driver?

[mainereefer]

ok does anyone know where I can get this driver for my led's besides china?

Rated input voltage:AC90-260V 50/60Hz

working voltage:AC150-260V

Rated output voltage: 50∼85V

Rated output current: 700mA±5%

Rated output power:DC60W max

 

[Onedesign1]

basically you want a 60W driver....no mention of dimming. Meanwell ELN 60-48D is 48V output and 1.3A...dimming type....you can run 2 strings in parallel to knock the current down to 650ma. It can be had from a number of places including Rapid.

Personally I advise against running drivers above 50VDC as it starts to dicey with safety concerns......

 

[mainereefer]

the problem I am running into is my led's are 3.2v-3.5v and 700ma-750ma

will the Meanwell run a string of 20, at the power I need ?

I can get the driver I need from china for about $25 shipped but would rather buy here in the usa

 

[Onedesign1]

yes you can run 2 strings of 10 in parallel. Let me know if you need further explanation on parallel wiring....its simple.

You'll probably spend $10 more getting the Meanwell here in the states and its dimmable which I highly advise is needed.

Side note...I have found that running the lower cost LEDs near 700ma results in very high heat so you'll like want to dim them anyhow....

the problem I am running into is my led's are 3.2v-3.5v and 700ma-750ma

will the Meanwell run a string of 20, at the power I need ?

I can get the driver I need from china for about $25 shipped but would rather buy here in the usa

 

[99taws6]

Following

 

[mainereefer]

well I ended up ordering the china drivers. the prices were unbeatable, I ended up ordering the 4 I need for $56 shipped!!

Protection Rank: IP67 waterproof
​

Input Voltage:AC85V ~ 265V 50/60HZ​

Output Voltage:36V~75V

Output Current:680mA

I am not to worried about heat the heatsink I ordered is huge (49" x 8 1/2" x 1 1/4") I am cutting that tomorrow.
there will be 40 led's per 16"x 8 1/2" heatsink

​

if you could explain parallel to us that dont have a clue and are just winging their diy led build (lol)
that would be awesome! they should have it a sticky somewhere

 

[mainereefer]

this site is great for telling you exactly what you need to wire the led's. maybe someone can put it as a sticky

LED series parallel array wizard



with the driver I have it says "the wizard thinks the power dissipated in your resistors is a concern" (4.7ohms)

is there any way to solve this?

 

[Onedesign1]

not a good sticky

the wizard does not know that the driver is constant current and adjusts the voltage for the number of LEDs you use in a string and holds the current the same. you don't need resistors. The wizard assumes you are using a fixed voltage and wants you to add resistors to correct the problem....not a good sticky for our application where we use purpose built drivers.

Why are you now interested in parallel wiring if you ordered drivers capable of driving 20 in series?

I will say a final time that voltages above 50V could be dangerous for a number of reasons.....not everyone agrees but the simple physics are fact. Therefore please be careful driving 680ma at 75V as it seems you are somewhat new to this.

Finally..these cheap drivers are the weak link to successful DIY LED builds so be prepared to replace them once you realize they will not likely perform as you expected, sometimes fail outright, or do not give you the flexibility you need in an aquarium light....I hope these work better than many i am aware of and have helped troubleshoot. Last point....IMO, when using 3W LEDs, dimming capability is a must if you like your corals to survive.

Good luck

 

[mainereefer]

so is there a good site that shows ppl how to wire led's. or tells ppl what drivers do what and for what application? so when ppl ask questions they can get an answer besides "do this just because"


I ordered drivers that I could afford. meanwell drivers cost about $120 plus shipping thats about 3x the price of the ones I got
I dont like the idea of dimming leds. it dosnt make seance to me, considering 3w led's are just over 2w then dim them down to what the same output of a 1w whats the point?


you keep saying these higher voltage drivers are dangerous but you still havent given a reason why they are.

is it the high voltage? with a fuse I can protect the leds
voltage wont hurt you it is the amperage that you have to worry about. I had a 8" catfish he sent out about 350v but only at 1 amp. so when he got me I had him in a net and couldnt let go until he stopped (you should have seen my buddy laughing at me getting shocked lol)

 

[Onedesign1]

1/4 of an amp across your heart will stop your heart which usually means you're dead....but what pushes the current is voltage....you need voltage to make current dangerous.....so as voltage increase with said current the risk increases. What protects you is the resistance of your skin. This resistance varies greatly person by person, skin condition, clean, dirty, wet, etc. 50V is kind of lower threshold but I'm done trying to explain.

