DYI build, 4 to 4.5' bar style need help

FrostyTops

FrostyTops

Active Member
I am wanting to dyi my own 1 single bar that is 4' to 4.5' long. I do not want more than 4" wide. I would be happy with 150w-200w draw. Prefer b301 diodes.
This is my 1st build so I am not sure where I can purchase all the parts needed to do this from scratch. I know I will need a heatdink and driver, but not sure what other parts I would need. This is single bar that will hang independently. Can anybody point me to a site that would have all components needed to complete the build. And maybe a link to on how to put one of these together. Thank you in advance to any help provided.
 
SBBCal

SBBCal

Well-Known Member
You can check this out GL :joint:
ledgardener.com

DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2 - LED Gardener

DIY LED strip builds have become very popular recently. The mid-power section of our forum is full of threads created by DIYers looking to build their own custom lights, and new builds and ideas are surfacing every day. If you don’t live somewhere where you have easy access to premade lights...
ledgardener.com
* it’s a couple years old so there’s some newer strips as well
 
FrostyTops

FrostyTops

Active Member
SBBCal said:
You can check this out GL :joint:
ledgardener.com

DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2 - LED Gardener

DIY LED strip builds have become very popular recently. The mid-power section of our forum is full of threads created by DIYers looking to build their own custom lights, and new builds and ideas are surfacing every day. If you don’t live somewhere where you have easy access to premade lights...
ledgardener.com
* it’s a couple years old so there’s some newer strips as well
Click to expand...
SBBCal said:
You can check this out GL :joint:
ledgardener.com

DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2 - LED Gardener

DIY LED strip builds have become very popular recently. The mid-power section of our forum is full of threads created by DIYers looking to build their own custom lights, and new builds and ideas are surfacing every day. If you don’t live somewhere where you have easy access to premade lights...
ledgardener.com
* it’s a couple years old so there’s some newer strips as well
Click to expand...
Hey thanks @SBBCal
I'll start looking though that site now
 
NukaKola

NukaKola

Well-Known Member
I would go with Samsung F-series double row strips. To get around 150-200w while keeping it under 4” you could use 2 of the LT-FB24B strips. They are rated at a max of 3.6A @ 48v, so theoretically you could use a single strip ran at max for ~170w. This strip would require heat sinking since it would be ran at max.

Personally I would run 2 of the strips at half of their max rating (1.8A @ 48v). That way you would double your diode count, which would allow you to run the diodes softer increasing their efficiency and wouldn’t require the use of heatsinks.

The F strips do use LM561C diodes which are slightly less efficient than the LM301B diodes used in the Q strips. However the difference in efficiency running F strips at half their max current compared to Q strips ran at max is minimal.

The Q strips are single rows and only have a max of 1A @ 48v. So you would need 4 Q strips ran at max, and would have to heat sink them. 2 of the F strips would come in at around $82 and 4 Q strips would be about $80 but would also require heatsinks.

F strips - Link
Driver - Link
Wago connectors -Link
Hookup wire - Link
Power cord - Link
Waterproof connector - Link

All that’s left would be some aluminum angle and hardware to assemble a frame which can be sourced at any local hardware store and some type of hangers. I personally use eye hooks and rope ratchets.
 
FrostyTops

FrostyTops

Active Member
Ok I'm really liking this idea. I guess where I'm not understanding in how do you run at half max current. Can this be accomplished with the driver?
So for example, get a driver that can power them at max, and crank it down. What driver would you suggest for this build, the link above is broken.
Thank you for your comment, I've been looking into everything you said, pricing and working on coming up with a figure. You have been very helpful and informative.
 
GBAUTO

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
NukaKola said:
I would go with Samsung F-series double row strips. To get around 150-200w while keeping it under 4” you could use 2 of the LT-FB24B strips. They are rated at a max of 3.6A @ 48v, so theoretically you could use a single strip ran at max for ~170w. This strip would require heat sinking since it would be ran at max.

Personally I would run 2 of the strips at half of their max rating (1.8A @ 48v). That way you would double your diode count, which would allow you to run the diodes softer increasing their efficiency and wouldn’t require the use of heatsinks.

