Bridgelux Vero 29 Se, Possible Heat Issues, Not sure what it can be

john073 · Nov 25, 2018

Good Day

I have the following setup

8 x vero29se's the 36v Version on CPU heatsinks with active cooling
2 x LRS350-36 power supplies, 9A each
1 x LRS150-12 power supply for the cpu heatsink fans

4 cobs on each power supply, currently at 35.5v

When i bump the voltage up to 36.5v where the cobs will pull more AMPs then something start smelling like electrical burn.

I am using 18awg wire with this setup

I am using that blue thermal tape between the COB and the HEATsink currently can it be that?

Thanks

Ryante55 · Nov 25, 2018

john073 said:
Good Day

I have the following setup

8 x vero29se's the 36v Version on CPU heatsinks with active cooling
2 x LRS350-36 power supplies, 9A each
1 x LRS150-12 power supply for the cpu heatsink fans

4 cobs on each power supply, currently at 35.5v

When i bump the voltage up to 36.5v where the cobs will pull more AMPs then something start smelling like electrical burn.

I am using 18awg wire with this setup

I am using that blue thermal tape between the COB and the HEATsink currently can it be that?

Thanks

Pictures? Could the burning be from the fans?

Ryante55 · Nov 25, 2018

Also wired parallel or series? I haven't messed with cobs in a while but 18a sound like alot for those

john073 · Nov 25, 2018

Ryante55 said:
Also wired parallel or series? I haven't messed with cobs in a while but 18a sound like alot for those

Nope not the fans it only starts smelling funky when i push up the volts on the 36v meanwells, at 37v the cobs are supposed to pull 2.1A each, and 4 cobs on each power supply makes that they will pull 8.4A together on the power supply that can supply 9A.

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

Some Pics

Ryante55 · Nov 26, 2018

john073 said:
Nope not the fans it only starts smelling funky when i push up the volts on the 36v meanwells, at 37v the cobs are supposed to pull 2.1A each, and 4 cobs on each power supply makes that they will pull 8.4A together on the power supply that can supply 9A.

You can adjust the voltage on those drivers? Have you checked the power draw?

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

Ryante55 said:
You can adjust the voltage on those drivers? Have you checked the power draw?

Yeah you can adjust the voltage on the power supplies a little bit about a volt or 2 yes, i must still measure the amperage usage and workout the power draw.

Ryante55 · Nov 26, 2018

john073 said:
Yeah you can adjust the voltage on the power supplies a little bit about a volt or 2 yes, i must still measure the amperage usage and workout the power draw.

john073 said:
Some Pics

Is everything grounded? Looks like the drivers aren't on the frame maybe you just have a short somewhere? I'm not very familiar with those drivers I almost always use constant current drivers and I mount them to the frame to ground

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

Ryante55 said:
Is everything grounded? Looks like the drivers aren't on the frame maybe you just have a short somewhere? I'm not very familiar with those drivers I almost always use constant current drivers and I mount them to the frame to ground

The drives are not on the frame they are lying on a piece of wood away from the frame, not grounded no, would that be a problem?

HalfBee · Nov 26, 2018

The problem is the driver... the LRS-36 puts out 9A this doesn't matter if there is 1 or 5 cobs.
I ALWAYS use LDD- buck drivers to limit the current to the cobs. This lets me wire up individual
spots and not deal with parallel circuits.
(but the 3v LDD needs means having to go up to the LRS 48

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

HalfBee said:
The problem is the driver... the LRS-36 puts out 9A this doesn't matter if there is 1 or 5 cobs.
I ALWAYS use LDD- buck drivers to limit the current to the cobs. This lets me wire up individual
spots and not deal with parallel circuits.

But wouldnt the cobs only pull the power that it needs from the power supply, like if it needs 2A on 37v wouldnt it only draw that 2A?

Thanks

Ryante55 · Nov 26, 2018

john073 said:
The drives are not on the frame they are lying on a piece of wood away from the frame, not grounded no, would that be a problem?

It's better/safer to have it grounded. Also that driver will output 39.6v if you have it turned up all the way you could be using all the amps. Do not touch the fixture while it's on especially because it isn't grounded you are 1 loose wire away from getting a good shock

HalfBee · Nov 26, 2018

john073 said:
like if it needs 2A on 37v wouldnt it only draw that 2A?

Nope, not on the LRS those pump out the full current ALL THE TIME if you want to limit you need something like the LDD buck converters.
Talk to the folks over at RapidLED about that type of driver and they'll tell you why what you are doing is so dangerous.
Ran Vero 18 and 13 with LRS for years with LDD drivers...

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

HalfBee said:
Nope, not on the LRS those pump out the full current ALL THE TIME if you want to limit you need something like the LDD buck converters.
Talk to the folks over at RapidLED about that type of driver and they'll tell you why what you are doing is so dangerous.
Ran Vero 18 and 13 with LRS for years with LDD drivers...

Thanks, ok so basicly the 4 leds will get 2.3A each now? now matter the volts i put them on, so if i push the power supply up to 37v they should still get the same amps? But i know they can handle that amps so should it be a problem?

The buck drive you are talking about can you send me a link or something so i can have a look?

Thanks

HalfBee · Nov 26, 2018

https://www.rapidled.com/mean-well-ldd-1500h-dimmable-driver/
That's the other thing with LDD they have 1.5A limit. But look at the other drivers the do have.
They got the data sheets there to download

HalfBee · Nov 26, 2018

This is an old post of Vero 18 and LRS issues...
http://www.rollitup.org/t/5h-club-leading-them-2-x-2-into-the-light.927712/#post-13170492

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

HalfBee said:
https://www.rapidled.com/mean-well-ldd-1500h-dimmable-driver/
That's the other thing with LDD they have 1.5A limit. But look at the other drivers the do have.
They got the data sheets there to download

The problem is those ldds wont work for my setup if i want to run them at 2.1A so i would have to get totally different drives to do that, 2x480H drives possibly damn those are expensive, the vero 29 can take up to 4A each almost according to there sheet so should it be a problem? if i have 4 of them using 9A they will most like split those 9 amps if i have it right?

john073 · Nov 26, 2018

I just tested how much amps the 4 leds are drawing on 35.5v and they are only drawing 2.5amps that they need to draw on that voltage about 700ma each, when i bumped the voltage up to 37v they draw 5.8A which sounds right aswell on 37.6v they should draw around 8A from the driver, so i am not sure if i am missing something, but it does not look like they are getting the full 9A they are only using what is needed?

Thanks

john073 · Nov 27, 2018

So i found the problem it was the thermal tape between the heatsink and the cob that was burning, does not look like thermal tape can handle that kind of conduction to the heatsink, i removed them all and will apply thermal grease today

spoonayyy · Nov 27, 2018

john073 said:
But wouldnt the cobs only pull the power that it needs from the power supply, like if it needs 2A on 37v wouldnt it only draw that 2A?

Thanks

Correct

Bridgelux Vero 29 Se, Possible Heat Issues, Not sure what it can be

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