Night4wings20
Active member
That looks like a good option for me @PCbuds as i'm working with 240v power, means i won't kill myself touching the exposed metal on the full un-capped globes. Cheers mate
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Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons
- Thread starter blynx
- Start date
PCBuds
Well-known member
I've been trying a few different designs for the globe.
I cut the globe off, melted holes through it with my soldering iron, then glued it back on with silicone. I used the whole globe because I wanted to sort of make a shroud around the base to help keep the leaves away from it when I put it in my plant.
I was a bit concerned about this.
And I was worried some leaves might grow up inside the shroud. So I'm going to design another one.
I cut the globe off, melted holes through it with my soldering iron, then glued it back on with silicone. I used the whole globe because I wanted to sort of make a shroud around the base to help keep the leaves away from it when I put it in my plant.
I was a bit concerned about this.
And I was worried some leaves might grow up inside the shroud. So I'm going to design another one.
PCBuds
Well-known member
My power supply arrived so I could get some more accurate results.
The supply goes from 9-24 volts so I connected two in series.
The segments just started to glow at 13.8 volts drawing 0.5 microamps.
Then at 16.2 V, they drew 4.42 milliamps.
Then at full crank, they drew 277 milliamps.
Then I hooked up a single segment to see what it takes to blow it up.
It took 19.8 volts to pop it.
Then it started to glow a bit at full crank.
I don't get it?
LEDs are supposed to have a forward voltage of 3-4 volts but I couldn't get them to lite at that voltage.
Perhaps the LED segments in SIL's are built differently? Or they have a series resistor built in somehow?
I dunno.
One interesting thing I noticed was that the power supply gave off all kinds of radio interference. (like what f-e mentioned)
I was listening to the radio while I was testing and the radio station got noisy when the supply was at 12 V and I completely lost reception at 24.4 V
Another thing I noticed was "thermal runaway".
With the two segments in series and the voltage at 24.4 V, the current was slowly climbing as the LED segments got hotter.
The supply goes from 9-24 volts so I connected two in series.
The segments just started to glow at 13.8 volts drawing 0.5 microamps.
Then at 16.2 V, they drew 4.42 milliamps.
Then at full crank, they drew 277 milliamps.
Then I hooked up a single segment to see what it takes to blow it up.
It took 19.8 volts to pop it.
Then it started to glow a bit at full crank.
I don't get it?
LEDs are supposed to have a forward voltage of 3-4 volts but I couldn't get them to lite at that voltage.
Perhaps the LED segments in SIL's are built differently? Or they have a series resistor built in somehow?
I dunno.
One interesting thing I noticed was that the power supply gave off all kinds of radio interference. (like what f-e mentioned)
I was listening to the radio while I was testing and the radio station got noisy when the supply was at 12 V and I completely lost reception at 24.4 V
Another thing I noticed was "thermal runaway".
With the two segments in series and the voltage at 24.4 V, the current was slowly climbing as the LED segments got hotter.
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PCBuds
Well-known member
Looks great, I have a small 2 sq ft flower box with 8x 10w SILs and I just went to them after 5 years using CFLs. I over lighted my saplings in my veg box when I started learning and so am a bit hesitant to burn the flowering plants. I see alot of the mini boxes have the plant growing right up to the SILs and it seems ok, similar to yours. Do you see any problems from that? If anybody else wants top chime in also that would be great. Thanks guys I have followed this thread for years and enjoyed all the help from everybody.
When I first switched to SIL's, I cooked a few babies.
What worked for me was to have my 5 ten Watt bulbs at about 21" above the plant.
It seems to grow into it and get used to it and ends up a few inches from the bulbs then I start raising the light.
85mA seems mathematically true, but this isn't a resistive load. We won't see current use directly related to the voltage at that point of the wave. Instead we have a load that feeds in mouthfuls. One at a time. So must get a bit more in.
80lm/w is the outstanding bit for me. That's a 19w 1521. It's a relic.
