Mounting Driver outside of room for LEDs?

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dipaqua

Member
Hey guys, so decided to try the Kingbrite equivalent of the HLG 320W XL QB V2 R SPEC LED KIT. Figured I would give it a shot and have something to report back to the group on.

Only question I have left is the option of installing the driver in a different location. On all these kits it looks like the driver is mounted on the back of the LED heatsink.

From what I have cobbled together I know one reason is to avoid any voltage drop by keeping that wire short. I need about 10' of wire to make this work and allow for vertical movement of the light. I have stranded (for more flexibility) 10AWG wire for this. It may be overkill but also read that larger gauge provides less resistance. Any thoughts or concerns on this part?

The other question is grounding. Some folks mention on the interwebs that those are mounted to the heatsink to provide grounding for the driver. I was planning on mounting them on either a wall, or a shelf. Neither of which is metal or grounded. My questions here are is mounting the driver to the heatsink for grounding purposes? If not, think we are fine...but if so, should I somehow ground the drivers at their mounting location somehow?

Thanks guys, didnt find a post specific to this issue so hopefully this will help others down the road as well!
 
dandyrandy

dandyrandy

Well-Known Member
I mounted my 4 drivers outside the grow area. Less heat. Grounding the heatsink is fine even remote mounted.
 
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dipaqua

Member
dandyrandy said:
I mounted my 4 drivers outside the grow area. Less heat. Grounding the heatsink is fine even remote mounted.
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Thanks Randy, though confused about this "Grounding the heatsink is fine even remote mounted.", does that mean you did do something special to ground them or that they are fine just being mounted and dont need a ground? How long is the wire you used from driver to LED board and what AWG did you use? Any pics would also be awesome, thx!
 
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dipaqua

Member
oldbeancounter said:
@dipaqua
Don't quote me on this as another member provided this diagram for me.
I have not reached that part yet myself in my builds but will next few days or so hopefully.
@Randomblame
@ChiefRunningPhist
maybe you guys can confirm this diagram for me and this member too?
Oh and those wire terminal blocks worked thanks again!
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Thanks and appreciate the diagram. So this helps with part of the ground question. Guess still confused why that ground wire from the heatsink needs to be included. Is that heatsink not grounded (and does it need to be) without this extra ground wire to the plug (or the driver being mounted directly on it)? Will probably do that as an extra precaution, but still trying to understand reasoning as well.
 
oldbeancounter

oldbeancounter

Well-Known Member
dipaqua said:
Thanks and appreciate the diagram. So this helps with part of the ground question. Guess still confused why that ground wire from the heatsink needs to be included. Is that heatsink not grounded (and does it need to be) without this extra ground wire to the plug (or the driver being mounted directly on it)? Will probably do that as an extra precaution, but still trying to understand reasoning as well.
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hang on I am sure someone will pop in and help at some point I won't say either way unless I know 100%
 
R

Rob Machado

Active Member
maxlev said:
Mars tents have hooks to hang a tool bag on.
I use the hooks for what they were REALLY designed for

View attachment 4356206
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Nice! So looks like you ran extra wire from the driver to lights? About how long and what AWG if you could share? Also doesnt look like you ran an extra ground from where the plug wire and driver wire connect to the heatsink of the light in the tent? Thanks man, and also curious what the meter provides ya and if its helpful?
 
maxlev

maxlev

Well-Known Member
Rob Machado said:
Nice! So looks like you ran extra wire from the driver to lights? About how long and what AWG if you could share? Also doesnt look like you ran an extra ground from where the plug wire and driver wire connect to the heatsink of the light in the tent? Thanks man, and also curious what the meter provides ya and if its helpful?
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Driver to lights is a section of mains extension cord. Tinned at each end – meter to wago on light frame, small section of solid core 18g from wago to QB board. Light frame is not earthed, no need for it.
All I use on the meter is DC output watts, I perv at it when I turn the Io ADJ screw when dimming etc.
 
D

dipaqua

Member
maxlev said:
Driver to lights is a section of mains extension cord. Tinned at each end – meter to wago on light frame, small section of solid core 18g from wago to QB board. Light frame is not earthed, no need for it.
All I use on the meter is DC output watts, I perv at it when I turn the Io ADJ screw when dimming etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks for reply, just to make sure I am following:
So can you confirm the series is (from input to output) Wall plug -to- waterproof connector -to- Driver -to- Meter -to- LED Wago ?

