DIY UVA/B

This thing uses Amazon Alexa but there are manual ones, I would imagine something like this would allow you to dim your UV lighting.

PSUAGRO. said:

Never heard of a cheap hoop house? ...... And bifenthrin is your friend


Seriously though get some gla boards if this is your thing

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Doug Dawson said:

This thing uses Amazon Alexa but there are manual ones, I would imagine something like this would allow you to dim your UV lighting.

Smart Dimmer Plug Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug Works with Alexa and Google Home, Light Dimmer APP Remote Control, Max Power 400W, IP44 Waterproof for Dimmable Outdoor Lights, Floor Lamp, Table Lamp - - Amazon.com

Smart Dimmer Plug Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug Works with Alexa and Google Home, Light Dimmer APP Remote Control, Max Power 400W, IP44 Waterproof for Dimmable Outdoor Lights, Floor Lamp, Table Lamp - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

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damn. Any Canadian ones lol

bk78 said:

damn. Any Canadian ones lol

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And it's waterproof so bonus.

Doug Dawson said:

This thing uses Amazon Alexa but there are manual ones, I would imagine something like this would allow you to dim your UV lighting.

Smart Dimmer Plug Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug Works with Alexa and Google Home, Light Dimmer APP Remote Control, Max Power 400W, IP44 Waterproof for Dimmable Outdoor Lights, Floor Lamp, Table Lamp - - Amazon.com

Smart Dimmer Plug Treatlife Outdoor Smart Plug Works with Alexa and Google Home, Light Dimmer APP Remote Control, Max Power 400W, IP44 Waterproof for Dimmable Outdoor Lights, Floor Lamp, Table Lamp - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

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Is that for dimming on the AC side of the driver? Not sure it would work, normally the DC side is used for dimming, for example meanwell hlg 3 in 1 dimming.

Rocket Soul said:

Is that for dimming on the AC side of the driver? Not sure it would work, normally the DC side is used for dimming, for example meanwell hlg 3 in 1 dimming.

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I realize that's how they do it but that doesn't mean this thing won't work. I would personally give it a try, if it didn't work I am sure I could find some other use for it.

Doug Dawson said:

I realize that's how they do it but that doesn't mean this thing won't work. I would personally give it a try, if it didn't work I am sure I could find some other use for it.

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Buy it and let me know please

bk78 said:

Buy it and let me know please

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No problem but you will need to ship me your lights for a true test

Doug Dawson said:

No problem but you will need to ship me your lights for a true test

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If it works for your uva bars, it’ll work for mine

I can always use this for my outdoor Christmas display so what the hell, I will let you know.

Naturally the uv is strongest an hour or so either side of midday, the equator gets more obviously and that is how this idea came about, same strain grown on the equator produces more resin for sunscreen it's believed ! 2 hours depending on strength middle of lights on ! However I've not used it yet but have read a few studies on the subject. I have uv ready to go this grow but not till mid flowerwhen resin production is heavy in production anyway.

bk78 said:

If it works for your uva bars, it’ll work for mine

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Ok so bad news, that won't work with the ballasts. It appears when you under drive the ballasts the lights flicker on and of. Works fine for standard lights and such but not when attached to the drivers. Looks like you will have to splice a potentiometer between the output voltage and led's.

Doug Dawson said:

Ok so bad news, that won't work with the ballasts. It appears when you under drive the ballasts the lights flicker on and of. Works fine for standard lights and such but not when attached to the drivers. Looks like you will have to splice a potentiometer between the output voltage and led's.

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please dont do this... your first advice about using a ac dimmer on the ac input to dim a dc driver was bad enough, and now you suggest splicing a pot on the dc output from the driver???. NO...

not having a dig man but maybe electrical advice isnt your forte.

Well I think fuck this company. Order still hasn’t shipped and I filed a dispute just now for a refund.

I’ll keep things updated

grotbags said:

please dont do this... your first advice about using a ac dimmer on the ac input to dim a dc driver was bad enough, and now you suggest splicing a pot on the dc output from the driver???. NO...

not having a dig man but maybe electrical advice isnt your forte.

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So you suggest what to dim lights? He canceled the order but I am curious.

Doug Dawson said:

So you suggest what to dim lights? He canceled the order but I am curious.

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buying lights with drivers that have built in dimming functionality...

but seriously i cant suggest anything that would work for this application, im not saying there isnt something outthere that would work just ive not seen it nor searched for it.

Doug Dawson said:

So you suggest what to dim lights? He canceled the order but I am curious.

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You run the strips off drivers with dimming ability. These drivers are equipped to vary their current based on the dimming input.

grotbags said:

buying lights with drivers that have built in dimming functionality...

but seriously i cant suggest anything that would work for this application, im not saying there isnt something outthere that would work just ive not seen it nor searched for it.

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The fact is that BK has some experience so I know he would do his due diligence before hacking onto any wiring. The ability to add a dimmer would depend on if the particular LED'S in the fixture were dimmable as some LED'S are not. A potentiometer between output and leds that are dimmable should work. The LEDs only know what voltage is being supplied, they dont know what is regulating the voltage. Why does it matter to the LEDs weather the voltage is being lowered by the driver or a potentiometer after the driver?

Doug Dawson said:

The fact is that BK has some experience so I know he would do his due diligence before hacking onto any wiring. The ability to add a dimmer would depend on if the particular LED'S in the fixture were dimmable as some LED'S are not. A potentiometer between output and leds that are dimmable should work. The LEDs only know what voltage is being supplied, they dont know what is regulating the voltage. Why does it matter to the LEDs weather the voltage is being lowered by the driver or a potentiometer after the driver?

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Typically it's the amperage that's raised or lowered. The LED draws the voltage it needs depending on the amperage applied. If you check the data sheets for LEDs they usually have a graph for this.

Doug Dawson said:

The fact is that BK has some experience so I know he would do his due diligence before hacking onto any wiring. The ability to add a dimmer would depend on if the particular LED'S in the fixture were dimmable as some LED'S are not. A potentiometer between output and leds that are dimmable should work. The LEDs only know what voltage is being supplied, they dont know what is regulating the voltage. Why does it matter to the LEDs weather the voltage is being lowered by the driver or a potentiometer after the driver?

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Check out the meanwell dimming thread somewhere, any dimming must be done by the driver, no pots before or after the driver.

If you lower power before the driver it won't start up properly. If you try to include some current reducing pot in the DC circuit and dim where would the current go? Stay in the pot? It gotta go somewhere...

Meanwell B type drivers lets you add a pot to the driver which controls the output current. You can do resistive (most common, 100k ohm pot divided with the amount of drivers you want to control: 50k ohm for 2 drivers etc)
Or PWM: attach it to as many drivers you want.
And can't remember the third

MidnightSun72 said:

Typically it's the amperage that's raised or lowered. The LED draws the voltage it needs depending on the amperage applied. If you check the data sheets for LEDs they usually have a graph for this.

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Give this a read bud. https://sciencing.com/how-8715127-adjust-electrical-amperage.html