DIY LED Cree 3590 Re-Config Help for Closet Grow (driver help)

Hello too all that read!

Ive lurked on this forum for a while and never posted but today i DO! I cant quite gather the information i needed sifting through posts ( more so not comprehending what i read) so thought i would ask for some help.

Im trying to give a Wardrobe/Closet grow a go again with some cree cxb3590's i have. I did have a tent last year and tried growing auto's but it grew to like 30cm then decided it had had enough (tent was pretty height restricted) The temps were really high inside and the lights were mega bright as i hadnt (couldnt understand) wired the dimmer on the driver.

This time im on the hunt for a donor wardrobe or to build something custom out of old pallets. What i need help with is re-configuring my light fixture.

from the pics you can see what ive managed to build, i got these from cutter electronics and at the time they had these drivers, as there not meanwell when i look at it i have little idea on its configurability (not a real word...)

So as you can see above i have 5 cxb3590's the one still in the packet is 5000k and the ones on the bar i cant remember although guessing im thinking there might be a 3500k 4000k and another one that is 90cri but cant remember the kelvin, they are all 36v though.

i would like if possible to hang 2 lights in the closet maybe 3 if i can keep the temps down probably on the same kind of aluminium fitting. I also used 3 140mm PC fans on a bar to cool the pin heatsinks that their mounted too.

So my questions are can i use the same driver but use less COB's?

If i wire the dimming cables up and then just turn the lights down would that turn the temps down that the cobs give off. If that makes sense? does dimming lower the 1.4a strength? to say 1ma-.700ma? or does it just lower the lumins or light it gives off.

Would using .700ma driver be better then this 1.4ma driver for a small space?

I have seen a list by supra showing how many cobs can be used on certain drivers but theres not many for 2-3 cobs, and the ones that are seem to be 72v cobs which i dont have.

I would prefer to use what i got as im on a budget. I just wanted to understand what i can do with these lights a little better so i dont end up growing tiny christmas trees that live inside a narnian desert.

So if someone has any ideas please drop a line or any adivce all is appreciated.

Much love x

Using the DIY calculator it looks like you would have to run a minimum of 4 using that driver. Using 3 lights running at 1.4a you're putting out 105v and the minimum on the driver is 107v. Might work, might not, I'm not sure. You could wire 3 up and see if they light up.

I'm pretty sure you can run 3 cobs on that driver... Yes, using the dimmer will vary the temps..

FullerIdeas said:

does dimming lower the 1.4a strength? to say 1ma-.700ma? or does it just lower the lumins or light it gives off.

Click to expand...

both. it lowers the current, and the result is less light

id recommend spreading those out a bit or lose the reflectors. with 4 together like that and reflectors, at full current youd be crushing anything right underneath it and would really need 24" or more of height

given you got all that stuff, the most efficient thing would be to just dim it down. 4 cobs at 20W a piece is more efficient than 2 cobs at 40W a piece

CobKits said:

both. it lowers the current, and the result is less light

id recommend spreading those out a bit or lose the reflectors. with 4 together like that and reflectors, at full current youd be crushing anything right underneath it and would really need 24" or more of height

given you got all that stuff, the most efficient thing would be to just dim it down. 4 cobs at 20W a piece is more efficient than 2 cobs at 40W a piece

Click to expand...

This would be ideal as a dimmer and resistor arent much to buy of ebay

So If i wire up a dimmer with a resistor (think ive seen a gromau5 video on it) but leave the light as it is i could just turn it down half way or more? and not turn it up to full power? the size would fit well in an old wardrobe i have and my thinking behind having the cobs so close was that the different kelvins would overlap and give my plant a varied spectrum. Taking the light fitting apart will be a bit heart breaking as it took me ages to do and not so confident i can take it apart and re-fit without breaking something. Even binned my first DIY light with cob's after my wack soldering blew out the cobs.... which then led to me bashing the fitting into oblivion. So less is more for me

Is there anything anyone has a link too, to show or explain in more simple terms how to understand the quantity of dimming effects on the cobs? As in 4 cobs @ 100% driver load cob is 1.4ma ??watts 36v , turn it down half way cob is .700ma? ??watts ??v (does it work like that?)

thankyou all for your replies and help, this will greatly help me on my adventures. x

As you turn down the amperage the watts also go down.. You will be able to dim from 100% down to 10% of the total watts or amperage.. My cob lights are 330 watts and I can dim to 33 watts.. Hope this helps...

FullerIdeas said:

Hello too all that read!

Ive lurked on this forum for a while and never posted but today i DO! I cant quite gather the information i needed sifting through posts ( more so not comprehending what i read) so thought i would ask for some help.

Im trying to give a Wardrobe/Closet grow a go again with some cree cxb3590's i have. I did have a tent last year and tried growing auto's but it grew to like 30cm then decided it had had enough (tent was pretty height restricted) The temps were really high inside and the lights were mega bright as i hadnt (couldnt understand) wired the dimmer on the driver.