When you say "Driver to lights is a section of mains extension cord" not sure what a "mains extension chord" is...did you just buy and extension chord and lop off ends and use it? If so, any idea on AWG and length you used? If not, love some clarity on what you meant.

Is "tinned" basically dipped in solder to keep them together?

Thanks for confirming the Lightframe/Heatsink did not need to be grounded/earthed...that was my suspicion though doubt it could hurt anything.

And last, is this an equivalent of what you used? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013PKYAV6/ref=psdc_14244481_t3_B014W3D1OC I am a very handy guy, but definitely do not have anything but a light grasp on all the ins and outs of electricity. Want to make sure that meter would be able to handle the lights I have without getting burned out or cause other issues.

Again MUCH appreciated!
 
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maxlev

maxlev

Well-Known Member
dipaqua said:
Thanks for reply, just to make sure I am following:
So can you confirm the series is (from input to output) Wall plug -to- waterproof connector -to- Driver -to- Meter -to- LED Wago ?

When you say "Driver to lights is a section of mains extension cord" not sure what a "mains extension chord" is...did you just buy and extension chord and lop off ends and use it? If so, any idea on AWG and length you used? If not, love some clarity on what you meant.

Is "tinned" basically dipped in solder to keep them together?

Thanks for confirming the Lightframe/Heatsink did not need to be grounded/earthed...that was my suspicion though doubt it could hurt anything.

And last, is this an equivalent of what you used? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013PKYAV6/ref=psdc_14244481_t3_B014W3D1OC I am a very handy guy, but definitely do not have anything but a light grasp on all the ins and outs of electricity. Want to make sure that meter would be able to handle the lights I have without getting burned out or cause other issues.

Again MUCH appreciated!
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Mains extension cord is an extension cord with 3 wires & plug at each end.

HLG QB kits come with USA plug that are tits on a bull in NZ, I use extension cord cut to suit chopping female end off. I don`t know what AWG ext cord is, it functions perfect.

Yes, melting solder into the strands stops fraying.

Meter in amazon link is the same.
 
maxlev

maxlev

Well-Known Member
Note: meter in amazon link is listed at DC 6.5-100v

My 2 board QB light causes meter to regard volts as an error as it is more than 99.99v.

Don`t worry about it. The meter handles it no worries. I suspect they list it as maximum 100v because the LCD reads up to only 99.99v
 
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dipaqua

Member
maxlev said:
Note: meter in amazon link is listed at DC 6.5-100v

My 2 board QB light causes meter to regard volts as an error as it is more than 99.99v.

Don`t worry about it. The meter handles it no worries. I suspect they list it as maximum 100v because the LCD reads up to only 99.99v
Click to expand...
Gotcha, appreciate you pointing that out! Yea just interested in seeing the power and energy components, especially when dimming them.
 
wietefras

wietefras

Well-Known Member
Why bother mounting the drivers outside the tent though? Usually with leds the issue is that temperature in the tent is too low. That tiny bit of extra heat is even welcomed.

I find it much easier to install a fixture when I only need to plug in the power cord into the fixture. On my first led fixture I placed the drivers outside the tent, but it's more messy with the wires. Taking it out of the tent is annoying too, but I guess you could think of some DC connectors to unhook the thing..
 
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sethimus

Well-Known Member
wietefras said:
Why bother mounting the drivers outside the tent though? Usually with leds the issue is that temperature in the tent is too low. That tiny bit of extra heat is even welcomed.

I find it much easier to install a fixture when I only need to plug in the power cord into the fixture. On my first led fixture I placed the drivers outside the tent, but it's more messy with the wires. Taking it out of the tent is annoying too, but I guess you could think of some DC connectors to unhook the thing..
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because of days like tomorrow?
 
wietefras

wietefras

Well-Known Member
sethimus said:
because of days like tomorrow?
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No why would that matter?

Sure if you constantly live in above 28C (82F) the saving a few BTU of extra heat might make some sense, but even then it's negligible. These drivers are 94% efficient. Do you really think adding 6% more heat is going to damage the plants?

Besides, it's convection heat.Which rises up and away from the plants towards the exhaust fan. So it wouldn't even reach them.
 
nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
What tent temps are you guys trying to maintain? Unless you're over 85*f, you need that heat for better transpiration. I try to let my temps bounce between 78*f and 86*(with or without CO2).
 
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