I have built some crazy leds

[BudgetGrower]

I removed 80% of diffuses so the heat can escape, but it's going to be a little warmer than not having the reflector.
but the extra lums is worth it.

been working on a budget led with a high airflow, this reflector is really going to help.

 

[Captspaulding]

I removed 80% of diffuses so the heat can escape, but it's going to be a little warmer than not having the reflector.
but the extra lums is worth it.

been working on a budget led with a high airflow, this reflector is really going to help.

It’s always a trade with things like that, it does seem like the Benefit outweighs the detractors. Increase airflow is the only option then huh?

 

[BudgetGrower]

Looking at the bulb, the outer case upto the start of diffuses is some kind of coated aluminum (heatsink), this is where all the heat is exchanged, I don't think you want airflow over the led chip as this could damage the led.

lots of forced air on the heatsink, should keep the led very cool.

 

[Captspaulding]

Looking at the bulb, the outer case upto the start of diffuses is some kind of coated aluminum (heatsink), this is where all the heat is exchanged, I don't think you want airflow over the led chip as this could damage the led.

lots of forced air on the heatsink, should keep the led very cool.

So, are you wiring in independent fans in proximity to the heat sink then? If so what size fan?

 

[BudgetGrower]

8 bulbs making a 1ft square, the center will be raised about 60mm with a 110 hole in the center(120mm server fan)
this will pull air pass the bulb heatsink/bulb holder and directly down to the canopy.

 

[Captspaulding]

8 bulbs making a 1ft square, the center will be raised about 60mm with a 110 hole in the center(120mm server fan)
this will pull air pass the bulb heatsink/bulb holder and directly down to the canopy.

Oh sweet, it’s kinda what I thought fan size wise. What size is your driver? Watts/voltage wise? Or have you not gotten that far…

 

[cleanreid]

8 bulbs making a 1ft square, the center will be raised about 60mm with a 110 hole in the center(120mm server fan)
this will pull air pass the bulb heatsink/bulb holder and directly down to the canopy.

I know for a fact this will be quality and last longer and cheaper than paying shipping/handling for a big name light and it’s fun as hell to do this kinda stuff

 

[BudgetGrower]

Oh sweet, it’s kinda what I thought fan size wise. What size is your driver? Watts/voltage wise? Or have you not gotten that far…

The bulbs include the drivers, its fully designed and I hope to buy some parts tomorrow, few of my mates are on my back, they want there lights lol

 

[BudgetGrower]

I know for a fact this will be quality and last longer and cheaper than paying shipping/handling for a big name light and it’s fun as hell to do this kinda stuff

Its all good fun and your right

 

[BudgetGrower]

I will be cutting a 8ft x 4ft sheet(12mm) into 30cm and 18cm squares(cost about £40 and they cut it for me), one sheet should have enough for 23 leds, going to see what size of cls timber are available to use as a spacer, 3 x 60mm lengths will do on each led

I have a roll of 2 core, 0.5mm wire and about 70-80 bulb holders left, need some plugs and to buy the bulbs, guess I could drop the price per bulb down to £1.20 if I buy 100, I will give a go and see what happens.

Leds could be a cheap as £25 without the fan, I need a high quality fan(£20 each), can't cut back on that.
good airflow is underrated.

 

[BudgetGrower]

The cutting service was unavailable in my local wood yard, and there was not much choice, but there was some chipboard, 200cm x 40cm and 120cm x 20cm, I could get 5 boards(40cm x 40cm) out of the 200cm and 6 boards (20cm x 20cm) out of 120cm, this could work.

I have brought a 114mm holesaw online and I will buy the bulbs later.

Some my friends have said the foil on the reflector could come away and short out the led and be dangerous
I take the cut down diffuse off the bulb and wrap the foil vertical over the top bottom and double check each one.

Is this really a risk or is the worse case scenario, the bulb will short out, as its only a few watts?
Extra light reaching the canopy is really good, ranging from 30-40%
light beam is 180% from the bulb(website), so it reduces it down, could be between 90%-120% at a guess.

 

[flodiy]

Spot on, they want you to buy light bulbs every 2 years.
TBH most grow light need to last 2-3 years, if they run too efficient, they will last 10 years
View attachment 1996486
Quick example off google
A grow light lasting 160,000 hours would be a big problem if I wanted to sell x amount per year

That is the most important point regarding LEDs - I also built my own lights for under $100!
Got these four large heat sinks from frustrated BTC miners last year that gave up when crypto tanked -$5 per piece. 36 50W COBs, 20 of them 4000k white, 10 warm white and 6 blurple.
Here's the trick- I totally under run them at just 250mA@33Vf , so just over 8Watts per "50W" COB. These will last 'forever'. I left a square hole in the middle for some airflow and to reduce the center brightness. Two 14cm 12V fans run silently at 5V USB power lay on top and in winter I direct the airflow down towards the plants. The COBs were just under a $1/piece on AliExpress. The LED drivers allow me to dim each strip of 5 COBs separately via remote. They cost about $10 each on AliEx. With all on max it pulls about 300Watts from the wall and is about 10.000 Lux brighter (@same distance) than my friends' 250W Amazon light. Under-running LEDs not only makes them live longer but also makes them more efficient (lm/w)

is it pretty? no
is it safe? no, the metal parts are grounded tho
but it is very functional!

