Group LED buy

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Blob-79

Blob-79

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Hey guys. Ive been in contact with Aquastyle online regarding their LEDs. In talking with some of the members here on the frag tank, it became apparent that we should maybe try out a group buy.

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/categories/DIY-LED-Lighting/DIY-Dimmable-LED-Kits/

These are the kits we are looking at. They are not Cree, so if thats what your looking for...look elsewhere :p These are Bridgelux LEDs.

so these are the kind of deals we will be looking at:

4 or more units sold- 5% off8 or more units sold- 10% off

72 LED diy dimmable kit-regular $189.  4 units=$179. 8 units=$169
36 LED diy dimmable kit-regular $99. 4 units=$95. 8 units=$89.

As far as heatsinks go, they can be ordered off this site for a what seems to be a decent price. Myself I will be making rails out of 'C' channel aluminum, I can supply anyone whos interested in the same.

We will be combining shipping as much as we can. Unless you live in a place that it wouldnt be economical.

from what i can tell, shipping for 1- 36led kit is $30 but for 4 its $86 and slowly gets cheeper and cheeper as quantity goes up. I guess it will depend on our numbers if we decide to group ship it or not.


1- blob-79 - 1x 90 led kit-1 doser
2- Torx ----- 1x 72 led kit
3- Marks69- 1x 90 led kit
4-Teebone--1x36  led kit
5-phatpaco-1x 72 led kit-2 heatsinks-1 doser
6-Kleko -----1x 36 led kit
7-phi delt reefer- 1-doser
8-petercar--1x 90 led kit - 1 doser
 
K

Krazykarl

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I am with torx... 72 led dimable but I want all royal blue plus some purple. Do they come with wiring instructions? I know LEDs wire in series but how manycan run off one driver? Also no price on a driver is included. Ill need a lil more info before I committ.
 
Neopimp

Neopimp

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COpied form my build thread.  You will need to pull up the bridgelux info sheets to find out their max amperage and the voltage drop they produce when lit to that amperage. Then the following math applies.

The biggest problem alot of people have is sizing the correct driver for their project.  I initally had this project designed ot use a single driver to run the RBs in 4 parallel strings of 12 LEDS.  Unfortunately that 120 W driver was special order peice.  For those who want to know how to size a driver for any of you setups, pay attention.

A driver has 3 main properties that will determine its use.  Power, Max Voltage, and Current

The power rating is the total Power it is capable of producing.  Max Voltage is the maximum potential or force the driver can generate to push Current through the string. And Current is the flow of electricity that the driver will generate as long as the Voltage ratingis not exceeded.

Step 1 is to determine what you want to drive the LED string at in terms of mA, so determine the max current you want.  The more current you psuh the brighter the light.  The RB XP typically take 1A and the CW XP can handle 1.5A MAX.  So it is wise to not mix different kind of leds, expeically for dimming purposes.  At this point you need to determie if you want parallel strings or series strings cause it will affect what current rating you will want in your driver.

Step2 is the Voltage Rating.  The max voltage is the max potential that the driver will develop in order to reach the current it is rated for.  Each LED approximately will require 3.0 to 3.5 V to light up.  So each LED you add you will need to have at least 3.5 V available from the driver. So If I want to light up 10 LEDS that require 3.0V then I will need a driver capable of 30VDC.  These drivers are not constant voltage sources liek many adaptors are.  These drivers will keep uping the voltage until they reach the required potential to move it rated current.  Therefore, too many leds means that the driver will never generate enough voltage to push its rated current.  That is they are Constant Current. with the voltage changing as needed.  Again this is aspect is applied differently between series and parallel setups.

Step 3 is  to make sure that the driver has enough total power to drive all the LEDs.  This is the total power needed.  Series or parallel makes no difference in this calculation.  For each LED you take the voltage (assume 3.0V) and multiply it by the Amps through it to get the power consumption.  Add them all together and make sure it is less that the Wattage rating on the driver.

Example:  Lets say I want to drive my 48 Royal Blue LEDs  (1A max) at .7A or 700 mA.  Assume 3.0V (actually closer to 3.4 i think)
               
          Series String:  This is easy because you will want a 700mA driver.  In series there is only one path for the electricity to flow so it
                                will take everything the driver puts out. What this means is that the driver is going to need a very high voltage
                                rating to power them all. 
                                          -  48 LEDs @ 3.0V means the driver needs at least 48*3 =144V DC ..... Stick your tongue on that
                                  The power rating on the driver will need to be
                                          - 48(3.0V x .7A) = 100.8 W
                                  So you are looking for a 100W or larger,  700mA,  driver that has a Max Voltage at least 144VDC .... It would
                                  drive all the LEDs in Series in one string.

