Cheap LED Strips : A Viable Alternative

oh important to the venting heat,i ran the exhaust ot another separate room

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I’m in SoCal, so like most here, no AC. A couple small window units but they rarely get turned on (has to hit mid-90’s). I use a disused shower in a second bathroom (which gets used so I have to use a dark curtain to block out the light during dark time. Still trying to figure out how to vent it as it still gets hot in there even with cfl’s (running 2-105w CFL’s) but with cmh it would be like the opening of the Arc in Raiders… :rofl:

That is why I was going to go with LED’s. Got some 50w AC chinesium cobs from a buddy of mine and was going to build up something (in fact I picked it back up the other day and started working on it, but that was when I had NO money, now, I only have a little.

May try to finish the project and see how it works before I decide on anything else.

i wanted to do my best to avoid a split a/c unit in the room, for many reasons. sorry to say have not made it to west coast,yet. but i think of more heat there and humidity, my gear is just for me and the wifey. So cost matters. I have to run the a/c low anyways its a real thing.

I know without the house being cooler i could not run under 80F, I took awhile to get to where i can run the amount of light i do at the temps i do, but without ac or cold air intake i could not do it.

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There happen to be an exhaust fan in the bathroom? You can probably use some duct to extend it into the grow environment. Then you can vent heat (oh and smells) out likely to your attic.

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No. “Bob Villa” (the woman who owned the house prior - I’m being sarcastic, she couldn’t fix anything if her life depended on it) either decided to remove it, or it was never there. The house was built in '52, so their vent was “The Window”.

It isn’t really sealed right now, just a curtain, so I may do something with venting in on the bottom and out at the top, somehow. I have a medium size fan in there blowing the plants and I’m sure it brings in some air through the curtain (cloth) and any gaps.

My original thought was to build some kind of door in the opening and bring air in on the bottom either with a panel on bottom below or on the right side and the out on either a panel above the door or on the left. The problem what kind of fan and where. If I used a venting hood with hps/cmh I could just pull in air from the bottom with a hole and a vent cover and pull air through the light, then through a hose and out the top. At the time I couldn’t afford that kind of set up, it was “What do I have and what can I get on the cheap to get by?” Now that I know I can grow outside (City is a bitch with regs) I will do most growing outside and only use inside for winter and any mothers/breeding I want to do.

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Hey @Tejas, which LEDs are you looking at? The Bridgelux gen 2’s?

Cheers
G

Geee that’s the same thing I said but Mr electrician knows all

I bet most folk don’t realise that their vehicle’s bodywork doubles up as the negative conductor for every electrical system it’s fitted with, including the starter motor which pulls hundreds of Amps :laughing:

The sole reason your car/truck etc doesn’t electrocute you is because the working voltage is so low. Usually 12V but on larger trucks 24V is common.

If you take a low voltage (below 50) and increase the current it still is NOT fatal even at hundreds of Amps.

If you take a very high voltage but almost no current, say around fifteen THOUSAND volts like in a “electronic” cigarette lighter it still obviously wont be fatal or they couldn’t sell the things.

Here’s the important part. If you increase the current even by half an Amp that very high voltage instantly becomes a potential killer!

People building their own lighting rigs are well advised to always keep the working voltage low, below 50V if at all possible. Remember water and electricity are a bad combination. Stay safe people :+1:

I’m an electrical engineer (35yrs under my belt) which is why i know a bit about the subject :grin:

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I am building the Bridgelux gen2 2’x4’ light using the 3500k leds.

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Yes using the gen2 in the 2’x4’ configuration.

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To answer your original question…
They are laid out for 4mm hardware (4.3mm dia. holes and slots).
#6 machine screws are a good North American substitution but I went for #4 because I wanted a little extra ‘slop’ as I was drilling and tapping ‘free hand’.

Cheers
G

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Thanks Gpaw, I may use 4mm nylon nuts and bolts to fix the lights to the frame.

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I went with three screws per strip, one in the middle and one on each end just behind the wire terminals.
The strips have a slight warp (the ends lift a little) caused by the asymmetry of the copper and SMT parts. This ‘feature’ works to our advantage, as it helps keep the strip in contact with the frame.

Cheers
G

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I am planning to run a middle brace as these leds look like the flex. Did you use 1/16” or 1/8” stock?

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I use M3 nylon nuts and bolts, ordered off Ebay, in addition to double-sided thermal tape for my Bridgelux strips. 1/16th angle or 1/8th inch plate is fine, but you want to attach each strip to metal with the thermal tape between. I’m not good with running the strips bare, personally. 3 nuts & bolts per strip, just like Gpaw. A 9/64th drill bit works perfectly for the holes.

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I did that but it was 4 inch i got a 6inch bathroom vent and put in where the 4 inch was,works nice fairly inexpensive

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I realized I ordered the wrong driver, got the 24B instead of the 20B which is 10A versus the required 12A. Got that squared away!

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Well hells bells, got the frame finished only to find that the led end mounting holes are not on the frame. Now I need to figure out another method to mount the strips to the frame. And I think I am maxing the driver with 12 EB gen 2’s.

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And this is why people like me pay the money to buy out the box,plug and go.Only thing i am sure of with electrical is i will electructe myself :rofl::rofl: though when my 4x8 tent is harvested i do plan on finding a stoner electrician to barter a trade.Bud for lights.

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That’s the electrical side. Building the frame is another issue (depending on your tools)
I had 88 holes drilled and 60 drilled and tapped. All of them free hand LOL.
I smartened up a little by day 2 and took my CBD before starting work… :laughing:

Cheers
G

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