DiY LEDs - How to Power Them

Im looking to add some royal blue stars to my cxb3070 build so I can dim the main light down and turn the blues on for veg.
I installed 12v 5amp box to run fans without needing a second wall wart plug and it uses the same 220 power the lights do.
I was wondering if this box could run say 40 extra watts of blue or do I have to add a new driver for the blues?
Here is some pics of it:

...ok the driver for fans (and maybe the leds too)....12 V * 5 A = 60 W...

...but what fans?... what number of fans?...

you can go with 40 W if your fans are 15 W + o - .... from my inexpert pov....

...its a CV driver not?... for good leds better go on CC drivers too...

...on other things...normally the led strips go on CV drivers too..

pd... maybe you can use your stars with your CC drivers seried with your cobs with resistor /s.. but its only my inexpert opinion...

from my inexpert pov....1050mA for a royal blue its a bit hard for a star pcb too...maybe im too old

saludos

Thanks for the fast response.
Just thought Id ask since it would minimize the build more.
I dont know anything about how running leds with CV.
These meanwell are all i have ever used.
The drivers are already maxed out. Running 5 cxb3070 cobs off each one.

Ill be hooking a fan hub up to the 12v box. 4 spaces will go to the 4 140mm cooling fans on the heatsink and the other spaces on the hub will run some hanging 200mm fans in my tent for a little wind.

I guess I'll just go with the
HLG-60H-C700B
Thinking about adding a couple rows of the reds also and use the same driver with a switch to switch between the blues and reds. Ill hook the neg of both blues and reds up to the neg on driver and switch the positive side to what ever color Im adding at the moment.

oill said:

Well I was looking to run 3x3. That's 3 bars with 3 LED's. What's best to power the cxa's??

Sorry I'm new to this. Just looking for something simple.

Thanks

Click to expand...

1) Get CXBs.
2) HLG-120H-C1400 can run (3) CXB3590 36V
or
HLG-120H-C700 can run (3) CXB3590 72V.

HLG-120H is not as cost effective as HLG-185H, though.

Sxott said:

Thanks for the fast response.
Just thought Id ask since it would minimize the build more.
I dont know anything about how running leds with CV.
These meanwell are all i have ever used.
The drivers are already maxed out. Running 5 cxb3070 cobs off each one.

Ill be hooking a fan hub up to the 12v box. 4 spaces will go to the 4 140mm cooling fans on the heatsink and the other spaces on the hub will run some hanging 200mm fans in my tent for a little wind.

I guess I'll just go with the
HLG-60H-C700B
Thinking about adding a couple rows of the reds also and use the same driver with a switch to switch between the blues and reds. Ill hook the neg of both blues and reds up to the neg on driver and switch the positive side to what ever color Im adding at the moment.

Click to expand...

Be careful you don't damage your LEDs when switching.

You can alternatively use a DC-DC boost driver connected on the 12V PSU, such as LDH-45A-700A. HLG-60H would be more efficient, though much more expensive.

Looking to run CXB3590 72v .....can you run 4 on a hlg-185h-c700b?? I know 3 can be run on a 120h,,,is this just better efficiency vs. light output?...thx for help...have everything else figured out.....just wondering which is better way to go...thx again all who help

MIhillbilly said:

Looking to run CXB3590 72v .....can you run 4 on a hlg-185h-c700b?? I know 3 can be run on a 120h,,,is this just better efficiency vs. light output?...thx for help...have everything else figured out.....just wondering which is better way to go...thx again all who help

Click to expand...

Yes they make a good match. Same efficiency as HLG-120H, just better price per watt.

Is there anything to gain using the 72V class? You need even higher voltage in a series string, which might be more hazardous in a damp environment and/or for newbie assemblers.

Thank you very much Alesh,,had posted in few spots and ignored,,,,Grateful very much .,.,

Meinolf said:

Is there anything to gain using the 72V class? You need even higher voltage in a series string, which might be more hazardous in a damp environment and/or for newbie assemblers.

Click to expand...

The only advantage I can think of is that you can hook some single 700 mA LEDs on the same string. Theoretically there should be smaller losses in the wires but this is negligible.

MIhillbilly said:

Thank you very much Alesh,,had posted in few spots and ignored,,,,Grateful very much .,.,

Click to expand...

Glad I could be of help.

alesh said:

The only advantage I can think of is that you can hook some single 700 mA LEDs on the same string.

Click to expand...

thanks for pointing that out! That means I can add a few luxeon royal blues (1000ma curr max), or UVA leds to balance a 3K or warmer cob.

Found this site http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/HBG-60-1400P.shtml while looking for different drivers. This one is priced low enough to run one per COB. Also a US company with reasonable prices.

Any thoughts on why a driver would be marked for North American use only while the Voltage in is 100-240-277??

I spied these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Inventronics-160w-Led-Driver-Constant-Current-Type-Quad-Channels-Model-EUC-160-/141679836058?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20fcc6bb9a They have been selling for a while now at a decent price and look pretty good for vero.

I

This is a starting at the beginning question. Is there such a thing as a driver that can handle 500 or more watts?

If I wanted to build a unit that pulled several thousand watts total, would it make more sense (and cents) to use fewer, bigger drivers or a vast number of small ones?

Hi ttystikk,

There is a HLG 240H on the way, for a max 250W output.

I think any bigger is not practical to make, and probably to use. a 500W driver at 700ma would push over 700 V, that's a lot of Volts ...

Having multiple drivers has advantages. In case of failure, only one string & driver is down, the others keep doing their thing.

ttystikk said:

This is a starting at the beginning question. Is there such a thing as a driver that can handle 500 or more watts?

If I wanted to build a unit that pulled several thousand watts total, would it make more sense (and cents) to use fewer, bigger drivers or a vast number of small ones?

Click to expand...

Tazbud said:

Any thoughts on why a driver would be marked for North American use only while the Voltage in is 100-240-277??

I spied these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Inventronics-160w-Led-Driver-Constant-Current-Type-Quad-Channels-Model-EUC-160-/141679836058?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20fcc6bb9a They have been selling for a while now at a decent price and look pretty good for vero.

Click to expand...

Bumpola, is it just butt covering labeling or am I missing something obvious? It could help a cousin out if someone can see an obvious answer? Will it respond to 240v, is there another attribute to ponder?

Over here, far away from spangled shores, we pay through the hole for some of this gear d'u'know

Tazbud said:

Bumpola, is it just butt covering labeling or am I missing something obvious? It could help a cousin out if someone can see an obvious answer? Will it respond to 240v, is there another attribute to ponder?

Over here, far away from spangled shores, we pay through the hole for some of this gear d'u'know

Click to expand...

America is 60Hz and Eu is 50Hz

phone up local dealer and ask, or look in datasheet, will normally say what frequency it can operate at

Any good recommendations for a veg setup ? Covering bout 2x2 area

for a primary veg light get any of the cobs with a temp 4 K or higher. I prefer 5K or higher. Depending on your setup The cheaper smaller cobs like vero18, vero10, cree25XX or cree 3070 are more than adequate and will perform great for veg (smaller cobs can sit closer to the canopy, keeping the youngins warmer). I'm slowly replacing my T5s that I normally use for veg.