One of my XLG’s can be problematic but was overdriving it 20% and was in in a very warm location so similar issue to Reiko’s dad’s driver, but it runs fine at 75-100%.
But maybe doue to the more mass machine made i have seen and heard of a few of the XLG failing quite shortly out of the box, but they can get replaced under warranty
Generally the long term failure mode is the electrolytic caps drying out and eventually venting. Quality issues were significant a few years back when there were some counterfeit parts in circulation. Brand name products (Mean Well for one) will be using good quality parts (parts with higher temperature ratings and longer life).
Other ‘no name’ manufacturers might be using cheaper parts which can lead to earlier failures.
At the end of the day ambient operating temperatures and load conditions will dictate the life span of the LED driver.
TL:DR
run them cool, they will last longer 
Cheers
G
What width and thickness of aluminum angle should I use? I’m just about to start gathering materials.
My local Home Depot carries 3/4 (19mm) width with 1/8 (3mm) thickness. Is this adequate?
Bonus question: does anyone know the specs of the screws they used?
So long as you build the frame accurately so you can drill the mounting holes through the center of the aluminum angle, you are good.
I am using 1" angle 1/16th thickness. Homedepot.
! This is my first strip build, I’m learning as I go.
Paid too much. My metal supply place was out of stock.
Chopped to length.
I finally decided to go screwless.
Using thermal tape to attach strips.
(“Cut” under them with Dental floss to remove if needed)
1/16 is fine. The LED strips are about 7W a foot (that’s a 1st approximation) so not a lot of heat to radiate away. What you are looking for is structural integrity. I’m designing around 1" x 1/16" aluminum angle.
The old rule with incandescent lighting was electrical watts in = thermal watts out.
That doesn’t hold true for LEDs. With LEDs it is 1 electrical watt in = .7 thermal watts out.
If you actually try thermal calculations, stick with the 1:1 (and then you have a 30% margin in your favor - trust me, it’s better that way )
Personally, I don’t trust thermal tape as a long term solution. But that is just me.
Also, I found better pricing (GTA) for aluminum angle at Metal Supermarkets than the local box stores - and they cut to length. bonus!
Cheers
G
A good way to get long life from these drivers is to rig a PC fan to cool them, works a charm
Electrical help please!
Earlier in this thread the advice came up to wire the strips in parallel. The idea is that wiring in series creates safety and liability concerns.
Is there any reason a different driver would be required?
All the way back at post 607 @Mr.Sparkle created a Digikey shopping cart for @rob0781, who is building the same light as I am. Thanks @Mr.Sparkle!
The order is 16 strips at 2ft, and driver Meanwell Xlg 240 L AB, 240 watt power supply.
My friend has expressed concern that different driver specifications are needed to safety run the strips with parallel wiring.
Help! Electronics are not my forte to say the least.
if wanting to stay under that “50v” you will either want to go to a HLG driver such as the HLG-240h-42 or the the XLG-240-H
Both will allow you to build up some 2S8P arrays “2 strips in series but 8 of those in parallel” and they will be in the 39v 5.6A range light side.
I actually have the shipment on the way. Do I have options with this driver, or will it only work in series for this application?
I think half my bookmarks on OG are in this thread with the random tech advice that pops up… such as that post lol
@fishdude I only learned that after. Did you see what @Canofbusjoe posted this is what i am going to do with the ground.
So I struggled a long time with the whole series/parallel thing from a safety perspective. When you look up safety, all you see is limits for current. And it only takes a few miliamps to cause respiratory arrest.
If current is so deadly, why wouldn’t I want to minimize the current? It all boils down to Ohm’s law. The current is the voltage divided by resistance. In other words, a low voltage system will not be able to overcome the resistance of the skin as easily as a higher voltage system. Thus, less current running through the body.
Thanks. Always a good idea to ground a device! I’m also going to swap out my normal outlet for a gfci outlet as well.
Had to show off my funky framing. 1st of 4.
My rails are a touch short, leaving some gappage on the sides. By design for good airflow? Sure! lol
Solid, square, no twist/flex. And light weight.
So I got my quantum boards built . I started off at the lowest voltage 48v = 220w and brought it to 52v. Two boards with a mean well power supply on each shot my meter to 440w .
I grabbed my lumen’s meter ruffly 12 inches away it produced 160,000 lumens .
They heat sink got really warm , fans are needed . I added thermal compound too even though I know it’s said it’s not needed.
Any one ever ran this much power threw them . They max out at 54v.
My jaw dropped to say the least.
It’s odd at like 47 volts each board only used 40w . A few volts make a huge difference. I want to see them at their max rating.
I have to go back to my meter . I think I’m pulling more voltage than what it seems or more amps . Watts is right though.
If you have an IR temperature gun you can monitor the heatsink and board temperature. You can overdrive the snot out of LEDs the only caution is try and keep them under 80C (175F).
Cheers
G
This is also good advice especially in a grow environment. 
You guys make this all sound so easy.
This is why i stick with 24V max these days, also i’m lazy so parallel connected solstrips make for an easy solution.
One of my earlier series connected cob rigs maxed out at over 300V 
It was a nice experiment but it was quite literally something i could not live with 
Nowadays everything inside my tent is low voltage DC, the led driver and the extraction fan (both 240V) are external.
