First light build

Or two :grinning::grinning:

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Dumb question but will I need all of the sizes or just the singles?

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The assorted sizes help for many projects. I bought a box with 4 ports and wish I had some of the other sizes. If you have them on hand you’ll find creative uses for them lol

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What he said.

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how long does it usually take solstrip.com to ship orders?

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He usually ships right before I push the ‘buy’ button :wink:

If its been a while, shoot him an email. He responds fast.

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Ok I got my solsticks in the mail today- going to start this asap.

quick question about thermal tape/paste … for some reason i was assuming some tape came with this so i never really looked at anything.

what do you guys use for thermal solution to pass the heat from the strips to the sinks?

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Thermal paste for CPU’s etc is the stuff to go for. Also don’t use metal washers under the screws, always use nylon washers. Good luck with your build pal :thumbsup:

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I use this stuff with strips but there’s plenty to choose from
https://cpc.farnell.com/servisol/200001000-25gm/heat-sink-compound-25g-tube/dp/SAHEATSINKCOMP?mckv=sHPUKHSDx_dc|pcrid|224653462065|kword||match||plid||slid||product|SAHEATSINKCOMP|pgrid|47398149059|ptaid|pla-371552118708|&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-SHOPPING&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4crOy4Dm3QIV753tCh26ogM4EAQYAyABEgIb-vD_BwE

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I would be interested in @Baudelaire’s opinion on this. I have not used any thermal paste on any of the three lights I’ve built. Do use the nylon screws/washers though.

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I’ve used thermal paste on each and every strip I’ve mounted

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I always use thermal paste with heatsinks of any kind but as long as you don’t drive the strips hard in hot conditions i suppose it wouldn’t harm them. I’m not willing to chance it though and paste is cheap, strips not so cheap :grin:

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awesome thanks. going to get this stuff:

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I would never run a COB or a CPU without thermal paste, but typically these are a 1" square trying to dissipate 50-watts. These things have sooo much surface area compared to the diode, plus I run them soft around 40-watts each.

Edit to add I’m lazy and hate how messy the crap is. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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The paste fills any imperfections on the heat sink surface. Even if the heat sink looks polished and shiney to the eye I can assure you its not. Not using paste will leave certain points between the strip and the aluminium where contact has not been made.

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just trying to figure out everything i need to start on the build… sound like i need nylon washers, thermal paste, and some electric wire / connectors.

am i missing anything? What kind of wire should i be using? never done anything electric like this before. thanks again.

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You should be ok then, there is still a thermal junction, it’s just a bit less efficient, maybe around 15% so it might shorten diode lifespan a bit if you do ever run the strips hard :thumbsup:

btw i agree it is messy stuff to have to work with, getting it of carpets is not easy either :laughing:

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I’ve found the cable from the driver to the strips get hot if you run the lights hard. Thicker cable means less resistance so…
Someone with more electrical knowledge than me please chime in.

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I use 18AWG solid core copper but you can use stranded if you twist the bare end and tin it with solder.

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If your using a driver bigger than around 240w at 24V you might need to double up the feed cable between the driver and the rig. Or you can use 14AWG but it is very heavy stuff to have to work with and you still need to go down to 18AWG at the strips.

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