DIY High Power LED Retrofit

[evilc66]

Dimming makes life a lot easier for acclimation, and you can adjust your color temperature to whatever you like.

[spencers]

besides it stimulate sunrise and sunset, what's the benefits of it? I am debating if I want to spend the extra $ for it. As matter of fact, I am thinking even not to buy the extra module for the RKL for dimming just straight up on/off..

 

You don't understand how bright these LEDs are.

I don't think anyone on the forum runs theirs at 100%

[WmTasker]

It was interesting reading this thread on and off over the last few hours.

Does anyone know if you can use the ReefKeeper ALC - Advanced Light Controller to automatically dim your lights on and off? Will the dimmer work with Meanwell or Buckpuck drivers? Since most people only run their LED's at around 60-80%, will the dimmer let you keep the lights at a certain output? I quess that would be a better question for ReefKeeper support.

[thewire]

You don't understand how bright these LEDs are.

I don't think anyone on the forum runs theirs at 100%

 

 

yes but if I am running at 700mA and using Q4 LED, does it help? or not?

[evilc66]

It was interesting reading this thread on and off over the last few hours.

Does anyone know if you can use the ReefKeeper ALC - Advanced Light Controller to automatically dim your lights on and off? Will the dimmer work with Meanwell or Buckpuck drivers? Since most people only run their LED's at around 60-80%, will the dimmer let you keep the lights at a certain output? I quess that would be a better question for ReefKeeper support.

You can. What you will need to do to connect the ALC will depend on the driver used. If you use the Meanwell ELN-60-48D, it's a direct connection. If you use Buckpucks, you will need a simple voltage divider to bring the output voltage from 10v down to a more Buckpuck friendly 5v. It's super easy to do, and has been documented before.

 

yes but if I am running at 700mA and using Q4 LED, does it help? or not?

 

Not as much as you would think. I would still consider dimmable drivers.

[WmTasker]

Has anyone ever thought about a LED more powerful than 3 watts. This company has LEDs of 20, 30 and 50 watts. Any thoughts on finding a driver for one of them?

 

http://www.hyledchina.com/High-Power-LED/5...-Power-LED.html

[papatom]

so the splash gaurd is 13.5" x 7.5". Do you think i would be ok with a 11.5"x 6" heat sink. I would like to put 17 or 18 leds(9rb and 8white, or 9 and 9). I would run 3 1000mmA buckpuck drivers(6rb on one 6white on one and 3 and 3 on the third) I saw crs2k used two 24v 6.5A Protrans would I be able to connect the white puck and the mixed puck to this? If so how would i go about doing this. As far as wiring the plugs to the box did you make the plugs yourself or did you buy them like that. I am trying to get everything down first before i jump into this investment so any tiny you can offer would be awesome

[Clown Fish 39]

hello i just ordered about all the parts Waterproof did so i have a few questions:

 

1. He mentioned he wired the buck pucks in parallel, so does that mean he took a positive wire(one for the power supply) from one of the buck pucks and connected it to the other buck pucks negative wire(one for power supply) and the remaining positive and negative ( one from each buck puck) and connected it to the power supply? sorry if that doesnt make sense

 

2. Does it matter what "point" of the Cree star the wire is soldered to, or do i just make sure it is either the positive or negative side?

 

3. What kind of cable can i use to connect the DC jacks from the project box to the Leds and power supply?

 

thanks

[doctaq]

running in parallel means all the positives all go together and all the negatives go together and connect them to the power supply.

 

it doesnt matter which pad of the star you use

 

you can use any wire that isnt insanely thin to connect the power supply to the driver and leds to leds

[Clown Fish 39]

okay thanks, on the the power supply how do you connect the wires to it? how do i go about making the two wires into one?

 

could i use like AV jacks to connect?

 

do you know what kind of DC jacks he used?

[doctaq]

strip the ends of the wire and twist them up is the simplest way, otherwise there are lots of different types of connectors at home depot or radioshack.

[doctaq]

a 5v power supply will not be enough, not even for 1 led with a buckpuck

[Clown Fish 39]

Oh shoot I thought that said 25 volt 5 watt okay my bad

 

do you have any ideas on my questions above?

[doctaq]

connection methods are secondary, unless you think you are going to be constantly plugging and unplugging it you might as well go with something simple that you can buy at home depot

[Clown Fish 39]

hello

i built my fixture and finished everything and i tested it out yesterday and it worked perfect for around 30 minutes, then today i tried to fire it up and one of the buckpuck started smoking and it smelled bad like burning plastic

i did exactly the same thing i did the night before but this time i fried the buck puck, the other one if fine because even while the other one was burning it still was working so im pretty sure it is still good

 

 

1. what could have caused that ?

 

2. what can i do to prevent this from happening again?

 

3. what should that little white screw on the power supply be at ?

 

4. There is a like burnt line that is under the positive and negative vin of the fried buck puck what could that be from?

 

i ordered a new just now and it should be here by thursday so i would love to get answers as soon as possible

 

I will try to explain the power box that it is in:

i am using 3 coaxial dc jacks in two different sizes, 2 M and one N for the power supply

 

The positive and negative wires from each buck puck labeled LED (+) and LED (-) are connected to two sepereate coaxial dc jacks

 

The two wires labeled VIN (+) and VIN (-) on each buck puck are run in parallel so the two VIN (+) are soldered together and the two VIN (-) are soldered together and each set of two wires are connected to the Coaxial DC jack size N

I heat shrink and soldered all wire to the DC COAXIAL JACKS

 

What could have happened?

