diy canopy and led

poolkeeper1 · Jan 11, 2012

gmoney243 said:
so my moonlights arrived today and i was testing the leds with DMM to see if they worked .. but they dont light up bright .. are they suppose to be kinda dim when u use a DMM to test?

DMM?? Explain please...
Bill

Dowtish · Jan 11, 2012

moonlights are typically not bright

gmoney243 · Jan 11, 2012

DMM = digital multimeter

gmoney243 · Jan 11, 2012

Yea I know they not that bright but kit says 4led for large tank. I thinl its probly just the multimeter barely put off power so its not as bright as it should be. Well see

Question tho any1 ever use these thermal pads? They suppose to replace artic silver?

mixer911 · Jan 11, 2012

No they will not be bright with the DMM. You can use 2 AA batteries and connect them to the leds to test them also.

Technically yes the thermal pads are like artic silver, but not the same quality. But I would not replace arctic silver with those

gmoney243 · Jan 11, 2012

Heres the kit

gmoney243 · Jan 12, 2012

so i used the thermal pads .. and after few hours the leds are still cool and the pads stuck very well to the rails just like glue impressed with the pads so far and the led moonlights are super bright 4 LEDs over a 150gal 48'Lx24"Wx31"H sitting 6" above the tank. 2 of these lights would do the trick on this tank. 4 is almost to bright.

gmoney243 · Jan 12, 2012

LED arrived in Nashville at 4:55am looks like i might get them a day early.

gmoney243 · Jan 12, 2012

thx for the acetone advice rick that worked much better than alchohol on that glue. found a good use for the wifes nail polish remover lol. and yea i wouldnt use the pads on the regular LED i was just curious if they was any good to use on the moonlights or if i should glue them down. but i went with the pads since my local radio shack only carried the grease not the adhesive.

mixer911 · Jan 12, 2012

Looks good Mike! Acetone is the bomb.... Has lots of uses in my hobbies :) For the moonlights the pads will be fine. Just with 90 other LEDS things can heat up when they are all on during the day and you want good thermal transmission to the U channel. I have a 6 tubes of the Arctic Silver Epoxy if you need some. I will never use that much.

gmoney243 · Jan 12, 2012

Thx rick kit came with 5 tubes of glue like no mixin so think I've got enough.

Dry fit about to start glueing

mixer911 · Jan 12, 2012

Make sure you solder them before glueing them on. Once their glued on its almost impossible to get the solder to heat up and u will get cold solder joints. The iron will overheat the led and transfer the heat to the u channel which can burn out the led!!!

gmoney243 · Jan 12, 2012

Well my solder iron shorted out when I was almost done tining the leds so I just glued em all down hopefully these last like 5 led will be fine. These are harder to solder I think cause they are not lined up in a sheet like the crees I see they are just loose leds. Had to get some sleep I work late night so now I'm bout to hit lowes on the way to work to get a new iron. I only had been asleep for hour when fedex showed. And since I'm hardcore I went right to work on the leds lol. P.s. that glue they give says 10min dry was seriously few hours lol be good I guess if u make mistakes

poolkeeper1 · Jan 13, 2012

gmoney243 said:
Well my solder iron shorted out when I was almost done tining the leds so I just glued em all down hopefully these last like 5 led will be fine. These are harder to solder I think cause they are not lined up in a sheet like the crees I see they are just loose leds. Had to get some sleep I work late night so now I'm bout to hit lowes on the way to work to get a new iron. I only had been asleep for hour when fedex showed. And since I'm hardcore I went right to work on the leds lol. P.s. that glue they give says 10min dry was seriously few hours lol be good I guess if u make mistakes

I would advise against trying that as Rick said, You will loose them if you do most likely as the heat just transfers now that they are attached. JMO
Bill

mixer911 · Jan 13, 2012

gmoney243 said:
Well my solder iron shorted out when I was almost done tining the leds so I just glued em all down hopefully these last like 5 led will be fine. These are harder to solder I think cause they are not lined up in a sheet like the crees I see they are just loose leds. Had to get some sleep I work late night so now I'm bout to hit lowes on the way to work to get a new iron. I only had been asleep for hour when fedex showed. And since I'm hardcore I went right to work on the leds lol. P.s. that glue they give says 10min dry was seriously few hours lol be good I guess if u make mistakes

Good luck, lol... Now when you try to solder all the heat will be transfered to the u chanell thru the led. Your going to have to be very careful now not to fry the leds or have cold solder joints that show up later.

gmoney243 · Jan 13, 2012

everything worked out fine the new iron worked great even on the glued LEDs the solder went down nice and shiny doesnt appear to be cold solder joints they look clean. all lights work pics comming soon as i get these cords straightened up lol thx rick and bill for ur advice :)