Neto Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well I am no exception from others using luxdrive LED drivers for their lights fixtures.... I built an 18 led w/4 luxdrive buckpucks fixture for my 10 gallon and its been running for a week now. The buckpucks where the 1 Amps series prewired and with potentiometer. Here is my post with pictures: Visit my post Well now after a week, 2 luxdrive buckpucks have failed. One was running only 4 LEDS and the other one was running 5 LEDS. I am not even putting these at their maximum..... I checked for shorts in my circuit, I did allot of continuity test before starting it and after they got damaged..... Nothing was found. It seems that these drivers are bad and I all ready lost $40.00 not including shipping and I am preparing myself to lose another $40.00 after the other two drivers left die!... That hurts after spending so much time and money in this.... I heard that these overheat and get damaged, but my house was @ 68 degrees all the time and these where not enclosed.... All the connections are soldered also. I think people should avoid buying these because they are failing alot. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Don't spend more money. Get Luxdrive to replace them. They are at fault if you have installed them correctly, which it seems you have. I'm assuming the power supply is 24v? Buckpucks are unfortunately convenient. They are the cheapest option, and the most readily available. There are very few options for dimmable drivers at that price point. The Recom drivers would be a better option if they were a little cheaper and came pre wired for dimming, but they don't. Link to comment
Neto Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Don't spend more money. Get Luxdrive to replace them. They are at fault if you have installed them correctly, which it seems you have. I'm assuming the power supply is 24v? Buckpucks are unfortunately convenient. They are the cheapest option, and the most readily available. There are very few options for dimmable drivers at that price point. The Recom drivers would be a better option if they were a little cheaper and came pre wired for dimming, but they don't. yes the psu is 24V and its reading 24V Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Cool. I was more worried that the power supply output voltage was less than the vf of the LEDs. That's a sure fire way to kill Buckpucks. Link to comment
Neto Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Cool. I was more worried that the power supply output voltage was less than the vf of the LEDs. That's a sure fire way to kill Buckpucks. whats the maximum these buckpucks can handle? I think I read somewhere 35v but i am not sure my psu readings are from 24V - 24.6V ... is that bad? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Your voltages are fine. The Buckpuck is supposed to take up to 32v. We have found that the datasheet can't always be trusted. You are fine though. Link to comment
redfishsc Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Evil, doesn't Meanwell offer drivers that come with pots or otherwise are dimmable right out of the box? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 No. The ELN is the only dimmable available right now. There are some others coming down the pipe next year, but still external controls. Link to comment
stevenkoh08 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 agree with evil66 ELN is a good option for dimming Link to comment
redfishsc Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 No. The ELN is the only dimmable available right now. There are some others coming down the pipe next year, but still external controls. Umm. I'm confused (nothing new there ) I asked if Meanwell offered dimmable drivers right out of the box, and it appears that you are saying "no" but suggest the ELN, which is a Meanwell. If I order the product below (ELN-60-48), will it show up at the door dimmable? Is nanotuners tossing in a potentiometer in the box that must be wired into the array... or does this ELN have the dimmer built into it... or what. http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=630 Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I thought you were asking if there were other drivers from Meanwell that were dimmable. The ELN series has been long known to be dimmable. If you were to buy and ELN-60-48D from Nanotuners right now, you would still need to supply a 10v voltage source, and a way to adjust the voltage. Best way to do that right now is with a small 12v wall wart, and an LM317 (with a 10K pot as R2 and a 1K and 470 ohm resistor in series as R1, look here) set up as an adjustable voltage regulator. This will get you 0-10v. The other option is to get yourself an RKL with an ALC module. Link to comment
Neto Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 LEDSUPPLY replaced my two buckpucks !!!! with just an explanation, WOW what a great company. I do have to ship my damaged ones though.... So I replaced them already and everything is working now!!! has anybody had these for over a year without problems?? Link to comment
redfishsc Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I'd like to hear that one myself. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Over a year for me. 1000mA and 700mA. Link to comment
Neto Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 Over a year for me. 1000mA and 700mA. Thats good to know!!! so maybe some come damaged from factory.... Link to comment
deepdvnarq Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 almost a year and no problems with my units and the others that i have built. i know i was one to complain about the buckpuck. athough it is unacceptable to have to go through pain of a bad BP, some bad products will happen. what really matters is how it is handled and if they stand true to their word. you only here bad things because that's what people do. you never really here people complain of good things! myself included. so that being said, there are some bad BP flaoting around but as a general product, they are still reliable, and CHEAP. Luxdrive in my experience has stayed true to thier word and replaced the bad pucks along the way. i have built seven units so far with BP and they are all working fine. Link to comment
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