Plenty of people get struck by lightning and survive but it doesn't make it a good idea to go stand in a thunderstorm and try to get hit. I thought electric catfish were from other parts of the world but I know nothing about them...but I doubt you got hit with an amp at 350V.

As for everything else...I offered up if you needed explanation on parallel wiring let me know and you replied with the wizard.

I offered based on lots of experience that you need dimming....you don't buy it....I don't know what else to tell you other than read the plethora of threads out there and come to your own conclusions...I was trying to be helpful and you don't buy any of it so please do some research rather than ask for help and then argue with the answers you get.

Good luck

 

[jaytizzle]

The reason why higher voltage drivers are dangerous is because you're putting a lot of electricity through connections that are VERY close together (under 20mm on typical start LEDs). There is a huge potential for arcing across those joints and creating a fire or even electrocuting you! You're not terribly high at 75VDC max and only 680mA.

Hopefully your cost-cutting efforts don't end up hurting you or your build in the long run... best of luck to you and be sure to take lots of pics of your build and let us know how it turns out!

 

[mainereefer]

1/4 of an amp across your heart will stop your heart which usually means you're dead....but what pushes the current is voltage....you need voltage to make current dangerous.....so as voltage increase with said current the risk increases. What protects you is the resistance of your skin. This resistance varies greatly person by person, skin condition, clean, dirty, wet, etc. 50V is kind of lower threshold but I'm done trying to explain.

Plenty of people get struck by lightning and survive but it doesn't make it a good idea to go stand in a thunderstorm and try to get hit. I thought electric catfish were from other parts of the world but I know nothing about them...but I doubt you got hit with an amp at 350V.

As for everything else...I offered up if you needed explanation on parallel wiring let me know and you replied with the wizard.

I offered based on lots of experience that you need dimming....you don't buy it....I don't know what else to tell you other than read the plethora of threads out there and come to your own conclusions...I was trying to be helpful and you don't buy any of it so please do some research rather than ask for help and then argue with the answers you get.

Good luck

still no answer all I get from your conversations is do this because I say so no answer

and this is the fish that I had mine was an adult almost 9" and it hurt when he got me half my body convulsed
http://members.fortunecity.com/anemaw/catfish.htm


jaytizzle thank you best answer given so far!

 

[Onedesign1]

I'm not sure what I'm not answering? what answers do you want? There is no one site that explains everything you need to do or teaches you....it starts with alot of research...which is why people offer help when someone asks on a forum like this. But you just want to argue with me for some bizarre reason.

Arcing in one concern but at 75V not too much unless you solder poorly and make the gap smaller. I'm worried about personal safety as well....though to be honest if you're careful its not too worrisome....but reality is you need only a few milliamps to be dangerous if it can find its way to the heart. Current without voltage is not too dangerous...think of a car battery...if you ever taken a jolt you feel your arms get a nice jingle. Even though there is a boat load of amps available there you only have 12V pushing it. It comes down to Ohms law and your body is the R piece of the equation with your skin being the 1st and highest point of resistance. I=V/R....raise voltage while keeping resistance the same and you will see that I increases. The big question being what is the resistance of your body...its said to be a wide range depending on the person it can be 1000-100,000 ohms. If you have 100,000 ohms then we're talking a couple hundred volts to be deadly and electrical isolation from shorting and arcing is more likely to be the concern. If you have a low resistance in the 10,000 range then 75V is a personal safety concern. Since one's resistance can and does vary by condition...ie wet, clean, greasy, cuts, etc., its good practice to be aware of the basic concern is all.

As for dimming....it's not a requirement obviously, however with dimming you can easily mix your colors more to your liking...too white?, dim the whites and crank up the blues...too blue, go the opposite...feel different one day?..change the color to suit your mood....have a controller? program sunrise and sunset....more importantly though...corals bleaching and you can't move them? dim the fixture. thats why I feel dimming is so important. With LEDs is more important you get coverage on your tank, PAR generally is not a concern with 3W LEDs if you get proper coverage and its not uncommon to then dim them so as to not whack your corals.

Tell me what else I could help to explain and I'll be happy to...honestly I want you to be successful

Where did catch that fish that is native to Africa?

still no answer all I get from your conversations is do this because I say so no answer

and this is the fish that I had mine was an adult almost 9" and it hurt when he got me half my body convulsed
http://members.fortunecity.com/anemaw/catfish.htm


jaytizzle thank you best answer given so far!

 

[mainereefer]

not wanting to argue you just said do this with no explanation why

the catfish I got at the lfs they usually sell them anywhere from 2"-8"
mine I got at about 8" and had him for years the only thing that lived with him was a 18"-20" oscar he killed the jack dempsy's that were in with it