LED Project need help from beginning

Thread Starter

WhiteG

Joined Oct 31, 2015
6
Hey guys, I've wanted to start this project for some time now, but I have almost no idea what I need to do.

About the project (around 300w):
I want to build an led panel with 80 red LEDs and 20 blue LEDs, 100 total. I'd like to have some fans and no dimmer, because I'd like to either use all the power or none.

Here is what I need help with for now (this thread will be updated):
-Decide on what LEDs to buy
~ Should I get led strips? chips? bulbs?
-What do I need to power all of the LEDs and maybe two fans?
-How do I connect all the LEDs together?

Any help is much appreciated!
 

blocco a spirale

Joined Jun 18, 2008
1,546
The type of LEDs depends on the application which you don't declare. Fans? Without any kind of design, how do you conclude that you need fans? And, for the same reason, where does the 300W figure come from?

Google "LED tutorial" and it will save everyone having to repeat this information in order to get you up to speed on how LEDs work.
 

Thread Starter

WhiteG

Joined Oct 31, 2015
6
I've done quite a lot of research. Instructables, youtube, this forum and I still quite don't get it. The project will be for growing two plants. I'm pretty sure I'll need fans, all those commercial products have at least one and I'd like to keep the LEDs cooler (ik they don't produce as much heat as other lights but still). The 300w come from the 100 LEDS if each one is 3w...
 

blocco a spirale

Joined Jun 18, 2008
1,546
I've done quite a lot of research. Instructables, youtube, this forum and I still quite don't get it. The project will be for growing two plants. I'm pretty sure I'll need fans, all those commercial products have at least one and I'd like to keep the LEDs cooler (ik they don't produce as much heat as other lights but still). The 300w come from the 100 LEDS if each one is 3w...
So, you must have selected the 3W LEDs already?

If you don't get it from reading all those tutorials, what makes you think you'll get it this time? What don't you get?

Why not just go onto ebay and buy 2x100W Red LEDs and 1x50W Blue LED + drivers and a big heatsink to mount them on?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Powe...hash=item43dfcbe40f:m:mF2hC7mByYPA4Y5Cp3OB5qw
 
Last edited:

Bernard

Joined Aug 7, 2008
5,784
What size panel ? If aluminum panel of sufficient size, may not need fan. If small, attached ribs & fan.
I would use 20 mm star surface mount LED's , store bought constant current power supplies.
A supply might have an output of 36 V to 86V @ 300mA; so 20 blue @ 3.3V in series = 66V, would need only one supply.
Red LED's maybe 3 supplies.
 

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
Mounting the Leds on an adequate heat sink and putting fans to cool a big area of heat sink and getting to drive the leds is not gonna be very easy.
If you do not get how to drive the Leds you need to buy ready made drivers and Leds.
Still there is the issue of getting heatsink
 

Thread Starter

WhiteG

Joined Oct 31, 2015
6
Okay if I get the ready made like the ones from the link blocco posted above. What do I do with them? I get that wires are supposedly connecting the driver and the LED, and I think you connect the other wires to the power supply. I was wondering if there is a difference in the brightness between the 220v and the 110v? Is there a power supply powerful enough to power all drivers?
 

blocco a spirale

Joined Jun 18, 2008
1,546
Well, there are only 4 wires on each driver; 2 go to the LED and 2 go to a mains supply between 85 and 265VAC. There is no difference in brightness when using different input voltages. You need one driver per LED.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
What kind of hemp are you growing?Industrial or purely recreational?
This will likely be a touchy subject for AAC because this activity is not legal everywhere.

Medical and recreational MJ use is legal in my state and law enforcement is expecting a spike in home invasion robberies due to social media users bragging about their crop. Growers are in a bind too because they can't use banks due to their business being in violation of federal drug laws, so they use cash for all transactions.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I want to build an led panel with 80 red LEDs and 20 blue LEDs, 100 total.
There is a lot of information on LED grow lights at this site. Here is a quote from that site regarding LED color:

"You need white LEDs! If you see an LED grow light with just red and blue lights you are not going to achieve a high quality grow at all as the white LEDs are so much closer to mimicking the sun."
 

