Very cool build @Natea please keep us updated.
@Tejas those wiring charts you posted above have me a little confused.
Some of the drawings for the 4’x4’ setup shows two sets of leads coming from the driver, while other drawings show one set of leads coming from the driver.
The driver comes with only two wires on the output side, so what is going on the drawings that I’m not understanding?
Edit: now that I’m looking at pics of that driver, it appears you can get two or one set of output wires.
It is based on the number of led strips being used. The first one uses 8 strips and the driver has one +/- output. The second one uses 16 strips, one set of output going to the first 8 strips and the second output going to the other 8 strips.
That’s a close call! Glad you caught it!
on my new diy build I opted for those clear block wago connectors too.
So why the difference in wiring between the Bridgelux and the Samsung h series.
The bridgelux drawing is showing two sets of outputs coming from the driver to two sets of strips wired parallel.
The Samsung has one set of outputs wired parallel to all the strips.
I guess Im confused, because isn’t both setups wired parallel?
Not trying to argue, just trying to wrap my mind around what I’m seeing and educate myself on builds.
Could you not use the single output driver and wire all the bridgelux parallel the same as the Samsungs?
Your asking good questions, maybe we narrow down which design(s) you are considering and go from there.
I really don’t have specific strip build in mind. I’m just seeing what others are using.
For the last few years I have been using qb96 boards in my flower room. They are great and don’t intend on changing to strips anytime soon. I just like to keep my finger on the pulse of the latest lighting builds and I think strips are very cool.
Thanks for replying
Damn have me paranoid now I have a bunch of these style of lever nuts attached to most of my lights
I also have some smaller ones but cant find the link. I orginally switched to them because at least at the time I couldn’t find the lever wago ones for a good price and the previous push in ones I don’t like because they’re a pain to take out.
I had to go back to the Wago site to find the current specs (Amazon was useless).
The 5 slot 221 series has a UL rating of 20A (32A IEC).
This should be applicable so long as the parts are legit and wires properly installed (correct gauge sizes etc.).
That said, a loose connection will lead to exactly that failure mechanism.
The heat damaged part looks exactly like a 222 series Wago connector and has the same 32A IEC rating as the 221 series.
(so probably not a knockoff)
I’ve always been suspicious of that style of splicing connector…
…but then I’m the kind of guy that also solders crimped connectors… 
(especially the high current ones…)
Cheers
G
Layouts depend on strip voltage and driver selection, so one can have multiple layouts if the drivers are different, and those older Samsung’s I believe we’re 24v vs the bridgelux 19.5/39v depending on the strip
Thanks for the reply. I think I need to go check out a couple build threads to truly understand what is going on. I’m thinking possibly an overall voltage limitation.
I’m a very visual learner and sometimes need things explained in a very basic way. Even then I don’t get it sometimes. What’s the saying? I’m IIke a dear with head lice.
Yeah voltage limitation by the driver so say you have a driver that’s capable over a range and puts out say up to 60v, with 19.5v strips you could have 3 in series times how ever many parallel strings to either match what you want or max out the current capacity , now say a 24v strip you could only run two in series on that same driver as a third strip would push it past that max 60
Thanks.
Let me ask you guys about a build I’m currently working on. Let me know if it seems within specs for this driver.
I’m using two boards I bought recently
And the plan is to use an existing driver I have from an old cob build I did years ago. The driver is a hlg-185h-c1400a ran in series.
too dissimilar, even though running in series gets you up into the voltage range current output of the driver your only gonna be like 125w from the wall or say 112-115w at the panels with out over driving the driver, but that driver may be able to push it a bit more.
Doable sure, ideal no, using old drivers for new build yeah would work.
Thanks for your input.
I usually run my builds soft, so low power is not a concern for me. I will check it with my kill-a-watt meter and see what it pulls.
Safety is my #1 concern. Thanks for confirming it will work.
Did you use any flux before you soldered the wire?
I use phosphoric acid.
Do you have access to some rosin flux paste? I wonder if it would hold better.
Hey, I know it may not fit in the “cheap” category, but I’m seeking help and it sounds like a good place to ask.
I’m consdering buying 4 stradella 160 from led-tech (http://www.led-tech.de/en/160x-Samsung-LM301B-on-Stradella-160-in-3500K) for a half square meter space. Run them at 1050A to get 120W. This should give around 23000 lumens, 330 µMol/s.
Would 2 meanwell HLG-60H-54 (dimmable) work to feed that? From the specs (https://www.meanwell.co.uk/assets/pdf/HLG-60H-spec.pdf) it seems so, but I’m no electrician.
Yeah, cheap is ‘relative’… 
Judging from the LED driver I’m thinking you are looking at running 2 strips in series for each driver?
Generally, Mean Well drivers are priced per watt (more or less), this means two 60 watt drivers are about the same as a 120 watt unit.
For dimming, you have 3 options, 0~10 Vdc, PWM, & 0~100K ohm. The easiest (for us DIY types) is using a 100K linear pot.
Now if you want a single control dimming both drivers, use a 50K linear pot. This is not well documented in the driver specs but there is a ‘clue’ on page 5 (10K/N~100K/N Ohms resistance).
Page 6 has the efficiency vs load chart, I’m using 120Vac so my target is 70% for max efficiency. If you are running higher input voltage you might be tempted to push the max. load higher (I wouldn’t).
Page 7 has the lifetime vs temperature chart. This is case temperature and you see you do not want to go past 65C (I keep mine below 50C, lower is always better).
It looks like the LED strips require you to solder the wires to the PCB (some use a connector). You need to consider how you are going to integrate some ‘wire management’ in your construction to avoid any stress to those joints as they can be easily damaged. When mounting the strips to your support frame don’t over torque the hardware as that can cause stress to the nearby solder joints of the LEDs.
Suggestions:
Cheers
G
Thanks for the fast answer and the time spent reading the charts 
Yeah, my idea was to have two strips in series per driver (I should have mentionned that my bad). This has two advantages over one driver for all, one of them you mention later: lower voltage in the circuit. The other is that I could dim differently two sides of the cabinet (if I ever wish so, that’s more of a bonus).
Or would I get the same “low” voltage if I was running a 120W driver with 2 pairs of strips in series wired in parallel? That’s where my understanding of electricity is a bit foggy In that cas I’ll have a look at the 120W driver see if it’s cheaper than 2 60W
Yeah I’ll probably use a pot too.
I’m 240Vac, but I don’t want to push too much. That’s also why I’ve target to run them only at 1050A. Also helps to keep them cooler as I understood. Would that work too to stay in the 70% max efficiency?
Ooooh good catch, didn’t notice soldering was necessary. Well I have a soldering station, should be doable
Yeah, I’m willing to put the driver(s) outside. I was willing to simply use aluminium strips to mount them and as a cheap cooler. Do you think I should go for aluminium angle rather?
BTW, that’s the occasion for me to thank you for what you do here. I understand you’re part of the shipping of seed run boxes. That’s a nice dedication, keep up the good work!
