Built, Not Bought

[TheUltimateNoob]

Morning Fam.

Just wanted to start a little something to see what you guys are up to with any custom LED lighting units. Be it parts you ordered and pieced together, or parts salvaged from other fixtures and flood lights.

 

So yeah, feel free to showcase whatever you've completed, are working on, or built and is in use. Also add in any supplementary lighting that you may have used even if it isn't LED.

Don't feel shy to post your rough DIY work, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, lol! 

 

Anyway, it would be nice to see how everyone's making things work with what they have, maybe someone here can improve your setup with nothing extra, just some new ideas!

 

Hope this takes off, Enjoy!

 

Edit: Was supposed to post this under the LED sub-forum. Apologies.

Edited August 1, 2020 by TheUltimateNoob

[afternoon blazer]

@ORGANinc. show ur what u working with.

[ChroniclyChronic]

Great idea for this thread!

I think I might have over-engineered my frame
Made with 45 mm extrusion which has one flat side for sticking the Samsung F-Series double row 2 footers.





Going for 240W to replace my California Lightworks 250 in a 80x80
Weighs 6KG
I will replace the the corner fasteners with a lighter option to save some weight


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[ChroniclyChronic]

Heat dissapation should be good


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[Bakstein420]

30 minutes ago, ChroniclyChronic said:

Heat dissapation should be good


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I don't think anyone is doubting that bro 

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

I agree, awesome thread topic!

@ChroniclyChronic 

That's one sexy frame you put together!

I'm putting a 1mx1m flower room together.

Got 15m of Alu T-strip. 3cmx3cm. Gona build a 80cm x 80cm frame and put 10 beams across. 

Here is what I ordered,

Strips on backorder with 8 weeks waiting! FML

Here's what I'm going for, 

Will have potentiometer for dimming aswell. 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Naughty.Psychonaut

[ORGANinc.]

Love this thread! This is something small for veg. Draw watt should be about 225w so I would think I’m getting around 100w true. But could be completely off so will keep updating as to how it grafts Simple and easy to put together...

[afternoon blazer]

3 hours ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

I agree, awesome thread topic!

@ChroniclyChronic 

That's one sexy frame you put together!

I'm putting a 1mx1m flower room together.

Got 15m of Alu T-strip. 3cmx3cm. Gona build a 80cm x 80cm frame and put 10 beams across. 

Here is what I ordered,

Strips on backorder with 8 weeks waiting! FML

Here's what I'm going for, 

Will have potentiometer for dimming aswell. 

Howz some figures bro?

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

22 minutes ago, afternoon blazer said:

Howz some figures bro?

The cost of things?

Alu - (local) R250 

Strips - (Digikey) R2180

Driver - (Digikey) R1680

- Digikey has free delivery with anything over 2k, will see how much import tax is when we get there.

Potentiometer + resistor - (Stepdads garage) Free, although if you gona buy it, it would be fairly cheap. 

[afternoon blazer]

1 hour ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

The cost of things?

Alu - (local) R250 

Strips - (Digikey) R2180

Driver - (Digikey) R1680

- Digikey has free delivery with anything over 2k, will see how much import tax is when we get there.

Potentiometer + resistor - (Stepdads garage) Free, although if you gona buy it, it would be fairly cheap. 

Thank you sir. Deeply. This is perfect. I will be going DIY when im ready. Gona save these specs. 

Might go abit lower scale though.

 

[afternoon blazer]

Whats your ideas on the Frame @Naughty.Psychonaut ?

 

@ChroniclyChronic looks really dope. 

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

@afternoon blazer

Shiiib, only a pleasure my dude! 

Here's something you might like, 

https://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Someone on the forum was kind enough to provide me with that link, it's really all you'll need when going DIY LED. 

On the frame, cause of the 1mx1m space I'm planning a 80cm x 80xm frame so the light can comfortably fit inside and not fuck with my tent.  Beams of the same alu T-strip across. Will have the best coverage possible, cause will have strip on the frame all over. There will be about 4cm gaps between each beam so no need for passive cooling, heat will be virtually non existant. 

That's about it! 

[TheUltimateNoob]

Great idea for this thread!

 

I think I might have over-engineered my frame

Made with 45 mm extrusion which has one flat side for sticking the Samsung F-Series double row 2 footers.

 

 

 

Going for 240W to replace my California Lightworks 250 in a 80x80

Weighs 6KG

I will replace the the corner fasteners with a lighter option to save some weight

 

 

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Thank you, and Jeez, that's one hefty unit... Nice one though, I'm planning a 3 board qb288 240w fixture, hopefully will get it done in the next 3 months.

 

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[TheUltimateNoob]

I agree, awesome thread topic!

@ChroniclyChronic 

That's one sexy frame you put together!

I'm putting a 1mx1m flower room together.

Got 15m of Alu T-strip. 3cmx3cm. Gona build a 80cm x 80cm frame and put 10 beams across. 

Here is what I ordered,

Strips on backorder with 8 weeks waiting! FML

Here's what I'm going for, 

Will have potentiometer for dimming aswell. 

Nice! Gonna get a nice even coverage with that number of strips.

 

Where did you order them from? Edit: just saw that you posted it already. Thanks man

 

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[TheUltimateNoob]

Love this thread! This is something small for veg. Draw watt should be about 225w so I would think I’m getting around 100w true. But could be completely off so will keep updating as to how it grafts Simple and easy to put together...

