General DIY LED thread

[Kampo]

did you try just sunplus + blue?

 

[Steven Garland]

Pendants look awesome. I spoke with Jeff and the prices would remain the same on the custom 3up's if you guys are interested.

Does anyone know where to get Cyan leds ? I know LGB has them,and LedSupply is EXPENSIVE !!!

 

[Lingwendil]

did you try just sunplus + blue?

Sunplus white and k16 alone is a pretty good combination, I ran 700 white, 300 royal and it was a deep, 18~20k blue. The addition of a single cool blue was a nice addition, and gave the color a bit of "pop" that the two on their own couldn't, but even just as the simple combo went it was a pretty nice look. Would be good for a deep 20k over an LPS setup with some adjustment of levels to taste. Maybe a mint or lime to add some brightness and you'd be good?

One sunplus and one luxeon "high CRI" neutral white was nice too, but started to get the pink tinge that neutral/royal combos can get, adding cyan is a good way to balance it.

One sunplus and one lime was even better, but I do want a hint more warmth to the warmer colors. Nitpicking really, it's a great look. It'll take some fooling around, but I may try PC amber. Anybody have a couple they aren't using?

Pendants look awesome. I spoke with Jeff and the prices would remain the same on the custom 3up's if you guys are interested.

Does anyone know where to get Cyan leds ? I know LGB has them,and LedSupply is EXPENSIVE !!!

RapidLED- but only in solderless :(

 

[Steven Garland]

Yeah,bump that. I'd have to my whole array around to accommodate them. I make a post on another forum looking for them. Worst case I'll just order them from LGB I need adhesive anyways lol.

 

[Lingwendil]

Well, if you can reflow (or know someone who can) the bare LED is $4.16 each in small quantities at digikey

https://www.digikey.com/short/p3939w

I'm considering grabbing a few to have put on 3ups from Steve's, since they'll sell them with blank spots on request.

LEDsupply is pricy, but the free shipping makes up for it on tiny orders.

 

[Kampo]

would love to see a tutorial on how to reflow.

it would be cool to get a board that can be cut basically into a "halo ring" with enough room in the middle for a k16. then 4-6 pads for leds on 2 channels in the "halo" would make for a nice setup.

 

[Lingwendil]

Oh, for anyone considering a similar pendant type of build, here are the parts used-

Heatsink, $11.58- Cheaper models are available predrilled for Cob LED arrays, if you don't mind that
https://www.digikey.com/short/p39qpj

Synjet cooler, $16.48-
https://www.digikey.com/short/p39qzj

EDIT- found them in a 4-pack for $4.95 here!!! Shipping for a 4pack is ~$8.50
https://vetco.net/products/synjet-spotlight-cooler-31w-nuventix-4-pack

Cooler harness, 150mm, up to 600mm are available, $0.58-
https://www.digikey.com/short/p39q4f

20~30 dollar heatsink solution that is actually pretty attractive, and good for ~31 watts. Not too bad.

The cooler is really neat, it uses a diaphragm instead of fan blades, very deep tone that doesn't "carry" across the room, rather than the irritating whooshing sound of a standard fan. It's also directly controllable via 5 volt PWM or a 1-5 volt DC voltage, which is very, very handy :)

With how cheap the 4 pack will be, I'm tempted to grab a few more sets of these heatsinks. Would be a very affordable solution for a "show" frag system, or shallow tanks. One should be good for 18~24" square depending on how hard you run them on such setups.

 

[Lingwendil]

Looking at more of those Synjet heatsink/cooler combos, there are a handful of larger sizes too, and some promising models for higher dissipation. One I would like to try is the "twist" that can do 58W, it has a 67.8mm round mounting surface, only 58mm tall assembled, plenty of room for a few K16 arrays and a few supporting 3ups or CoB arrays :)

Heatsink, $17.16-
https://www.digikey.com/short/p398nc

Cooler, $17.28-
https://www.digikey.com/short/p39850

A couple K16 at 500~600mA each, and a few violets, blues, mint, and whatever whites you want would be a good starting point.

 

[Kampo]

if i did a pendent I'l seriously just look into getting one of these https://www.rapidled.com/140mm-pin-heatsink/
75 watt capasity, and bet it owuldn't be too hard to also rig up a heavy duty gooseneck to the side screw holes. mount LEDs to the bottom, then use a glass petridish siliconed overtop of it to act as a splash guard.

 

[Lingwendil]

Well, ordered 2x mint, and 2x lime/cool blue/violet 4.0 3up. I really like the current look, but might play around with combinations of white. I figure with high CRI whites the amber wont be as big of an impact to devote the footprint to it, based on past experience with them with the bridgelux vero. Worse case I can swap one of my whites for a high CRI neitral white, or another 3up with PC amber and a couple whites. The mints are just to play with for now :)

So, new budget pendant layout will tentatively be-
1x k16 royal blue (300mA)
1x viosys violet (700mA)
1x cool blue (700~1000mA)
1x lime (700~1000mA)
2x sunplus cool white (700~1000mA)

I have a few high CRI neutral whites to try mix/matching with the sunplus to see if it looks good. As it is now these will be more than capable of keeping most anything I'm likely to run in this tank, since other than Montipora with moderate PAR needs, I'm practically an LPS guy :)

These will be to replace the two HalfMegaC BlueAcro pucks I currently run over the tank in a rapidLED premium enclosure.

