .5-1A range.

Voltage for vero 18's is about 28-30, so it would in theory fit up to 5 as long as I keep it under 1A, and it should be able to run with as few as 3 even at the lowest setting.

Not having had assembled leds before I don't know about the rest.
 
O

orangesabc123

Member
Rahz said:
Voltage of the COBs at the selected current compared to the max voltage of the driver. Keep in mind with the A series drivers the dimming is internal so no fancy switches or knobs.
Click to expand...
What does that mean?

Wouldn't I just adjust it with a screw or something?!?!? >.>
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
yes, adjust with a screw. Downside other than having to adjust with a screw is that you'll need a multi-meter to know what their output is, or just eyeball it... not the best judge. May be fine but a switch, 50k ohm resistor and a couple quick connects total less than $3. Would let you switch between 100% and 50% without a screw driver.
 
O

orangesabc123

Member
Rahz said:
yes, adjust with a screw. Downside other than having to adjust with a screw is that you'll need a multi-meter to know what their output is, or just eyeball it... not the best judge. May be fine but a switch, 50k ohm resistor and a couple quick connects total less than $3. Would let you switch between 100% and 50% without a screw driver.
Click to expand...
Screw driver doesn't really bother me, don't really need a ton of precision. I would however like to avoid excess wiring/connections and shocking myself to death. :D

The other stuff though. Would I just need tape like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Kapton-Tape-Polyimide-36yds/dp/B0049KTI8W
Would thermal paste for computers help?
Does it matter what gauge of wire I use?
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Wire gauge matters. 18 gauge is fine for the emitters, for the AC 16 or 14, all of that on the safe side. Look up some DC and 120v AC wire gauge charts so you know what you're doing. Thermal paste for computers is the same paste used for LED, and that is kapton tape but whether you need it depends on whether you plan on tapping screw holes for the COBs. With the right screws and right size hole you could self tap, though I have no experience doing it I just remember someone mentioning it in a thread. Kapton tape keeps the cobs from falling off the lamp if they would have otherwise but I doubt kapton tape can apply proper pressure and/or hold any pressure over time. Never used it and others have, but that's what makes sense to me. As far as buying a B type driver and wiring the dimmer, the chance of that being dangerous is not an issue, it's the power wires you need to worry about. Dimmer switch or knob is a cheap useful feature, not difficult to wire. Worth considering.
 
O

orangesabc123

Member
Rahz said:
Wire gauge matters. 18 gauge is fine for the emitters, for the AC 16 or 14, all of that on the safe side. Look up some DC and 120v AC wire gauge charts so you know what you're doing. Thermal paste for computers is the same paste used for LED, and that is kapton tape but whether you need it depends on whether you plan on tapping screw holes for the COBs. With the right screws and right size hole you could self tap, though I have no experience doing it I just remember someone mentioning it in a thread. Kapton tape keeps the cobs from falling off the lamp if they would have otherwise but I doubt kapton tape can apply proper pressure and/or hold any pressure over time. Never used it and others have, but that's what makes sense to me. As far as buying a B type driver and wiring the dimmer, the chance of that being dangerous is not an issue, it's the power wires you need to worry about. Dimmer switch or knob is a cheap useful feature, not difficult to wire. Worth considering.
Click to expand...

I wasn't really planning on drilling into my heatsinks, was hoping the thermal paste and tape would hold it on.

As far as the drivers go, are you saying type A = internal dimming, and B = No dimming, and I should get a B and add an external dimmer instead of going with the internal dimming type A? I feel like you're assuming I know what you're talking about.

...I don't.

I'm not an electrician but it looks like 18 gauge wires are rated up to 70+A, I'm only running 1.05 so I should be safe.
 
O

orangeade5

Well-Known Member
orangesabc123 said:
I wasn't really planning on drilling into my heatsinks, was hoping the thermal paste and tape would hold it on.

As far as the drivers go, are you saying type A = internal dimming, and B = No dimming, and I should get a B and add an external dimmer instead of going with the internal dimming type A? I feel like you're assuming I know what you're talking about.

...I don't.

I'm not an electrician but it looks like 18 gauge wires are rated up to 70+A, I'm only running 1.05 so I should be safe.
Click to expand...
The B version has 2 additional wires coming out that you can hook up a resistor stitch to, or just cap them off and it will run at 100% that's how I do it and I have the option to hook up a dimmer if I choose.
 
Getgrowingson

Getgrowingson

Well-Known Member
orangesabc123 said:
I wasn't really planning on drilling into my heatsinks, was hoping the thermal paste and tape would hold it on.

As far as the drivers go, are you saying type A = internal dimming, and B = No dimming, and I should get a B and add an external dimmer instead of going with the internal dimming type A? I feel like you're assuming I know what you're talking about.

...I don't.

I'm not an electrician but it looks like 18 gauge wires are rated up to 70+A, I'm only running 1.05 so I should be safe.
Click to expand...
18 gauge wire is not good for 70+ A hope that's a typo
 
FranJan

FranJan

Well-Known Member
Hey OP, A series drivers adjust the amps out, and is not internal PWM dimmer btw. Now if you want to dim to 0 then a B series with an external dimmer is what you're after, otherwise screw the extra wiring of external dimming plus PWM dimming is just turning your LED on and off real fast. I think the constant output of the A series is a plus when growing weed unless you've got some strain with low light requirements, like Skunk#1 which you can probably grow with a CREE based flashlight :).

From MeanWell's site:
A type: IP65, adjustable output constant current level
B type: IP67, 3 in 1 dimming function (1~10VDC, PWM signal, or resistance)

Good Luck and stop into the Powering LED's sticky for more info on your questions.
 
CanadianONE

CanadianONE

Well-Known Member
The switching time of PWM is extremely fast and will not affect your yield at all. You still get a constant output from PWM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top