The F strips do use LM561C diodes which are slightly less efficient than the LM301B diodes used in the Q strips. However the difference in efficiency running F strips at half their max current compared to Q strips ran at max is minimal.

The Q strips are single rows and only have a max of 1A @ 48v. So you would need 4 Q strips ran at max, and would have to heat sink them. 2 of the F strips would come in at around $82 and 4 Q strips would be about $80 but would also require heatsinks.

F strips - Link
Driver - Link
Wago connectors -Link
Hookup wire - Link
Power cord - Link
Waterproof connector - Link

All that’s left would be some aluminum angle and hardware to assemble a frame which can be sourced at any local hardware store and some type of hangers. I personally use eye hooks and rope ratchets.
Click to expand...
I have a pair of the double row F-strips as outriggers on each of my 4 emitter Vero arrays.
I have 4 of those strips powered by a 320 watt 48V cv driver, so they run at a lower power level so the efficiency is almost the same as an lm301b.
I just mounted each of the strips to a 2" wide x .125" thick aluminum strip(45").
I have had to run the strips @120w/strip in an emergency, and the backing sinks didn't get over 60degC.
At 80w/strip, they are barely warm.
This is the 4th year with zero issues.
photos.app.goo.gl

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
 
SBBCal

SBBCal

Well-Known Member
FrostyTops said:
Ok I'm really liking this idea. I guess where I'm not understanding in how do you run at half max current. Can this be accomplished with the driver?
So for example, get a driver that can power them at max, and crank it down. What driver would you suggest for this build, the link above is broken.
Thank you for your comment, I've been looking into everything you said, pricing and working on coming up with a figure. You have been very helpful and informative.
Click to expand...
Mean well and delta have versions. A , AA , both have portholes for small screwdriver that you can adjust the voltage and current.
-ab version has a wire to dim but a potentiometer is needed.
 

Attachments

FrostyTops

FrostyTops

Active Member
GBAUTO said:
I have a pair of the double row F-strips as outriggers on each of my 4 emitter Vero arrays.
I have 4 of those strips powered by a 320 watt 48V cv driver, so they run at a lower power level so the efficiency is almost the same as an lm301b.
I just mounted each of the strips to a 2" wide x .125" thick aluminum strip(45").
I have had to run the strips @120w/strip in an emergency, and the backing sinks didn't get over 60degC.
At 80w/strip, they are barely warm.
This is the 4th year with zero issues.
photos.app.goo.gl

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I'm looking at. So your running 2 4ft steps per bar correct. So 4 total running both bars. You put the strips on 2in aluminum plates, what are you mounting the 2in strips on, and what sort of heat sink do you have on top of that. Just trying to understand. I'm new to this build thing, but you all are so much help on this forum, I think I'm starting to get the jist of it. Building 2 bars over 1 is actually what I was originally planning, but if I can drive the 2 with 1 driver, I may as well just build them both at the same time. So basically just like your 2 outriggers
 
GBAUTO

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
No, each double row is about 40mm wide, the aluminum strip is about 50mm wide.
The strips are mounted with simple 3/4"x.125" aluminum strips with rivets.
I just added some simple bends to angle the outriggers towards the center of the canopy.
Each array is flanked by a pair of double rows, so 2 on each array.
Then the two pairs are powered by the 320-watt driver.
 
NukaKola

NukaKola

Well-Known Member
FrostyTops said:
Ok I'm really liking this idea. I guess where I'm not understanding in how do you run at half max current. Can this be accomplished with the driver?
So for example, get a driver that can power them at max, and crank it down. What driver would you suggest for this build, the link above is broken.
Thank you for your comment, I've been looking into everything you said, pricing and working on coming up with a figure. You have been very helpful and informative.
Click to expand...
If you get a Meanwell HLG-185H-48A driver it puts out 185w @ 48v, or ~3.85A. Wiring the driver to two strips in parallel would effectively reduce the amount of current going to each strip in half. The LT-FB24B strips have a max rating of 3.6A, so if you ran a single strip on the driver listed above you would have to slightly dim the IO pot which controls the current. If you ran the driver at 100% wired to two strips, each strip would receive ~1.9A.
 