        Parallel Strings: This is a little more difficult.  In a parallel circuit the drivers current is split between as many branches you have.
                                    So taking the above example we can go with 4 strings of 12, 2 strings of 24..... Each set up will require a
                                  different driver.  We want to drive our LEDs at .7A.  We have 4 strings at 700mA which means that the amperage
                                  rating we need from our driver is 4 * 700mA = 2800mA or 2.8A.  The trade off for the higher current is a lower
                                  required voltage.  If all strings are equal in resistance and such, then the voltage the driver needs to supply is
                                  the voltage required to light one string only.
                                          -  Since we have 12 LEDS in a string the driver needs to be rated for 12 * 3 or 36VDC.
                                    Power is still calculated the same way.
                                          - 48(3.0V x .7A) = 100.8 W

                                    So for 4 strings of 12 :  100W or larger, 2800mA , 36+VDC

What you need to remember is that because in a parallel setup, if one string opens for wahtever reason the driver is still putting out the 2.8A and it needs to go somewhere. Since there are only 3 paths left, each string will see 2800/3 = 933mA.  That is awefully close to the Max current the LEDS are rated for.  In this case we are still safe unless we blow out two strings, other cases you will not be.  If we had 2 strings running @ 700mA (1400mA driver) and we loose one string then the remainling string is going to see the FULL 1400mA.  When the LEDs are rated at 1A max .. they are not going to last long.  This risk can be reduced through design(as in the 4 string example) and/or with quick blow fuses.   

Parallel Strings also need to be as balanced as possible to each string sees the same amount of current.  If not and its bad enough you may actually see a difference in brightness between strings. Or if you are runnign close to the Max Amperage you may over power the LEDS.
Click to expand...
 
Neopimp

Neopimp

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With that said, I cant see them selling a driver that is not capable of driving all the LEDs in the kit.
 
Blob-79

Blob-79

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Krazykarl link said:
I am with torx... 72 led dimable but I want all royal blue plus some purple. Do they come with wiring instructions? I know LEDs wire in series but how manycan run off one driver? Also no price on a driver is included. Ill need a lil more info before I committ.
Click to expand...

prices include the drivers, wire, glue..everything you need except the heatsink
 
Blob-79

Blob-79

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Torx link said:
Do you have any idea when the order may be due
Click to expand...

Personally im in no rush, as people decide to commit, we will have to discuss a deadline I suppose. I would like to give it a good month or so before ordering.
 
pulpfiction1

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Neopimp

Neopimp

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I woudl be more ocncerned on the drivers than the LEDs..

Leds are pretty simple, not saying that the drivers arent, but what has me a little concerned is that these drivers dont have a company homepage, that i coudl find anyways.

Not to mention I dont know if these are controllable with the apex and such or not...

I am at work so I alot of sites are blocked out but this one retunred a promising hit on these.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t277621.html

Have a look.
 
pulpfiction1

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their big driver
--------------------------------------------------------
Maxwellen LED Dimmable Driver (12-20)x3watt LEDs

•Input voltage: AC 100-240V 50-60Hz
•Output voltage: 30-70V
•Output current(constant): 680mA +/-5%
•Power range: Minimum 12 LEDs, Maximum 20 LEDs
•Dimmable control: Potentiometer
•Water proof: IP66
•Dimension: 11.5cm x 3.7cm x 2.8cm(H)
•Net weight: 0.25kg

------------------------------------------
smaller one:

Maxwellen LED Dimmable Driver (7-12)x3watt LEDs

•Input voltage: AC 100-240V 50-60Hz
•Output voltage: 24-51V
•Output current(constant): 680mA +/-5%
•Power range: Minimum 7 LEDs, Maximum 12 LEDs
•Dimmable control: Potentiometer
•Water proof: IP66
•Dimension: 11cm x 3cm x 2.2cm(H)
•Net weight: 0.16k

----------------------------------------------
 
Blob-79

Blob-79

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ya, their drivers are dimmable via a Pot....seeing this tells me its most likely controllable. I will ask
 
P

phi delt reefer

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they are not digitally controllable. they lack a 0-10v input.


.... i may be wrong.... blob will find out more...
 
Neopimp

Neopimp

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so no controllers... PWM or 0-10V style
Correct and flame if I am wrong :)
 
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