Amps

[Peanut Ty]

Hi I have a 18 watts with  6   3 watt leds light and the power supply that came with it  was 0.6 amps output.can I use a power supply that is 2.5 amp output or will I fry the light.it does get much warmer when I plugged it in but not crazy hot.

[mitten_reef]

47 minutes ago, Peanut Ty said:

Hi I have a 18 watts with  6   3 watt leds light and the power supply that came with it  was 0.6 amps output.can I use a power supply that is 2.5 amp output or will I fry the light.it does get much warmer when I plugged it in but not crazy hot.

Most led needs 3V each, and to get full 3W from them, you’d need a 1 amp constant current output.  So your original power supply is probably under-driving those led a little bit. That said, driving them at 2.5 will more than likely burn them out prematurely.

@Reefkid88, how did I do?

@5*Chris, you built a led bar recently, thought?

[Peanut Ty]

Thank you that’s what I was thinking.

[5*Chris]

15 hours ago, mitten_reef said:

Most led needs 3V each, and to get full 3W from them, you’d need a 1 amp constant current output.  So your original power supply is probably under-driving those led a little bit. That said, driving them at 2.5 will more than likely burn them out prematurely.

@Reefkid88, how did I do?

@5*Chris, you built a led bar recently, thought?

Well said.

 

Also most 3w diodes are designed to run at 1a max, some lower like 800mA. So driving them at 2.5a is just asking for something bad to happen. If you're lucky the led will just burn out, if not then better keep a fire extinguisher close. 

 

My personal diy bar that uses Luxeon ES diodes I drive at 450mA, but they'll safely handle 1000mA easy. I plan on driving them at 700mA but had the 450 driver/PS on hand, so just used that. I believe Orphek also drives their bars at 450mA, and the Reefbreeders bars I have run at 600mA. 

 

Not knowing what LEDs you have/use, I'd personally keep the 600mA driver that came with it for safety and longevity of the setup. Figure out what diodes you have and look at the specs. After that purchase the correct driver/PS or upgrade.