FrostyTops

FrostyTops

Active Member
NukaKola said:
If you get a Meanwell HLG-185H-48A driver it puts out 185w @ 48v, or ~3.85A. Wiring the driver to two strips in parallel would effectively reduce the amount of current going to each strip in half. The LT-FB24B strips have a max rating of 3.6A, so if you ran a single strip on the driver listed above you would have to slightly dim the IO pot which controls the current. If you ran the driver at 100% wired to two strips, each strip would receive ~1.9A.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much man. I think I am truly starting to understand now. So I run 2 FB24B strips to the HLG-185-48A driver. I would basically be pulling 92.5w from each strip for a total of 185 watts on the bar fixture. So from what I can gather is that each strip can around 170w at 100%, for a total between the 2 of 340. Running 1.9A would put me at 54% pull from each strip. Running the numbers I come up with around 250$ with the heat sinks, 200$ without. So now I am debating on heat sink or no heat sink.
Thanks for taking the time to run through this with me, I really learned alot and I think I'm going to go ahead and start getting everything ordered up.
 
Last edited:
NukaKola

NukaKola

Well-Known Member
FrostyTops said:
Thank you so much man. I think I am truly starting to understand now. So I run 2 FB24B strips to the HLG-185-48A driver. I would basically be pulling 92.5w from each strip for a total of 185 watts on the bar fixture. So from what I can gather is that each strip can around 170w at 100%, for a total between the 2 of 340. Running 1.9A would put me at 54% pull from each strip. Running the numbers I come up with around 250$ with the heat sinks, 200$ without. So now I am debating on heat sink or no heat sink.
Thanks for taking the time to run through this with me, I really learned alot and I think I'm going to go ahead and start getting everything ordered up.
Click to expand...
Yep you got it! If you run 2 strips on the 185w driver you don’t need heat sinking since the strips will be running ~54% like you mentioned and won’t produce enough heat to require them. Personally I usually buy more strips to run them at a lower current so I don’t need to use heatsinks. This also increases your diode count, increases efficiency and allows you to place the lights closer to the canopy.

If you do decide to run the strips closer to their max rating then obviously you would need heatsinks, and also a larger driver (240w, 320w, etc).
 
SBBCal

SBBCal

Well-Known Member
Has anyone used these for a prebuilt frame?
www.webstaurantstore.com

Channel BA2036 20" x 36" Adjustable Aluminum T-Bar Shelf

The Channel BA2036 20" x 36" aluminum T-bar shelf is perfect for use in refrigerators, walk-in freezers, and dry storage areas. Made of heavy-duty, high tensile extruded aluminum, this shelf provides durability as well as being non-corrosive. This shelf is fully adjustable and can be placed at...
www.webstaurantstore.com www.webstaurantstore.com
 
D

Detroitwill

Well-Known Member
SBBCal said:
Has anyone used these for a prebuilt frame?
www.webstaurantstore.com

Channel BA2036 20" x 36" Adjustable Aluminum T-Bar Shelf

The Channel BA2036 20" x 36" aluminum T-bar shelf is perfect for use in refrigerators, walk-in freezers, and dry storage areas. Made of heavy-duty, high tensile extruded aluminum, this shelf provides durability as well as being non-corrosive. This shelf is fully adjustable and can be placed at...
www.webstaurantstore.com www.webstaurantstore.com
Click to expand...
I bet it would be nice. Maybe a little heavy after it’s constructed (driver n all)
 
SBBCal

SBBCal

Well-Known Member
Detroitwill said:
I bet it would be nice. Maybe a little heavy after it’s constructed (driver n all)
Click to expand...
I was just thinking it will save the headaches of screwing individuals, cuts ect. The pole holes look perfect for hanging. Might have to give it a shot at $60 . I’m sure they can be found cheaper. :joint:
 
D

Detroitwill

Well-Known Member
I would. I already copied the link so I can find it when I’m ready to do a diy. I know my rope ratchets hold up the 400w mh I have n their a single unit type light. Built in ballasts. So I’m sure they could hold that easily. I definitely wanna see how yours comes out.
 
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