Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
I didn’t know if maybe connecting them like this 6 setup would be any better. 
DiY LEDs - How to Power Them
- Thread starter SupraSPL
- Start date
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
Hard on these phones. You’d think a bigger screen would make it a little easier lol
Southernontariogrower
Well-Known Member
My bad l read 4 when there were 6 and yes if you run all boards together inline it should solve this, pos to neg and so on. Can't some electrician tell him the name of this? You can wire all separate like you did or have them run on a loop which is better imo. This should solve wattage issue. Wiring in series l think.
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
As I said in my reply to you, "Strips wired pos to neg would be in series."
Connecting in series won't work with his driver.
Southernontariogrower
Well-Known Member
Sorry missed that!
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
This is pretty much how I have my light setup, just one bar in the middle connecting them all. The lights are setup like this, six lined up like this exactly. This I believe is how you’re telling me to wire them. Mine are not wired like this and the picture is hard to make out so I drew the lines to show how they ran thr wires.
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Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
I have another light setup just like this but with 5. When I ran them pos to neg they wouldn’t light up. Would running them like this work?
I just can’t figure out why I can’t get 240 watts from it.
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
I’m using a meter I bought from Amazon. Tells me watts amps and a couple others.
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
Whatever it is, I'm not familiar with that one so I don't know about it's accuracy. FWIW, screw in LED bulbs measure exactly as they should with my Kill A Watt brand meter. If you are running a dimmer, thats the most likely issue. Poor connections, undersized or long runs of wire are another possibility. With 24v strips on a 24v driver there's nothing to spare and even a small voltage drop in the wiring could reduce power.
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Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
From the leds to the driver my cord is like 12 feet long so I can put the driver anywhere. I was wondering if that could cause it.
12 foot cord??? You previously said "Six individual positives and 6 individual negatives connected into the driver leads."
This would be a good time for pictures.
And wire gauges and lengths.
I don't have a datasheet for those strips or know the exact voltage at 40 watts. With my strips half a volt less reduces power around 40%.
It's quite possible your driver doesn't have enough voltage for those strips. I'll check on a couple things tomorrow.
Is a dimmer connected?
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
The wire into the strips are 14 gauge not solid cut in half and put in. The cable o cut is 14 gauge too.12 foot cord??? You previously said "Six individual positives and 6 individual negatives connected into the driver leads."
This would be a good time for pictures.
And wire gauges and lengths.
I don't have a datasheet for those strips or know the exact voltage at 40 watts. With my strips half a volt less reduces power around 40%.
It's quite possible your driver doesn't have enough voltage for those strips. I'll check on a couple things tomorrow.
Is a dimmer connected?
That would be great if you could find out if it’s not enough, thank you.
plantinggreen
Active Member
May be easier to see this diagram if the red and green did not cross. The paths I showed are more or less accurate. This is similar to the diagram if the wire thickness is enough. With sufficient copper/aluminum gauge the difference is minimal. I am talking about matching all of the + together from LEDs to driver and same with green matched all and bundled together. The lengths of the wires influences resistance but again not enough usually unless the wire is excessively thin or long.
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mahiluana
Well-Known Member
Your driver works with a 3 in 1 dimming function ( 1~10VDC, 10V PWM signal and resistance )
https://www.meanwell.com/Upload/PDF/HLG-240H/HLG-240H-SPEC.PDF
I assume that you will find a black rubber nipple on the back of the driver. Remove it - now you can use a slim +screwdriver to adjust the dimmer.
Maybe I can give you a few more tips on the energy efficiency of DIY LED circuit boards.
You're still running your boards at ~90% of the recommended max power (40W instead of 45W). So your boards get hot, you have to use heat sinks and keep a distance between the tip of the plant and the board.
On my photo you can see 2 x 200W + 2 x COB 50W = (500Wp) circuit boards, which I power with only 30W (~6% of the max. permissible current).
This has the following advantages:
- I don't need heatsinks, thermal paste or fans, because the boards only get ~30°C warm.
- with every halving of the current I get ~ 10% more light per power used.
For example, my LEDs in the photo (Samsung 5730 with 110Lm/W @100%) will produce at:
50% = 121Lm/W
25% = 133.1Lm/W
12.5% = 146.4Lm/W
6.25% = 161Lm/W
- You now get the greatest increase in efficiency by reducing the distance LED --> plant top.
Physics says: !!! Half the distance to the light source means four times the amount of light !!!
While you may need to keep a distance of at least ~15-30cm, my cheeky shoots often grow into direct contact
with the LED board - without burning or being damaged at may be only 1/10(?) of distance.
When you find your dimmer, you can try this often unknown efficiency principle
in the grow room for yourself. Perfect for lower plants (50-70cm) and SOG.
- Ordered directly from Asia the 2x200W boards + 2x 50W COB + driver cost me (2 years ago) = ~$30-35 and illuminates ~1sqft.
- Lifetime for LED lamps ??? Heat excess is enemy no. 1 for power & lifetime of semiconductors like LED & PV.
I suggest you call or email growdaddyleds and ask the exact voltage of those strips and if a 24v Meanwell with "B" dimming will work. I called, no answer. The 14 gauge wire on the individual strips is more than enough. I would try bypassing the yellow cord, it will eliminate .6 volts of wire loss.
Incredible4Mr2E
Well-Known Member
Thank you for all the great information.