Liking the DIY here, but you're gonna have that hot spot in the center, be sure to take advantage of it

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[TheUltimateNoob]

Thought I'd share a few pictures of that UFO LED I disassembled. 

I replaced the stock fan with a bigger (120mm) PC fan, slapped on a heat sink I found laying around with some thermal paste I had - it's not optimal but it will help with heat dissipation for sure - and propped the fan higher than the heat sink using some wooden skewers since I figured they would insulate well and it's fine since they won't be under any significant forces.

I then cable strapped everything together with the power supply taped on top of the fan for additional cooling. The cable ties haven't started melting, in fact they aren't even damaged, and I don't think they're gonna give out any time soon.

The replacement fan makes the unit run silently and still remains warm to the touch (a bit on the warmer side though).

I also added some connectors to the input of the driver to make it a bit easier to disconnect.

 

It's a small project, but taking apart this Chinese Blurple back then when I did and having a look at the insides (including how the LEDs are connected to each other) gave me the confidence to want to DIY my next light. Hell, I'm pretty sure I could even design a board at this stage, so if it was easier to make my own boards, I would

Anyway, I've always been fascinated by electronics since like primary school and studying a bunch of science modules helped a lot when it came to understanding the technicalities when rigging up a light, so I'm always willing to learn new info. Finally I have something that can make use of the knowledge, now to just get some parts and hardware

[afternoon blazer]

7 hours ago, TheUltimateNoob said:

Thought I'd share a few pictures of that UFO LED I disassembled. 

I replaced the stock fan with a bigger (120mm) PC fan, slapped on a heat sink I found laying around with some thermal paste I had - it's not optimal but it will help with heat dissipation for sure - and propped the fan higher than the heat sink using some wooden skewers since I figured they would insulate well and it's fine since they won't be under any significant forces.

I then cable strapped everything together with the power supply taped on top of the fan for additional cooling. The cable ties haven't started melting, in fact they aren't even damaged, and I don't think they're gonna give out any time soon.

The replacement fan makes the unit run silently and still remains warm to the touch (a bit on the warmer side though).

I also added some connectors to the input of the driver to make it a bit easier to disconnect.

 

It's a small project, but taking apart this Chinese Blurple back then when I did and having a look at the insides (including how the LEDs are connected to each other) gave me the confidence to want to DIY my next light. Hell, I'm pretty sure I could even design a board at this stage, so if it was easier to make my own boards, I would

Anyway, I've always been fascinated by electronics since like primary school and studying a bunch of science modules helped a lot when it came to understanding the technicalities when rigging up a light, so I'm always willing to learn new info. Finally I have something that can make use of the knowledge, now to just get some parts and hardware

Awsome stuff brother.

Theres so many good things about DIY.

Not forggeting how proud u feel when its complete and done properly. 

 

[TheUltimateNoob]

Awsome stuff brother.
Theres so many good things about DIY.
Not forggeting how proud u feel when its complete and done properly. 
 

One of the most rewarding feelings

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[PsyCLown]

Very nice guys!

 

I have built some LED strips and many QB's

I prefer to run active cooling with my QB's now as the temps end up around ambient room temp, so faaar cooler than passive heatsinks.

Also can work out cheaper depending on where you source it all from.

 

Unfortunately no pics at the moment.

[TheUltimateNoob]

Very nice guys!
 
I have built some LED strips and many QB's
I prefer to run active cooling with my QB's now as the temps end up around ambient room temp, so faaar cooler than passive heatsinks.
Also can work out cheaper depending on where you source it all from.
 
Unfortunately no pics at the moment.

Thanks bro... Which do you prefer? Boards or strips?

I'm all for active cooling with some silent 12V pc fans... It just makes sense... 6w more to bring the temps of the heatsink down by like 10 or 15°C? Any day

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[ChroniclyChronic]

Finished my light and installed it:


My tent isn’t bending from the weight







Worked out slightly more expensive than commercially available, but the school fees are priceless


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[afternoon blazer]

2 hours ago, ChroniclyChronic said:

Finished my light and installed it:


My tent isn’t bending from the weight







Worked out slightly more expensive than commercially available, but the school fees are priceless


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Great build bro. Looks sweet

[TheUltimateNoob]

Finished my light and installed it:


My tent isn’t bending from the weight







Worked out slightly more expensive than commercially available, but the school fees are priceless


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My god, well done bro.

That wiring is so pleasing to look at, thank you so much for doing it that way, lol.

I'm sure it will perform well

I'm curious though, what made it cost more?

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[ChroniclyChronic]

My god, well done bro.

That wiring is so pleasing to look at, thank you so much for doing it that way, lol.

I'm sure it will perform well

I'm curious though, what made it cost more?

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Thanks man Yep I also dig the wiring, hope the epoxy holds up, but the wire is pretty stiff so should hold the shape well

I over-bought some things I didn’t end up needing, like many T-bolts and nuts and washers, 90 degree brackets, waterproof cable joiners, wrong guage wire, and too much wire. Taking all this out it was definitely cheaper though. And I can use the spares on future projects.
But I am super happy with it, very good spread and very bright. I just need to add a potentiometer for dimming


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[1000Hills Nursery]