[SluggishSloth]

hello

i built my fixture and finished everything and i tested it out yesterday and it worked perfect for around 30 minutes, then today i tried to fire it up and one of the buckpuck started smoking and it smelled bad like burning plastic

i did exactly the same thing i did the night before but this time i fried the buck puck, the other one if fine because even while the other one was burning it still was working so im pretty sure it is still good

 

 

1. what could have caused that ?

 

2. what can i do to prevent this from happening again?

 

3. what should that little white screw on the power supply be at ?

 

4. There is a like burnt line that is under the positive and negative vin of the fried buck puck what could that be from?

 

i ordered a new just now and it should be here by thursday so i would love to get answers as soon as possible

 

I will try to explain the power box that it is in:

i am using 3 coaxial dc jacks in two different sizes, 2 M and one N for the power supply

 

The positive and negative wires from each buck puck labeled LED (+) and LED (-) are connected to two sepereate coaxial dc jacks

 

The two wires labeled VIN (+) and VIN (-) on each buck puck are run in parallel so the two VIN (+) are soldered together and the two VIN (-) are soldered together and each set of two wires are connected to the Coaxial DC jack size N

I heat shrink and soldered all wire to the DC COAXIAL JACKS

 

What could have happened?

 

 

 

If the coaxial jacks your using are the ones I'm thinking that have two solder points and the cover screws on to cover the back? If so did you use tape or heatshrink on the outer terminal? I made the mistake of heatshrinking and I rushed it and my heatshrink was to short and I bumped the coaxial plug and the pos and neg touched inside the plug and fried my buckpuck. I changed my setup and just used the plugs from the stock biocube that go from the tombstone (that holds the bulb) to the balast wires in the hood. Check that first if not you will need to check continuity with a multimeter from pos to neg on both the power input to the driver and the output to the leds to check for a short.

[rickmar1905]

great thread, iv spent 2 days looking at trying to work out a set-up for 6 seoul p7's and this has totally changed my mind. im going to run 2 x 1000ma buckpucks with external dimming, 1 running 6 whites, 1 running 6 blues but i dont get how to work out the power supplys. you say the bucks will supply the correct voltage to the leds as long as my power supply is within the bucks range thats ok, but do i need to match the amps and watts of the power supply? the bucks constantly output at 1000ma each but is there a limit that should go into them? as for watts, iv no idea. id like 2 power supplys to give the option of dusk/dawn and if possible to get a power supply for the blues that would also run fans would be great any help would be great cheers

[jimonline]

I have studied this thread for 2 days and now have a couple of problems. I haven't slept since I started reading this! And I forgot to go to work today!

 

Cost of LED build $200-$250, 8 hours of sleep, getting fired for not going to work XXX,XXX and the value of this thread---- PRICELESS!

 

Great job and thanks (I think)

[supacharged21]

First I would like to say this is my first post since 2005 or 2006! LOL I am back! This thread is right up my alley because I was looking for a lighting upgrade for my brand new bc14. I am interested in doing the 12 led setup also.

 

Here is my basket so far.

 

Cree XR-E Q5 Star LED x 6

 

Cree Royal Blue XR-E Star LED X6

 

3023-D-E-1000P Wired BuckPuck, 1000mA Output, DC Powered w/ Potentiometer X2

 

8.5x 5 inch heatsink x1

 

The only problem I am having is locating a 2 power supply's. I looked at the link listed earlier in this thread, but MPJA says it is no longer in stock or being carried?

[atc5016]

So I just purchased pretty much everything from the first post of this thread and I am about to start this adventure on my own 14gal BioCube. For those of you looking for power supplies I did find a 24v 1.5A power supply on Amazon that was intended for a motorized Razor Scooter which came in at $12 before shipping. I am going to buy 2 of them one for each Buck so I can have independent control of each color. I keep thinking that 1.5A is low but a Buck maxes out at 1000ma(1amp) so that should be enough right??? Also I have spent much time reading this thread and many like it and I do not believe anyone has mentioned using self taping screws to attach the stars to the heat sink, is there a reason for this?

 

Thank you, and I cant wait for my new toys to come in!!

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

So I just purchased pretty much everything from the first post of this thread and I am about to start this adventure on my own 14gal BioCube. For those of you looking for power supplies I did find a 24v 1.5A power supply on Amazon that was intended for a motorized Razor Scooter which came in at $12 before shipping. I am going to buy 2 of them one for each Buck so I can have independent control of each color. I keep thinking that 1.5A is low but a Buck maxes out at 1000ma(1amp) so that should be enough right??? Also I have spent much time reading this thread and many like it and I do not believe anyone has mentioned using self taping screws to attach the stars to the heat sink, is there a reason for this?

 

Thank you, and I cant wait for my new toys to come in!!

 

You can use self tapping screws but dont try to tap with them twice. Also make sure they don't short on the solder pads.

 

FYI though, this thread is very old and you should really consider the newer LEDs that are out now which are going to save you some money and put out more light.