Current BlueAcro light layout, 700mA per channel-
CH1 1x 90CRI 5700k white, 1x "mint" 1x royal blue, 1x blue
CH2- 3 royal blue, 1x semiLEDs violet


I like them just fine, they just aren't easy to tinker with, I would prefer a bit more blue (the violet limits that channel to 700mA) and I want to have the option of swinging half the lights out of the way for maintenance. I currently have to lift the light up and set it aside to get in there, and I'm not as likely to bother after a long day of work most days. A new light is just as easy as reworking an older build, too :) I haven't ran a hanging light rig in years and it will be a nice change of pace too.

 

[Lingwendil]

Also, She Who Must Be Obeyed just asked what's happening to the old light, and I half-jokingly mentioned "I'll have to set something else up I suppose" and she basically replied to do whatever so long as it isn't noisy :)

I feel like it's a trap, but this is a very logical woman who usually means what she says. I'll have to think about things for a while to see how to proceed o_O

 

[Kampo]

Well, ordered 2x mint, and 2x lime/cool blue/violet 4.0 3up. I really like the current look, but might play around with combinations of white. I figure with high CRI whites the amber wont be as big of an impact to devote the footprint to it, based on past experience with them with the bridgelux vero. Worse case I can swap one of my whites for a high CRI neitral white, or another 3up with PC amber and a couple whites. The mints are just to play with for now :)

So, new budget pendant layout will tentatively be-
1x k16 royal blue (300mA)
1x viosys violet (700mA)
1x cool blue (700~1000mA)
1x lime (700~1000mA)
2x sunplus cool white (700~1000mA)

I have a few high CRI neutral whites to try mix/matching with the sunplus to see if it looks good. As it is now these will be more than capable of keeping most anything I'm likely to run in this tank, since other than Montipora with moderate PAR needs, I'm practically an LPS guy :)

These will be to replace the two HalfMegaC BlueAcro pucks I currently run over the tank in a rapidLED premium enclosure.

Current BlueAcro light layout, 700mA per channel-
CH1 1x 90CRI 5700k white, 1x "mint" 1x royal blue, 1x blue
CH2- 3 royal blue, 1x semiLEDs violet


I like them just fine, they just aren't easy to tinker with, I would prefer a bit more blue (the violet limits that channel to 700mA) and I want to have the option of swinging half the lights out of the way for maintenance. I currently have to lift the light up and set it aside to get in there, and I'm not as likely to bother after a long day of work most days. A new light is just as easy as reworking an older build, too :) I haven't ran a hanging light rig in years and it will be a nice change of pace too.

I almost think thats not enough blue. thats 9 watts of white between white and lime. so I"m thinking you want 36 watt of blue.

 

[Lingwendil]

We'll see. I'm thinking I might run a sunplus and a neutral, and maybe crank them down a bit, maybe 500mA whites, then 700mA for the lime. That with 300 or 500mA royal might work.

Hmmm. I'll fool with it more once the 3ups come in.

 

[Lingwendil]

would love to see a tutorial on how to reflow.

Here's a way that I found, wonder how hard it is on the LED though?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?346860-LED-reflow-soldering-at-home


Also, I got my current light hung on the arms I bent out of conduit (1/2" EMT) in a rudimentary way, and I am kind of surprised I didn't try this sooner, as it looks surprisingly pro, even with a bare galvanised finish. I think the arms are a tad long but otherwise they fit great. Since an upgrade to a 40 breeder is in the works I wont trim them, but they will get drilled for hanging hardware and painted semi-gloss black or maybe a black hammertone finish, undecided. I'll try to get pics up tonight.

 

[Kampo]

Would love to see a pic of that mounting solution

 

[dantimdad]

I love conduit for mounting lights.

Been using it for years and it's great to hide wires in too.

 

[dantimdad]

Dang! That reflow video makes it look simple!

Thanks for posting.

 

[Lingwendil]

Would love to see a pic of that mounting solution

It's very affordable, two 48" sections of 1/2" EMT conduit ($2.58ea) at Home Depot, bent on-site with the conduit bender that was hanging on the shelf nearby, then a bag of two-hole pipe straps ($1.79/4pcs) and a couple 5/8 hole plugs ($1.67ea). To hang the fixture I used 1/16 wire rope (0.27$/ft) and made up a couple loops, crimped with aluminum ferrules ($2.80/10pcs). Currently hanging on the arms with keyrings for adjustability, but I'll drill holes for eye-bolts soon to church it up a little :)

 

[Kampo]

That video really explained it. Not so bad. I think I could do it. It's just sourcing small number of diodes to make it make sense

 

[Kampo]

Sad things is looking at prices for small qtys of diodes. Your paying as much for them as mounted stars basically....