This time im on the hunt for a donor wardrobe or to build something custom out of old pallets. What i need help with is re-configuring my light fixture.

from the pics you can see what ive managed to build, i got these from cutter electronics and at the time they had these drivers, as there not meanwell when i look at it i have little idea on its configurability (not a real word...)View attachment 3921000 View attachment 3920999

So as you can see above i have 5 cxb3590's the one still in the packet is 5000k and the ones on the bar i cant remember although guessing im thinking there might be a 3500k 4000k and another one that is 90cri but cant remember the kelvin, they are all 36v though.

i would like if possible to hang 2 lights in the closet maybe 3 if i can keep the temps down probably on the same kind of aluminium fitting. I also used 3 140mm PC fans on a bar to cool the pin heatsinks that their mounted too.

So my questions are can i use the same driver but use less COB's?

If i wire the dimming cables up and then just turn the lights down would that turn the temps down that the cobs give off. If that makes sense? does dimming lower the 1.4a strength? to say 1ma-.700ma? or does it just lower the lumins or light it gives off.

Would using .700ma driver be better then this 1.4ma driver for a small space?

I have seen a list by supra showing how many cobs can be used on certain drivers but theres not many for 2-3 cobs, and the ones that are seem to be 72v cobs which i dont have.

I would prefer to use what i got as im on a budget. I just wanted to understand what i can do with these lights a little better so i dont end up growing tiny christmas trees that live inside a narnian desert.

So if someone has any ideas please drop a line or any adivce all is appreciated.

Much love x

Click to expand...

three cobs can run on that driver at 36 x 3 = 108v more than Vf of 107. Watts will max at 150w for driver. Dimming reduces the current flow effectively reducing heat from emissions and radiation. If you go to the 700mA driver you will be at half as many watts 75w total, but you will need more cobs to get to the minimum Vf which is higher as you go down in mA.
the list

FullerIdeas said:

This would be ideal as a dimmer and resistor arent much to buy of ebay

So If i wire up a dimmer with a resistor (think ive seen a gromau5 video on it) but leave the light as it is i could just turn it down half way or more? and not turn it up to full power? the size would fit well in an old wardrobe i have and my thinking behind having the cobs so close was that the different kelvins would overlap and give my plant a varied spectrum. Taking the light fitting apart will be a bit heart breaking as it took me ages to do and not so confident i can take it apart and re-fit without breaking something. Even binned my first DIY light with cob's after my wack soldering blew out the cobs.... which then led to me bashing the fitting into oblivion. So less is more for me

Is there anything anyone has a link too, to show or explain in more simple terms how to understand the quantity of dimming effects on the cobs? As in 4 cobs @ 100% driver load cob is 1.4ma ??watts 36v , turn it down half way cob is .700ma? ??watts ??v (does it work like that?)

thankyou all for your replies and help, this will greatly help me on my adventures. x

Click to expand...

Dimming reduces the current flow, using resistive measures 0-10v circuit from 100% to 10% in 185H drivers

Ok... i think i have a fair grip on the science now. Last lot of questions i think and ill be all good to actually get on with stuff

the driver i have can run 3-5 cobs from what i can work out is that correct?

my driver says 107v-179v then Vomax 214 so i can potentially use 5 cobs? Vomax i take it is the most volts i can use? or isit the ranged number of 107-179v

3x36v = 108v (if i was to dimm this set up would the volts decrease as i dimmed? going below 107v i take it, it would just turn off or blow up or something?)
4x36v = 144v
5x36v = 180v (if Vomax means i can go up to 214v and not 179v)
i noticed that the volts change from 36v and fluctuate depending on drivers and amount of cobs. 3 cobs @ 35v etc etc is there a way to determine the voltage outcome without having to buy equipment and test myself.

4 cobs will be more then enough i think? my wardrobe is 1.6m H x 0.8m W x 0.5m D = 0.64m3
I may look for a bigger wardrobe but this one is already here but its not massive so having 4 cobs @ 1.4ma even with active cooling produced a lot of heat in a smaller tent i had made. I guess i can only try it all out and see what happens though.

I have some resistors left from trying to wire it before but my soldering skills arent great so must of thrown away the dimmer so ill have to find a dimmer from somewhere.

much thanks to everyone that commented x

Hmm my dimmer lead has 3 wires coming out.... last question today <3

dim+ Purple
dim- Grey
vaux+12v blk/wht <---- no idea what this wire is for. any ideas?

Pot turns up tuesday!! so we see how i get on.

I think that wire(vaux) may be a separate 12v source to power something else like a cpu fan.

The Luxdator uses a three-in-one style of dimming like MeanWell, I believe. From MeanWell:
"Output constant current level can be adjusted by applying one of the three methodologies between DIM+ and DIM-:
1 ~ 10VDC, or 10V PWM signal or resistance."

Luxdator is providing the 12Vaux for a DC dimming circuit. It should be isolated if using a 100K pot.
http://www.luxdator.com/_data/s_3836/files/file/pf-p250cc_led_driver_luxdator.pdf

thanks for the replies people really appreciate this. @sunjuan i dont really understand what you said. my lights seems to be working fine, the dim up and down ok, not sure what the lowest dim is. looks more then 10%