The "Where Do I Begin?" BC29 LED Upgrade with Stock Hood

[TheStar]

I cooked the LED's up to Well Done and it was too much.

 

 

I tested them afterward and they were toasty. They actually came off the aluminum stars as I was scraping off flux/solder. So, not only did I ruin them, but I couldn't draw a conclusion.

 

There was one lesson learned. If you plan on doing this, do them one at a time. I did 4 of them and ruined them all at once. If I had done, I would have realized that I cooked it too much....

[TheStar]

Pitchers... Overcooked LED's... Evil was this some kind of practical joke because of all my questions? JK!

 

 

Also pictured is my testing cells, which I pulled out of a laptop battery, and one good LED to make sure my testing method is still working.

 

 

[evilc66]

Oh, wow! Yeah, a little too toasty. Sorry about the damage. This is a legit way to reflow solder though. I use a similar method with a small electric skillet with good luck.

[TheStar]

Oh, wow! Yeah, a little too toasty. Sorry about the damage. This is a legit way to reflow solder though. I use a similar method with a small electric skillet with good luck.

 

 

Thats cool, I knew I was taking a chance but they weren't working anyway.

 

I was basically trying to cook the whole thing up and it should have just been reheating it to reflow the solder.

 

It was really neat to take it all apart and see how it was all put together.

 

Hmmm.... were was the bookmark for LED supply?

[zemuss]

Ok, tagging along.

 

I have a question that was mentioned earlier. The 48P dimable Meanwell driver, do you need the external power supply for the 10V? Shouldn't that be in the meanwell?

 

"Z"

[goofyreefer]

Ok, tagging along.

 

I have a question that was mentioned earlier. The 48P dimable Meanwell driver, do you need the external power supply for the 10V? Shouldn't that be in the meanwell?

 

"Z"

 

 

I was thinking the same thing..... Why wouldn't meanwell make a PWM to go with the driver? and/or include it with the driver. Now I'm just patiently waiting for Evils new PWM before I make the change from the PC hood to LED hood. I'm also affraid i won't be able to build whatever Evil has developed with my sausage fingers:)

[coralcor]

i just relised it says you are from boston... are you on the boston reefers sight?

[TheStar]

i just relised it says you are from boston... are you on the boston reefers sight?

 

I am on that site too. I'm on this one a lot more. Do you have a thread on BR?

 

Ok, tagging along.

 

I have a question that was mentioned earlier. The 48P dimable Meanwell driver, do you need the external power supply for the 10V? Shouldn't that be in the meanwell?

 

"Z"

 

Yes, you need an external power supply. I just used a couple (one for each meanwell) I had hanging around (pictured above). As evil mentioned this will make your LED's run at full tilt.

[evilc66]

Meanwells have a sinking input, meaning you have to supply power to it. If it was a sourcing input, that would be different. The reason they do this is to make it compatible with standard industrial controls for lighting.

[goofyreefer]

I went ahead today and swapped out my hoods and WOW I can't believe the difference. I LOVE the shimmer the LED's give compared to the stock PC hood. I can't stop looking at it. I am surprised at how warm the mean wells get though. I have them mounted in a box but I'm thinking of adding a small fan to that box before I close it all up.

[TheStar]

I went ahead today and swapped out my hoods and WOW I can't believe the difference. I LOVE the shimmer the LED's give compared to the stock PC hood. I can't stop looking at it. I am surprised at how warm the mean wells get though. I have them mounted in a box but I'm thinking of adding a small fan to that box before I close it all up.

 

I love the shimmer too. The LED's seem to be so much cleaner and brighter.

[goofyreefer]

HEy star do your mean wells get pretty warm or even hot?

[TheStar]

HEy star do your mean wells get pretty warm or even hot?

 

 

They get a little bit warm, but they are out in the open.

[goofyreefer]

I keep forgetting to finish it. Got so much on my plate right now it's not funny.

 

 

I was wondering Evil if this was still a plan or scrapped since your affiliated with nanotuners now? Just curious:)

[evilc66]

It's still sitting on my bench waiting to be finished. Just because I'm working for Nanocustoms doesn't mean I am not still helping the DIY crew. I've just been busy.

[goofyreefer]

No worries... I was just curious.

[my2girls]

Sorry if I missed it, but what size heat sink did you use?

[TheStar]

Sorry if I missed it, but what size heat sink did you use?

 

 

1 piece 14" long x 7.29 wide with 1.5" corners cut out.

 

I ordered it from Russell at heatsink usa. He also cut the corners out for no extra charge.

[critmin]

Hi, thanks for posting this thread. I am trying to figure out how to put together a diy led fixture for my tank. I was wondering if it is necessary to drill holes into the heat sink to mount the pcb's. Couldn't you just use the thermal glue? Or what is the thermal glue used for? Thanks again.

[TheStar]

Hi, thanks for posting this thread. I am trying to figure out how to put together a diy led fixture for my tank. I was wondering if it is necessary to drill holes into the heat sink to mount the pcb's. Couldn't you just use the thermal glue? Or what is the thermal glue used for? Thanks again.

 

Hi...Yes, you do need to screw the LED's to the heatsink to hold them on. The Thermal Glue isn't really glue, its there to help transfer the heat from the LED to the heatsink.

 

 

Thermal adhesive <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3> Jump to: navigation, search Thermal adhesive is a type of thermally conductive glue used for electronic components and heatsinks. Thermal adhesive is similar to thermal paste in that it is used for transferring heat from one surface to another. It is commonly used to bond heatsinks to motherboard chipsets and video card processors where there are no mounting holes to clamp a heatsink down.

 

The glue is usually a two-part epoxy resin.

 

Thermal adhesive is usually applied by the manufacturer of the part to which it is applied, although it is also sold to the general public.

[evilc66]

It is a glue. It's the thermal paste that isn't a glue. Thermal epoxy will hold the LEDs nice and tight to the heatsink, but it's very permanent, and makes things difficult if you need to replace an LED.

[TheNordCelt]

How thick is you heatsink? I'm getting ready to order mine and they have a few different thicknesses.

[TheStar]

How thick is you heatsink? I'm getting ready to order mine and they have a few different thicknesses.

 

I have a spare piece here and just remeasured it. It's a little bit over 1", but I think you measure the fins only therefore, its 1".

 

The dimensions were 1 piece 14" long x 7.29 wide with 1.5" corners cut out.

[WetWork66]

I have a spare piece here and just remeasured it. It's a little bit over 1", but I think you measure the fins only therefore, its 1".

 

The dimensions were 1 piece 14" long x 7.29 wide with 1.5" corners cut out.

 

 

Great information, guys - Evil, you are awesome. I'd like to do a similar project - but you'll have to forgive me, I'm a "mundane" freshwater guy. The first one I'd like to do (I have multiple large tanks), is a 200-gal tank (72" long), and I would plan on using 14x7 heat sinks as the LED bases, setting multiples up along the length of the tank. Some initial questions:

1. For a freshwater tank, any advice on the mix (or ratio) of whites to blues?

2. Since the tank is so deep, would it make more sense to use higher-watt LEDs for greater penetration? If so, any driver recommendations?

[evilc66]

Freshwater planted needs far less intensity than a reef, and also doesn't need blue LEDs. Hit me up via PM and we can talk about it rather than cluttering up this thread.