Help me! Changing LED´s on my UFO? - LED Grow Lights - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

alexie1 · 10-15-2011, 04:02 PM

i have an old ufo i bought from china last year,its not that good... i think i could improve it ,like open it up and changing the led´s...
maybe the best would be nano led in the right nm?heard purple light i really good.

anyone has any idea what LED´s to buy ?where to buy?

How to change them ? thanks guy keep it rocking!

grow101 · 10-16-2011, 09:15 PM

Before going into detail: you'll need a good solder-station, with quick temperature regulation, since you are working on a heat sink, which will try to draw the heat away that you need to solder. Also you should warm the panel up with a hair dryer to make this effect less annoying.

For further instructions and if it can be done at all we would need a detail picture (macro would help the most) of a LED and how it is mounted on the panel, top, side and at an angle to see if they soldered the LED-slug to the panel or glued it, or just used thermal-grease.

You will need some calm hands to pull this off, but I see a chance in doing so, mechanically.

You will have to find LEDs that are comparable in electric parameters and need to use a multimeter to measure the voltage over a LEDs-row and the current running though it to find the best match.

You will (most probably) have to work with mains voltage, at least close to it (power-supply), be sure you know what you do.

alexie1 · 10-17-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grow101

Before going into detail: you'll need a good solder-station, with quick temperature regulation, since you are working on a heat sink, which will try to draw the heat away that you need to solder. Also you should warm the panel up with a hair dryer to make this effect less annoying.

For further instructions and if it can be done at all we would need a detail picture (macro would help the most) of a LED and how it is mounted on the panel, top, side and at an angle to see if they soldered the LED-slug to the panel or glued it, or just used thermal-grease.

You will need some calm hands to pull this off, but I see a chance in doing so, mechanically.

You will have to find LEDs that are comparable in electric parameters and need to use a multimeter to measure the voltage over a LEDs-row and the current running though it to find the best match.

You will (most probably) have to work with mains voltage, at least close to it (power-supply), be sure you know what you do.

wow..im not ure i am that guy to pull this of...i was thinking go on ebay order best led you guys tell me to order and open the china ufo with a screwdriver and change led..i havent even opened it up ..will do that first, then take photos for you to see..hopefully it may be simpler then we think

i hope so anyway..thank you for answering! best wishes

T_B_M · 10-17-2011, 02:18 PM

Not a good idea unless you know what you are doing. Changing LEDs will be a bitch since they are most likely all soldered in place. You also have to match up your new LED specs with the driver specs on the unit. Having electrical knowlegde and performing calculations will be required.

Find your voltage output and current draw with a multimeter, and from here you can do your math to figure out what LEDs you can use.

I would not suggest doing this. You will most likely not be able to just swap LEDs unless they are the same exact LEDs, or have the same operating characteristics in voltage and current.

Or just use the board and fixture, and design your own light using a MeanWell driver instead of the one on board. It would most likely be more stable as well.

If you add more powerful LEDs, you will have to beef up the heat sink/cooling as well.

10-15-2011, 04:02 PM	#1
alexie1 Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 88	Help me! Changing LED´s on my UFO? i have an old ufo i bought from china last year,its not that good... i think i could improve it ,like open it up and changing the led´s... maybe the best would be nano led in the right nm?heard purple light i really good. anyone has any idea what LED´s to buy ?where to buy? How to change them ? thanks guy keep it rocking!
	Quote

10-16-2011, 09:15 PM	#2
grow101 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 107	Before going into detail: you'll need a good solder-station, with quick temperature regulation, since you are working on a heat sink, which will try to draw the heat away that you need to solder. Also you should warm the panel up with a hair dryer to make this effect less annoying. For further instructions and if it can be done at all we would need a detail picture (macro would help the most) of a LED and how it is mounted on the panel, top, side and at an angle to see if they soldered the LED-slug to the panel or glued it, or just used thermal-grease. You will need some calm hands to pull this off, but I see a chance in doing so, mechanically. You will have to find LEDs that are comparable in electric parameters and need to use a multimeter to measure the voltage over a LEDs-row and the current running though it to find the best match. You will (most probably) have to work with mains voltage, at least close to it (power-supply), be sure you know what you do.
	Quote

10-17-2011, 02:18 PM	#4
T_B_M Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 122	Not a good idea unless you know what you are doing. Changing LEDs will be a bitch since they are most likely all soldered in place. You also have to match up your new LED specs with the driver specs on the unit. Having electrical knowlegde and performing calculations will be required. Find your voltage output and current draw with a multimeter, and from here you can do your math to figure out what LEDs you can use. I would not suggest doing this. You will most likely not be able to just swap LEDs unless they are the same exact LEDs, or have the same operating characteristics in voltage and current. Or just use the board and fixture, and design your own light using a MeanWell driver instead of the one on board. It would most likely be more stable as well. If you add more powerful LEDs, you will have to beef up the heat sink/cooling as well.
	Quote