A little experiment ;)

[evilc66]

evil - any "wet" numbers?

 

ie. par through the water at 12", 18", 24"?

Not at the moment. I need to make something to hang it before I can get measurements like that. Either that, or I employ the wife for a while as my portable "fixture". I don't think she will be too thrilled about that.

 

40 degree optics? Don't think they make anything less than that?

 

400 Watt MH comparison?

Actually, the optics I'm using are wider than that And optics tighter than 40 degrees are extremely common. Moreso than the 60 and 80 degree optics that we use.

 

It frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads

If only.

[marinoob]

well i lurked around all day 40+ pages of "hot chicks only" thread to catch up on. and still no answer its 5:01 im leaving work.

[Reef Casa]

I have no clue but this thread makes me laugh

[Squared]

it could probaly burn my fish's eyebalz off.

[Rcplain123]

Sounds awesome!

[evilc66]

Ok, seeing as someone is getting impatient () I'll spill the beans.

 

This was really just an excersise in seeing how well the heatsink of our new fixture was going to hold up to high thermal loads. I have no plans on selling the fixture this way, but you are more than welcome to set it like this.

 

Here is the parts list:

 

(1) Nanocustoms 10" DIY LED Fixture

(4) Bridgelux N1203 neutral white LEDs

(32) Cree XR-E royal blue LEDs

(4) Ledil Brooke-W 50 degree reflectors

(32) Cree 60 degree lenses

(2) Thomas Research 120W 1050mA drivers

 

Here is the topside of the fixture:

 

We will be offering other colors too, like this black one:

 

Here is the business end of things:

 

I grouped 8 royals around each Bridgelux. Seemed to be the best way to blend the colors together. They had to be spaced about 1-3/8" away from the Bridgelux to clear the reflector and lenses. If this was a optic-less setup, then they could be spaced closer. For this, I wanted to see where these LEDs could take me.

 

Here is a look at the heatsink:

 

These are the drivers:

 

They are a little bigger than the Meanwell ELN series drivers, but they are so much better. You don't need to play with current and voltage setting, and there is a built in 10v reference voltage. Just connect a 20K pot to the wires provided. Done. The drivers are IP67 sealed, and run much cooler than the ELN drivers. They also have 0.99 PFC, and greater than 90% efficiency. We have an exclusive distribution on this line of drivers, and will be stocking them very soon. We'll post an official announcement here soon.

 

Everything together:

 

On:

 

Now, there is something interesting about high power LEDs like the Bridgelux ones. Like all LEDs, they emit very little IR. What they have an abundance of is high energy photons that generate heat when they are absorbed by a material (acrylic in this case) placed close to them. This is what 4 18W LEDs will do to 1/4" cell cast acrylic placed 1/2" from the LEDs...

 

 

 

It got hot enough locally to the LEDs that it started sagging the acrylic. The XR-Es are no problem, as the energy is spread over a greater area. With only them on, the acrylic doesn't get warm at all. Take heed, those that are looking to use high wattage LEDs. Space the splash guard at least an inch from the LED.

 

Like I eluded to earlier, it's a PAR monster. 300 PAR at 48", 1000 PAR at 24", 1500 PAR at 18", PAR meter maxes out any closer than that. With the wide-ish optics on the LEDs, the coverage is pretty decent. 24"x24" seems pretty realistic at this point, but I have't taken any PAR readings on a grid. Soon though.

 

What I found reallt interesting, was that I was reading PAR in a way that I didn't expect. I had the fixture pointing to the ceiling, sitting on a box that was about 12" tall. I took my PAR meter out, switched it on, and had it held at about waist level as I was walking over to the array. To my surprise, I was reading 17 PAR! I was getting that from the light bouncing off the white ceiling. With the sensor about 24" from the ceiling, I was getting in excess of 60 PAR. That's better than many PCs at the same distance. That's the first lighting setup that I've had that happen to. I thought it was pretty cool.

 

I'll have some more test data soon on spread and more detailed PAR measurements. I'll get the spectrometer out too.