Thread Starter

WhiteG

Joined Oct 31, 2015
6
Thanks dude! Weed is legal here in Co. I'm not going to sell or anything like that. It gets expensive when you need more than an ounce a week...
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
Weed is legal here in Co. I'm not going to sell or anything like that.
How much can a recreational user grow and how much finished product can they possess?

I could look it up, but easier to just ask...

I think in states where Weed is legal, cops can't ask you if you have any; even if they can smell it. Excepting when they have reason to be suspicious I suppose...
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
Got a budget?
I build high power fixtures like this all the time (for saltwater corals not pot plants) but the basics are identical..
But I don't build them from cheap Ebay/Chinese drivers and I don't support parallel wiring so I'm not the guy for something "cheap"
I'm 100% Meanwell which run around $25-35 each driver and you may require 4-5 drivers for your build..
Something 250-300Watts will typically run you over $200 or more for drivers/leds alone.

More/Smaller LEDs (like 3W) will allow greater spread/better penetration into the plants as the light is more spread out and you get far less "shadowing" but the wiring is far more complex vs a few 50-100W LEDs..
So let me know which way you want to go and I can recommend a path to take and products to use and show how it should be wired..
 

Thread Starter

WhiteG

Joined Oct 31, 2015
6
How much can a recreational user grow and how much finished product can they possess?

I could look it up, but easier to just ask...

I think in states where Weed is legal, cops can't ask you if you have any; even if they can smell it. Excepting when they have reason to be suspicious I suppose...
Red card holders can grow up to 6 plants... that's about all I know and that you can't buy more than 2 ounces from one dispensary in a day lol

Got a budget?

More/Smaller LEDs (like 3W) will allow greater spread/better penetration into the plants as the light is more spread out and you get far less "shadowing" but the wiring is far more complex vs a few 50-100W LEDs..
So let me know which way you want to go and I can recommend a path to take and products to use and show how it should be wired..
I'd like my budget to be around $150 per panel. I'd like to be safe with those Chinese electric stuff, I don't want my house to burn down!
As you said the 3w will spread better and penetrate into the plant, but the wiring is a pain. I've done soldering in school but I don't have any equipment at home. I have to buy tools as well...
 

TheButtonThief

Joined Feb 26, 2011
237
Okay if I get the ready made like the ones from the link blocco posted above. What do I do with them?
This guy's got no interest in electronics, if he did then he'd have learned from the research that he's supposedly done. He's just here because he wants us to plan it for him, he's only interested in growing weed for as little money and effort as possible.
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
Lets start with this...
Goals...
80 x 3W red LEDs (assume 2.4Vf)
20 x 3W blue LEDs (assume 3.2Vf)
Series strings only.. None in parallel

Start with a 48VDC @ 7+A ac/dc power supply (SE-450-48 would be good) and lets figure out how many constant current drivers we need (I'll recommend meanwell LDD-700 depending on the LEDs you choose) and the LEDs and a heatsink/s
And the output voltage max of the LDD will be supply voltage - 3VDC (hence the 45 used below)

How many red LEDs per driver = 45/2.4 = 18.75 (so 18 max per string)
How many drivers will I need for the red LEDs = 80/18 = 4.44 (so 5 meanwell LDDs with 16 on each )
How many blue LEDs per driver = 45/3 = 15 max per string
How many drivers will I need for the blue LEDs = 20/15 = 1.33 (so 2 meanwell LDDs with 10 LEDs on each)

You can get premade circuit boards that you just solder the LDD's to (or buy them preassembled)

Then however you are planning on doing the heatsinks/thermal paste and get some 12V fans and a 12V power supply.. OR run some 48v fans off the 48V supply (assuming enough capacity/margin left)
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
When suggesting solutions, it's important to understand the capabilities of the TS.
And you do based on his few posts or are you just stereotyping because he smokes weed?

He has stated doing some "research" and stated having soldered before..
Whats "quite a lot of research" for some.. is "minimal at best" for others..
We all started somewhere, we all learn at our own pace and we all learn in our own way..
Some are gifted in being able to just read information on the internet and move on.. and some don't...

I provided some information/direction and they are free to ask as many questions as they want going forward to attempt to understand anyones suggestions.
What I provided so far is "the basics"... so we will see how it goes from here.
 
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