Seeking Help - Building Custom-Designed DIY LED Grow Lights using CREE CXA3070 COBs
- Thread starter Gaius
- Start date
DarthBlazeAnthony
Well-Known Member
Were you able to build it?Regarding Power Supply/Drivers:
I don't mind spending a little more $$$ to have a nice tweakable knob to easily dim the chips with. I'm curious to see how the ones you ordered play out.
Is there perhaps an easier solution though? Like what about hooking up a 600w PC power supply and just using a few fan speed controllers? I would imagine that going with a larger power supply than what is required would mean less heat generated, so maybe spending a bit more on an 800+watt power supply would even be better.
Heatsink Design:
CPU Coolers:
Here's some PC heatsinks I'm eyeing. Feedback greatly appreciated.
- Option 1 - $8.99 ($90 total) - Inexpensive, and looks cool.
- Option 2 - $19.99 ($200 total) - Pricey, but comes with it's own fan-speed controller and has a fairly low profile.
- Option 3 - $18.13 ($169 total) - Super quiet, but maybe Overkill?
Keep in mind, I'll need 9 of these if I go this route, so it may be actually be cheaper to go with custom sinks and only 2 fans per 3 chips. With the less-expensive option 1, or option 3 I'll probably have to buy a separate controller to adjust the fan speeds properly. A good 6-port controller will run about $50, putting the least expensive option #1 at about $150 total. If I go with a fancier cooler, then this gets a lot pricier than a custom heatsink.
Custom Heatsinks
Three 24"L x 4.85"W heatsinks from heatsinkusa.com will set me back about $100 shipped. I'm guessing on the width I'd need, but 4.85 inches seems about right for mounting 120mm fans. Adding 4 good 120mm fans will run me about $50. So for about $150 total I can do custom-made heatsinks for this design. Surely it'll be easier to hang 3 panels instead of dealing with nine independent CPU coolers, right? I dunno, perhaps the dedicated CPU coolers would provide superior performance and life for the chip? Less fans is less noise & less power consumption, so I'm leaning towards this approach.
Here's what I'm theorizing would work:
MrFlux
Well-Known Member
redbluishgreen
New Member
Supra, you are most likely correct. The design for my vegging cabinets is modular, and each only uses a single 5000K CXA3070. If I find that one is not enough, I'll add a second chip and a driver over the other exhaust fan.
Here's a sketch-up of the ~$120 vegging "cabinet" design I'm working on:
2x - 27-Gallon Storage Bins from Lowes ($30)
1x - CXA3070 @ 5000K ($3
1x - Arctic Cool 70watt-rated CPU fan ($9)
1x - Meanwell LPC-60-1400 ($19)
2x - 140mm Case Fans ($20)
Misc other supplies:
Aluminum Foil Tape (Line the inside of the bins with this stuff for extra shine!)
Rubber Foam Tape (for gasket between two bins)
Thermal Adhesive (For chip on heatsink)
Kapton Tape (Tape down wires)
Solder
Shrink Tubing
18-guage wire
You can't see so well in either of these photos, but there are some passive-intake holes cut out of the bottom bin to allow incoming cool air.
I'm still wondering how the fans are wired? I see the rhino molex power supply (in your bud bin creation pics). But I'm unclear on how the 80mm and 2 140 mm fans are connected to power?
Basically I'm starting out and I'm using your bin as a jumping off point to learn the basics and experiment with.
I understand how to wire the Cob and the driver and how they will connect to a wall socket (more or less) and the rest of the build is more or less done in the sense that it's 2 bins. So that leaves the wiring for cooling the Cob and wiring for the 2 larger fans.
what do the fans plug into? how do i get the little zap zaps from the 3 prong wall thingy to the fans.. thats what i'm getting at.
bicit
Well-Known Member
Woah now, simmer down. You're getting a little too technical for most of us
The easiest way to do it is to salvage an old cell phone charger and wire the fans in parallel. Most moden cell chargers a 5v, 1amp. I use an old nokia cell phone charger for 4 arctic coolers with good success.
Fan's need a constant voltage power supply. Led's need a constant current(amp) power supply. Be sure not to mix them up
redbluishgreen
New Member
Thank you, I have a few chargers I can hack up to see whats what.
But what about an out of the box solution?
as I said, in the finished pictures of the bin you can see the Cob and driver connected and that they are connected to a 3 prong. so all good.
The fans.. appear to be connected (somehow???) to the rhino, at one point Giaus mentions http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RC09HS/ref=cm_sw_su_dp but I don't see it in any of the bin pictures. Perhaps he used it in the big build. None the less, I suppose with the bin I'm confused (and can't see it in the pictures) of how the rhino on the top of the bin is connected to the 3 fans?
wall socket==> rhino==> ??? (controller? nothing? spliced something?) ==> fans
But what about an out of the box solution?
as I said, in the finished pictures of the bin you can see the Cob and driver connected and that they are connected to a 3 prong. so all good.
The fans.. appear to be connected (somehow???) to the rhino, at one point Giaus mentions http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RC09HS/ref=cm_sw_su_dp but I don't see it in any of the bin pictures. Perhaps he used it in the big build. None the less, I suppose with the bin I'm confused (and can't see it in the pictures) of how the rhino on the top of the bin is connected to the 3 fans?
wall socket==> rhino==> ??? (controller? nothing? spliced something?) ==> fans
redbluishgreen
New Member
and back again..
so I'm going along trying not to burn the house down or electrocute myself. I start wondering a few things about how I'm going to connect what to what and back to my whole wall outlet problem.
Bicit you solved my issue of fans to wall except now it's how to hook up the fans to the power supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812311001
fans---> that wire i just linked ----> power supply you linked----> wall.
yay we have fans???? yes that is a question.
the Cob to the driver no problem. despite my general lack of experience I've more or less got that sorted. Driver to the wall???
Like I see these nifty little wires coming off the driver, and I figured I would get some http://www.radioshack.com/nte-25-ft-600v-18awg-stranded-wire-105ac-blue/55057599.html#.VQy0SI7y2oa and run it to.... ???
No seriously what am I running the driver to? do I need to hack up some christmas lights for a 3 prong outlet or take a trip to lowes to buy one? should i splice an extension cord? Supra what are you using to get power to things?
anyways thats where I'm at building this little bin.
so I'm going along trying not to burn the house down or electrocute myself. I start wondering a few things about how I'm going to connect what to what and back to my whole wall outlet problem.
Bicit you solved my issue of fans to wall except now it's how to hook up the fans to the power supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812311001
fans---> that wire i just linked ----> power supply you linked----> wall.
yay we have fans???? yes that is a question.
the Cob to the driver no problem. despite my general lack of experience I've more or less got that sorted. Driver to the wall???
Like I see these nifty little wires coming off the driver, and I figured I would get some http://www.radioshack.com/nte-25-ft-600v-18awg-stranded-wire-105ac-blue/55057599.html#.VQy0SI7y2oa and run it to.... ???
No seriously what am I running the driver to? do I need to hack up some christmas lights for a 3 prong outlet or take a trip to lowes to buy one? should i splice an extension cord? Supra what are you using to get power to things?
anyways thats where I'm at building this little bin.
bicit
Well-Known Member
Yup that wire set would work.
Yes, you can get a 3 prong plug at lowes for a few bucks. Or you can cut the end off an extension cord. The choice is yours.
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