[Zeadon]

waa waa weee waa, very nice

[marinoob]

nice thanks for showing us now we need to see it above some water. dont you have a nano tank there at nano customs you could put this above :-)

[senoufo]

Now that's just pimp at it's finest.

[hexbasher]

If only.

 

Clownfish with freaking Cree Leds on their freakin heads?

 

nice fixture btw

[blasterman]

Nice job Evil. I can't wait to see this beast over a tank because the color has got to be spectacular.

 

B'chance did you take a case temp reading on the surface of the C1203 die? I've been following this rule as per Bridgelux's engineering notes and it gives a good reference as to how well your thermal management is doing.

[BLoCkCliMbeR]

whatever it is....it sounds like itll cost an arm and leg or two

and i need my arms and legs thank you!

 

its only 40 easy payments of 19.95 im sure.

 

nanocustoms needs to start letting folks finance stuff.

[evilc66]

Nice job Evil. I can't wait to see this beast over a tank because the color has got to be spectacular.

 

B'chance did you take a case temp reading on the surface of the C1203 die? I've been following this rule as per Bridgelux's engineering notes and it gives a good reference as to how well your thermal management is doing.

Thanks bud. The color is pretty nice for the few seconds I've had it over a tank. Need to get that hanging rig sorted out so I can snap some pictures. With the 8 royals per 1203, the color is about 12K with everything turned up. It's soooo crisp.

 

I'll have to find my thermocouple probe. All I have handy right now is my IR gun. It works ok, but it would be nice to see the true die temp.

 

waa waa weee waa, very nice

Thanks

 

nice thanks for showing us now we need to see it above some water. dont you have a nano tank there at nano customs you could put this above :-)

Soon enough. Just need that hanging fixture.

 

Now that's just pimp at it's finest.

Why thanks

 

Clownfish with freaking Cree Leds on their freakin heads?

 

nice fixture btw

Now you're getting closer

 

its only 40 easy payments of 19.95 im sure.

 

nanocustoms needs to start letting folks finance stuff.

You know, after adding everything together, you aren't far off. It's the drivers that are the killer, but it makes it soooo nice to wire everything in series. Yup, that's 32 royals in series on a single driver.

[senoufo]

that is definitely a plus driving 32 on a single driver that has built-in Vref, makes for a build that is much more elegant.

 

nice find on the driver!

 

i'll put in my $19,95 per month and won't be upset if it doesn't come with a slapchop...

[zemuss]

How much is the DIY kit going to cost?

[marinoob]

how much does the driver cost.

[Genj]

1 million dollars!

 

[Hans Dorn]

1 million dollars!

 

I'll take 10.

 

[nibor]

Only the most solid currencies issue bank notes vaild for 6 months.

[sae647]

how much does the driver cost.

[evilc66]

How much is the DIY kit going to cost?

The 10" DIY LED Fixture will cost about $135. That may change depending on the cost of the hardware we are looking at for the hanging kit.

 

The kit will come with the heatsink, your choice of acrylic cover color (black, white, clear), an 80x15mm fan, the splash guard, two sets of standoffs to accomodate lens and lens free setups, and all necessary hardware. Just add your own LEDs.

 

how much does the driver cost.

This particular driver will be in the $135 range each. We will be carrying a full lineup of drivers in the coming weeks. We'll be posting more details on which exact drivers we will initially be getting. The lower wattage units are much smaller, but everybit as efficient. I also didn't mention this before, but the drivers can be used worldwide.

[imsobored152]

looks nice. But I was hoping your project would involve buying my 22V 6diode monster leds

[Jacobnano]

To answer the original question:

 

 

So, what has 36 LEDs, draws 194W, and can throw 1500 PAR at 18" with a crisp 12K color temperature?

 

In "The Price is Right" announcer voice: Jacob's new light!

[zemuss]

Great when will it be available? How much would this setup cost?

[paneubert]

Great when will it be available? How much would this setup cost?

 

Sounds like around 800 bucks. Probably a bit more.