 

[BudgetGrower]

That is the most important point regarding LEDs - I also built my own lights for under $100!
Got these four large heat sinks from frustrated BTC miners last year that gave up when crypto tanked -$5 per piece. 36 50W COBs, 20 of them 4000k white, 10 warm white and 6 blurple.
Here's the trick- I totally under run them at just 250mA@33Vf , so just over 8Watts per "50W" COB. These will last 'forever'. I left a square hole in the middle for some airflow and to reduce the center brightness. Two 14cm 12V fans run silently at 5V USB power lay on top and in winter I direct the airflow down towards the plants. The COBs were just under a $1/piece on AliExpress. The LED drivers allow me to dim each strip of 5 COBs separately via remote. They cost about $10 each on AliEx. With all on max it pulls about 300Watts from the wall and is about 10.000 Lux brighter (@same distance) than my friends' 250W Amazon light. Under-running LEDs not only makes them live longer but also makes them more efficient (lm/w)

is it pretty? no
is it safe? no, the metal parts are grounded tho
but it is very functional!

I have looked at these cobs a few times on ebay, migro video put me off, but pulling less watt per cob makes a lot of sense.
looks a lot safer than a hps,

Your lights look very functional, but difficult to adjust the height, system must weigh over 10kg


I don't know a lot about all the led electrical parts, would you use extra bulbs and removing one of the parlell resisters, would it be worth it?
Or is there something else likely to blow (capacitor 400v) or would this make it last longer?

 

[flodiy]

That's exactly what I do for my regular home lighting LEDs - I buy a bit higher wattage (say 9W) LED lamp and then snap of
one of the current-sense resistors so they run at less than half the power. None of these "hacked" lamps have failed yet.

This will also lower the overall temps in the bulb and will certainly help the lifespan of the "death" cap.

The weight is about 5kg, still quite heavy, you are right.
Re: height adjustments I plan to buy one of these bike lifts for that..meanwhile I use stacked boxes to adjust the height by moving plant up or down.

 

[BudgetGrower]

That's exactly what I do for my regular home lighting LEDs - I buy a bit higher wattage (say 9W) LED lamp and then snap of
one of the current-sense resistors so they run at less than half the power. None of these "hacked" lamps have failed yet.

This will also lower the overall temps in the bulb and will certainly help the lifespan of the "death" cap.

The weight is about 5kg, still quite heavy, you are right.
Re: height adjustments I plan to buy one of these bike lifts for that..meanwhile I use stacked boxes to adjust the height by moving plant up or down.

What about 2 washing line Pulley, cheap easy and they should support upto 15kg

 

[BudgetGrower]

If I remove a resister, I will need to use over double the bulbs(cost extra £72) and extra bulb holders(£30),

The bulbs are going to have forced airflow over the bulbs so they should keep cool, not sure it's worth the extra money, if the bulbs run hot, I will build another system in a year or two and I will try removing one of the resisters.

£75 will give me enough bulbs for 6 leds and I have enough bulb holders, the timber(2 boards and the length of timber) cost me £32
I have enough wire, needs some more plugs, and the 2 pvc pipes to hang the lights on

 

[BudgetGrower]

Just pulled the older crop

down, took 4 hours, happy with the crop size, took a video so you can what I can pull with a few bulbs( I pulled the bulbs apart and stuck them on aluminium).
I am happy with the results.

 

[BudgetGrower]

 

[Harpua88]

Your are correct "they're chips? Printed circuits?"

If I made grow lights and they lasted 20 years, I would never sell you any more grow lights, if they last 3 years, I could sell you 6 lights in 18 years.

You could buy 2 grow lights and dim them 50% and they would last a very long time.
Touch the led after it has been on for 1 hour is it hot or really hot.
The cooler it is the longer it will last.

The Telos grow light look a very high quality led, built to last, just under £500(300w).
I would need 3 of these so I can dim them down to 70%(630w) for a 2,4 m x 1.2m room
Just too much money IMO,

View attachment 1996524

Well, I would think that if you made a sort of Mercedes of LEDs that did last 20 yrs, yeah, you may not get ppl to buy new ones every 3 years, but you would get a heck of a lot of people to change to buying your far better light. And, you wouldn't have to wait 20yrs to get repeat buys because it's still evolving/improving technology and people will want to buy a new one after maybe 8 years. By the time you sell a heck of a lot of lights, here comes repeat business. Or, maybe you add a service where every 5 yrs people turn the light in to you and you improve it, and send it back to them.

There's always going to be a market for higher end quality. Would I pay $3000+ for a light that was significantly better and lasted significantly longer, was a dome with surround lights, UVB and IR, lights down the center, dialed in spectrum, and could be turned in for periodic upgrades? A "forever light"? Yeah, I just might.

I'm afraid to touch a diode......I don't want to burn my finger.......is it hot at 60%? Yeah, it feels as hot as a Halide can, but it's a powerful light.

 

[Harpua88]

Just pulled the older crop
View attachment 1998603
down, took 4 hours, happy with the crop size, took a video so you can what I can pull with a few bulbs( I pulled the bulbs apart and stuck them on aluminium).
I am happy with the results.

Are you hanging in your grow tent? You do turn the lights off......?

Nice crop. :)