Cheap CXA3050 Build

my apologizes , I have never seen a 4 channel driver like that. I assumed it was a single channel like Meanwell, and the ocean blues were taking up the excess Fv. please disregard.

jayay said:

I think I can use the Ideal holder with the shims. They're thin, and the Ideal holder should overhang it, and line up with a t-slot channel. It'll be floating between the cob and the t-slot, so I might use adhesive on one of the sides of the copper.

I'm not that confident the heatsink will deal well with the load so I'm cutting down to one driver. ~150 watts of light is plenty for now.
I could either get 2nd Makers heatsink, and link them, or save the cobs for another project.

So I'll use 1x driver, 4x CXA3050, 8x Ocean Coral White. It'll be an interesting spectrum for sure.

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Don't forget the ideal chip lok have 4 tabs that stick down that are meant to press up against heatsink. Two metal and then two plastic of I remember correctly. There is a discussion around here somewhere about that exact topic cause someone cut them off for there particular installation.

Growmau5 said:

my apologizes , I have never seen a 4 channel driver like that. I assumed it was a single channel like Meanwell, and the ocean blues were taking up the excess Fv. please disregard.

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All good, I appreciate your input. I have 8 conductor "alarm" wire, which is solid, so it's an attractive option. I also have stranded though.

jayay said:

All good, I appreciate your input. I have 8 conductor "alarm" wire, which is solid, so it's an attractive option. I also have stranded though.

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Make sure to Tim the ends of the stranded wire before inserting into holder otherwise they could possibly come loose as some have experienced that here already with stranded. But if tinned shouldn't be a problem.

CanadianONE said:

Make sure to Tim the ends of the stranded wire before inserting into holder otherwise they could possibly come loose as some have experienced that here already with stranded. But if tinned shouldn't be a problem.

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Does tinning the wire provide a more electrically sound connection, or is it just to keep things in place? I was planning on just putting a dab of thermally resistant glue on outside.

jayay said:

Does tinning the wire provide a more electrically sound connection, or is it just to keep things in place? I was planning on just putting a dab of thermally resistant glue on outside.

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I would think just helps keep it in place and make insertion a little easier. Don't think it would improve connection much if any but could be wrong.

Where did you get the driver? Google only pulled up data sheets. Thanks

I got them from here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131592491554

The seller relists everytime they sell, so he might have a lot of them.

Thanks.

I don't understand the four channel and power distribution on them. I'll see what I can learn. Looks like it's just 700mA per line. Can they be combined to run 1 or 2 chips? I'm running my current ones at 50w each and would like to run the full 100w. Though at $13 per chip may be cheaper to run 2 at 50 or 4 at 25 than buying the bigger drivers.

I wish the chips were still at $8. Though probably still good at $13.

What size footprint is your light to cover?

Voidling said:

Thanks.

I don't understand the four channel and power distribution on them. I'll see what I can learn. Looks like it's just 700mA per line. Can they be combined to run 1 or 2 chips? I'm running my current ones at 50w each and would like to run the full 100w. Though at $13 per chip may be cheaper to run 2 at 50 or 4 at 25 than buying the bigger drivers.

I wish the chips were still at $8. Though probably still good at $13.

What size footprint is your light to cover?

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It's constant current @ 700ma with variable voltage, giving up to 57v to use on each channel. I don't know if it's possible to bridge channels but I feel like it would be simpler to use a driver better suited to your application. You could potentially parallel 2 on a channel but that's going the other direction, and I don't know how variable voltage would work in that case. By the way, it's been noted (maybe supra? sorry) that it may need symmetrical loads to perform properly. I haven't tested them yet. I'm sorry I can't help more.

I'll use it in a 2x4 tent, from seed with 2 plants. I'll probably raise the light up high, and use a screen. I plan on building a different type of system eventually.

Bonjour
To run cobs in parallel the vf must match a maximum. I believe 0.1/0.2 difference, no more!
Have a great day ★

So I used both drivers, but ditched the 3-up chips. They would have fit (barely), but it would have been too much for the heat-sink thermally. The copper shims worked perfectly; luck was on my side as I did not have to flatten the tabs on the Ideal holder. The 18ga 8-conductor "alarm wire" worked great. I placed 2x terminal blocks and 2x 140mm fans on the heat-sink.



Here are the drivers. This will sit outside the tent (and covered).



I was de-leafing this girl so I can chop & hang her, and put her under the light just to see.

Looks great. Love the tidy wiring

Bonjour
Very clean build!
Have a great day ★

I had a few questions if anybody knows.
Should I ground the heat-sink?
Can you connect drivers in parallel before the AC outlet (to cut down on # of cables)?

I done it with the driver and the fan psu...so I am sure you can do it with 2/3 drivers.
Is that what you meant? Wired in parallel the drivers to plug them together to the wall!?
CU

jayay said:

I had a few questions if anybody knows.
Should I ground the heat-sink?
Can you connect drivers in parallel before the AC outlet (to cut down on # of cables)?

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Yes wiring the drivers in parallel is no problem at all. If your driver will be on the heatsink it is a good idea to ground it IMO

Yea, that's what I meant. Thanks guys.