After looking around and being inspired by Weezard I decided to build my own LED Veg light. I wanted to follow a couple design goals:
1 - Modular - if something breaks/burns out I need it easy to tear down and replace
2 - Cool/Silent - after having a hard time controlling the heat in my 250HPS grow space these are high priorities, plus it seems all the commercial offerings still have a bunch of fans
3 - Economical/Cheap - this is a learning experience and once I get a better idea I can upgrade components for future iterations
4 - Simple - I try to live by the KISS principle, the less complexity/parts the better
I am no expert so please comment/criticize. If there is a better way to do something that also follows the design goals please tell me. I kind of view this as a group effort that everyone can learn from.
Parts:
Leds - these are the ones off ebay from various sellers you can search "3W 660nm" or something similar and find the sellers. Many sellers are willing to cut a deal if you buy larger quantities, it doesn't hurt to ask. I have a healthy mix of 460nm, 630nm, 660nm, 3000k, and 6000k leds coming.
PCB - rather than messing with a bunch of soldering I'm going to reflow the leds to pcbs then mount the pcbs to the heatsink. This also follows the modularity goal, if I want a different color combo it only takes a couple screws to change it out. I have some 7-led mounts on order but I had some 3-led ones from a previous project. Again check ebay.
Heatsink - if I want silent then I need a lot of thermal mass/surface area to dissipate heat. A 9W (3x3W) led light has a 60gram heatsink so I thought this was a good estimate for the size of my needed heatsink. I need something around 720grams so I went to Goodwill and found a large aluminum steam basket for $3. Following design goal 3, I bought it.
Drivers/Power - use a constant current LED driver, you don't have to mess with running different voltages for different colors. Find the wattage you need and run everything in series. I got a 75v@680ma off ebay for $15 shipped. I have a similar 40v@680ma on its way also.
Lens - I did order a couple different angles of lens to play around with but I don't know if the reduction in lumens (upto 15%) is made up by the increased focus.
The Layout
My thought was to make each 3-led PCB a different focus. For example two 460nm blues and a 6000k would be more vegging while a 660nm, 630nm and 3000k combo would be more flowering. There will be various combinations in the PCB that will allow for different ratios in the whole light.
The Build
I will be running 36x3w leds with an estimated power draw of 78watts. I'll be sure to confirm this will a kill-a-watt when its built.
I'm still waiting on most of the parts to show. I did layout the PCBs on the heatsink, each one is attached by 2 screws. After I solder the leds on I will place thermal paste between the PCB and heatsink.
I'll keep you all updated when all the parts arrive.
1 - Modular - if something breaks/burns out I need it easy to tear down and replace
2 - Cool/Silent - after having a hard time controlling the heat in my 250HPS grow space these are high priorities, plus it seems all the commercial offerings still have a bunch of fans
3 - Economical/Cheap - this is a learning experience and once I get a better idea I can upgrade components for future iterations
4 - Simple - I try to live by the KISS principle, the less complexity/parts the better
I am no expert so please comment/criticize. If there is a better way to do something that also follows the design goals please tell me. I kind of view this as a group effort that everyone can learn from.
Parts:
Leds - these are the ones off ebay from various sellers you can search "3W 660nm" or something similar and find the sellers. Many sellers are willing to cut a deal if you buy larger quantities, it doesn't hurt to ask. I have a healthy mix of 460nm, 630nm, 660nm, 3000k, and 6000k leds coming.
PCB - rather than messing with a bunch of soldering I'm going to reflow the leds to pcbs then mount the pcbs to the heatsink. This also follows the modularity goal, if I want a different color combo it only takes a couple screws to change it out. I have some 7-led mounts on order but I had some 3-led ones from a previous project. Again check ebay.
Heatsink - if I want silent then I need a lot of thermal mass/surface area to dissipate heat. A 9W (3x3W) led light has a 60gram heatsink so I thought this was a good estimate for the size of my needed heatsink. I need something around 720grams so I went to Goodwill and found a large aluminum steam basket for $3. Following design goal 3, I bought it.
Drivers/Power - use a constant current LED driver, you don't have to mess with running different voltages for different colors. Find the wattage you need and run everything in series. I got a 75v@680ma off ebay for $15 shipped. I have a similar 40v@680ma on its way also.
Lens - I did order a couple different angles of lens to play around with but I don't know if the reduction in lumens (upto 15%) is made up by the increased focus.
The Layout
My thought was to make each 3-led PCB a different focus. For example two 460nm blues and a 6000k would be more vegging while a 660nm, 630nm and 3000k combo would be more flowering. There will be various combinations in the PCB that will allow for different ratios in the whole light.
The Build
I will be running 36x3w leds with an estimated power draw of 78watts. I'll be sure to confirm this will a kill-a-watt when its built.
I'm still waiting on most of the parts to show. I did layout the PCBs on the heatsink, each one is attached by 2 screws. After I solder the leds on I will place thermal paste between the PCB and heatsink.
I'll keep you all updated when all the parts arrive.
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