Willy's DIY LED Grow Lights

Daremo

Carnivore
I am still trying to figure out how I am going to explain the load of plants I am waiting on, so planning which Origami rack is going to become a plant rack and how I am going to set up lighting is hush hush shhhhhhhhhh ( but soon {insert evil laugh here } :cool:
 

Daremo

Carnivore
Oh I believe you are right there sir , I have been looking at all my racks and once I figure out how much space I am going to need then I will get dimensions and questions in order too.
Is it wrong to be excited about giving away money ? :D
 

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
The latest from @WillyCKH we were after a large light to lighten a dark corner especially for winter when it’s hard to find spots for plants coming in form outside. Willy built an awesome shade for it that I don’t have on right now because I’m working on keeping up my summer tan.
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Willy’s awesome drawing
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As always thanks Willy!
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
The latest from @WillyCKH we were after a large light to lighten a dark corner especially for winter when it’s hard to find spots for plants coming in form outside. Willy built an awesome shade for it that I don’t have on right now because I’m working on keeping up my summer tan.
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Willy’s awesome drawing
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As always thanks Willy!
I love how you set it up! Thank you for the photos! :)
It looks pretty nice without the shade too!
 

Daremo

Carnivore
You can leave kids in the dark … they still grow LOL
And I was sure robot vacuums did not need extra light , but hey I guess it wanted to keep it's tan to right.
Very cool way to fill a corner all in all.
I will admit that since I put in an order with Willy myself , the days seem to have gotten a lot longer teasing me with the prospect of the new lights arrival.
 

Daremo

Carnivore
Haha those remind me of Geo gel charges I used to set off working seismic...
Now I have to find to find my short power bar, easier to hide than the 4 foot ones I have at my computer.
Thanks again Willy
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
I love out it turns out for you, Darren! Magnetic hooks is such a clever idea, thanks for the inspiration!
And... I hope your wife likes it too!
 

Daremo

Carnivore
hahaha she so only complained about me making a mess while unpacking and some excessive noise ( may have been deliberate ) popping the giant bubble wrap hehehe
Yea the hooks worked awesome with the white hangers you supplied. And they are not very big so concealed nicely. I tried the eyelet style magnets but not big enough to pass the hangers through, but big enough to just look out of place. Plus added bonus … CHEAP hahaha
 

Macodes

Sprout
For the Purple Fan LEDs, I would recommend a more substantial heat sink, and a high static pressure fan, especially for higher power leds (anything over 3W, imo is high power). Treat it basically like a CPU.
If you have a high power led and it isn't that hot, then it is likely not running at full capacity, you could have just bought a cheaper, lower power, higher quality led, either check the draw on it.

Personally when I used a 10w led running properly, I had to use liquid cooling. My guess is that the leds are probably only running around 15-18W total maybe a little more.

Fans and heat sinks aren't too expensive and it will save the life of the leds, and allow them to preform better.
If you have a 3 axis mill, you can make heatsinks in a few mins, and its super cheap, it looks like you have access to some tools.

The fans look like they are in the intake configuration in this case it is less efficient, since heat is rising and the fan is pushing that heat back on to the led.

On a more detailed note heat does effect the band gap in the semi-conductors, which in turn effects the emitted wavelength, if this has a discernible effect on plants I have no idea, but its just another reason to keep it cool.
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
Thanks for the suggestions. I do prefer the other designs that I have without requiring the fan cooling configuration like the purple LEDs. Those units work fine, I tested them myselves for a long while but I find that I have to clean the dust out pretty frequently.
 

Newbnoob

Carnivore
I find running a high watt cob at a lower wattage keeps temps down (no need for active cooling or water-cooled anything, which again saves cash). Currently running my cxb3590 at ~50 watts passively cooled. It can easily push 150 watts. This will not only extend the life of my cob, but also make it more efficient. Throws about 140 lumens per watt at the moment.
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
For COB there's a optimal point well under the 'spec' value. For example, a 10w chip is actually most efficient running at ~1w from some of my experiments. You are on the right track! :)
 

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
The latest from @WillyCKH we were after a large light to lighten a dark corner especially for winter when it’s hard to find spots for plants coming in form outside. Willy built an awesome shade for it that I don’t have on right now because I’m working on keeping up my summer tan.
View attachment 7364
Willy’s awesome drawing
View attachment 7365

View attachment 7367

View attachment 7366

As always thanks Willy!
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The plants are growing everything is lush and healthy. it’s a awesome light and the wife is happy
 
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