I like the drilled lamp. It's a reasonable compromise, and the amount of work involved shows commitment
80lm/w is the outstanding bit for me. That's a 19w 1521. It's a relic.
I like the drilled lamp. It's a reasonable compromise, and the amount of work involved shows commitment
PCBuds
Well-known member
Because I put the light in and under my plant and I don't want the leaves touching the electronics or LED segments.
SuperBadGrower
Active member
Lord knows, only way to check them is to use a watt meter. It would not surprise me at all if such an inefficient converter needs 16w to produce 10w on the dc out side. it is strange that the math does not add up, it would be a 16.2w lamp that says it's 10w... the bulbs I have here don't have such discrepancies
edit: BTW, yes you are right about your idea about power consumption of midpowers, but consumer strips, and these I guess, are made often to accept 5 12 or 24V. Too complicated for me but I have a bunch of stuff that works like that. Sure enough, there are strips available whose voltage remains the same despite changing the supplied current.
edit: BTW, yes you are right about your idea about power consumption of midpowers, but consumer strips, and these I guess, are made often to accept 5 12 or 24V. Too complicated for me but I have a bunch of stuff that works like that. Sure enough, there are strips available whose voltage remains the same despite changing the supplied current.
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Drop That Sound
Well-known member
Anyone try gluing on a 40-50mm COB/LED dome shaped Lens onto the SIL bulbs yet? I see cheap plastic ones for $1-2 a piece. Wonder if it would be worth playing with the beam angles a bit more, narrowing or widening it somewhat for different applications..
PCBuds
Well-known member
I like it because it can be glued to the SIL and seal it up again so it's waterproof, shockproof and your led segments stay dirt free.
But they're a buck or two each.
I'm going to go for the compromise of diffuse lighting and just make a dome from the globe and not drill holes through It.
I don't want direct light right in my plant anyway and a shorter bulb is a good thing for me.
But they're a buck or two each.
I'm going to go for the compromise of diffuse lighting and just make a dome from the globe and not drill holes through It.
I don't want direct light right in my plant anyway and a shorter bulb is a good thing for me.
I missed your post.
It's not really either. There are many load classifications for switchgear. Too many to list them all. Even the AC5 class for ballasts, changes to AC5a if there is a pfc capacitor. Giving a further de-rating of a sizable proportion. Having chatted with someone on the european board that defines the classifications, I can assure you, take no notice.
Lets say you had a 2 story building, with the same lighting and switchgear on each floor. It's perfectly possible, and expected, that the first floor switched on will be fine, but the second floor can weld the switchgear. Identical installs, with different results. The issue lies with the supply impedance. The current through something is calculated from the mains pressure in volts, and the items resistance to flow. Or so convention has it. In reality, the circuit resistance is the item concerned, and the wire all the way to the power station and back. A long run, with conciderable resistance. The first floor switched on might not go bang, because of the 'loop impedance' regulating inrush. So it's all lit, capacitors all charged, lovely. Then floor two switches on. The capacitors on floor one can supply a rush of current to floor two, that accompanies the power available miles away and the power station. Giving the greater inrush current that can kill the same switchgear, on the same lighting.
Yeah... I'm off on a tangent. Explaining why the details on your switchgear are little more than a rough guidance note.
I had a 12v 5A brick psu on a pump, that needed a timer otherwise rated for 2x600w. These type of power convertors can take a huge bite out of your supply when switching on. I use a relay now, simply wired so the 12v psu must come live, to switch the relay, that connects the pump to the psu. This happens in milliseconds, but is enough to let the psu stabilise. Some of the bricks I used would just put a fault light on, if expected to fire with the pump looking like a short circuit. The relay delay sorts it.
I think what we need are some real world examples from posters here. An idea of there lighting load, and switchgear used. Especially if it broke!
Incidentally, I make switchgear for 16x600 that just plugs in the wall and I have not had a failure in decades. Something no other switchgear manufacturer can get near. It's quite an involved topic.
