Reef Discussion

[Damjan]

Hay guys,

I cant stop thinking about my DIY LED build and was just wondering how people fun cooling fans? can they be run from the driver or will they need a separate power source? also does this mean that you will need to run this source via a separate timer so that the fans come on when the lights do?

 

[MagicJ]

The led drivers work by providing a constant current, not a constant voltage which the fans require. Thus, they need to be run off a power supply, although this can be the same one that powers the led drivers depending on the drivers used. Hopefully, that all makes sense :)

You can run them off simple on/off timers which is fine for most circumstances.

Now, if you add in an Arduino, or similar micro controller, you can use temperature sensors to control the operation of the fans.

 

[Damjan]

I am planning to use a Arduino controller however I am waiting for you to design one :rolleyes... hahaha. So I am planning to use the meanwell P drivers the 40-68 not sure of the numbers. These just connect to the AC power and then transform AC to DC and power the leds, right? Is there some way to use a power supply for the fans and then as you say use the constant off the Drivers to trigger the fans to run when the lights are on. The way I understand this is exactly like the remote wire used by a car head unit to trigger an amp to power on.

 

[MagicJ]

I am planning to use a Arduino controller however I am waiting for you to design one :rolleyes... hahaha.

It is coming...........

So I am planning to use the meanwell P drivers the 40-68 not sure of the numbers. These just connect to the AC power and then transform AC to DC and power the leds, right?

Correct - a lot of us have been using the 60-48P's for a number of years with no problems. We are currently looking into the Meanwell LDD series of drivers which look to be more cost effective. Have a look at the LDD Driver thread.

Is there some way to use a power supply for the fans and then as you say use the constant off the Drivers to trigger the fans to run when the lights are on. The way I understand this is exactly like the remote wire used by a car head unit to trigger an amp to power on.

The drivers we use are not as smart as your car :p You need to use another device i.e. Arduino, to measure the temperature and switch the fans.

 

[Damjan]

I will look into the LDD drivers, its just that the kit I was looking at comes with the 60-48P drivers, what if i wanted the fans running the whole time that the lights are on, instead of using a tamp sensor to turn them on and off. I would be happy for the fans to start as soon as the lights go on regardless of the % rating of the led's that either the timer or controller sets them at. For instance if the controller turns on the lights at 9am @ 10% power, I would be happy for the fans to turn on at that point as opposed to turning on at say 9 when the lights are 40% and the sensor triggers them to turn on. Hope I am making sense???

 

[MagicJ]

I have my 60-48P's on a timer as I see no sense in having them powered on when the led's are off - you could just use a double adapter on the timer and run both the led's and the power supply for the fans off the same timer.

 

[Damjan]

Arrrr. So the controller does not turn the drivers on and off it just turns the led's on and off regardless of the drivers. So what you are saying is that you have the drivers on timers and then the controller tells the drivers what to do while they are on. I.e Driver powers on at say 9am all the while the led's are off, then controller sends first signal to the driver at say 9:05 am to turn led's on at say 5% and so on. The whole % thing is assuming I am running a ramp up/down controller. If you don't run a controller what are the options? as the driver requires a 5-10v active to run the led's. In this case you could just run the separate blue and white lights/ drivers on separate timers with an overlap for dawn dusk. The whole DIY led concept is not an easy one!!!:confused:

 

[MagicJ]

What you have said is pretty much correct - the controller reduces the led output to zero, but the drivers will still consume a small amount of power. It's not absolutely necessary but I prefer to turn off the power to the drivers when they are not being used.

The 60-48P dimming circuit operates on a 10v PWM control signal (not 5-10v) - if you don't have a controller then you need to supply 10v across the dimming wires - this can be provided via a 10v DC power supply. Then you can just turn on the various drivers using seperate timers.

But, depending on how many drivers/channels you will have, the cost of the timers etc won't be much less than a basic Arduino based controller.

 

[daveH]

Will the new drivers still flash the LEDs like ours do now when the power is turned off?

 

[MagicJ]

Will the new drivers still flash the LEDs like ours do now when the power is turned off?

I don't know but I will try to remember to check next time I have one hooked up - I suspect not as I think that was an issue with the 60-48P which was a combined power supply/constant current driver with some pretty large capacitors in place - my guess is that the flashing was due to the discharge of these capacitors, but I am only guessing :)

 

[daveH]

It will certainly be nice if the new ones don't have that effect.

 

[OSCAR85]

Does anyone have any pics of their DIY lights?

 

[Joshwaaaa]

In both my tank journals I have a few, not much detail of wahts going on I n them though

 

[Chema]

Will the new drivers still flash the LEDs like ours do now when the power is turned off?

I can tell you for sure they don't flash. Also they dimm 0 to 100

 

[Synodontis]

Does anyone have any pics of their DIY lights?

ours is here :)

For those that have the 60-48Ps now, do you have them on a timer so when the controller has the lights off, there is no power to the drivers? If not, are the drivers still using power while the power is connected to them? :confused:

 

[daveH]

I have my 60-48Ps turned off with a timer after the arduino finishes for the night and turns back on before the cycle starts in the morning.
Although doing this has the downside of "flashing" which I will be glad to end with the new driver setup.
On that note, I guess there will be a shipload of used 60-48Ps for sale.

 

[Joshwaaaa]

Might use mine to light my house.

 

[Synodontis]

I have ours plugged straight into the power point. No matter what I do it seems to make no difference to the power bill.
I'm over chasing 10w here & 5w there. I've got to the point were what it is, is what it is.
I'm just thinking (I know I know, I'm not allowed to) maybe putting them all on a timer may help somewhat? I'm sure the citizens can put up with a lightning storm every night lol. Just like prison, lights out boys. :)

 

[macca_75]

If you want to know exactly how much electricity anything uses look at buying a Current Cost meter and a pack (or more) or IAM's (individual appliance monitors) and upload to PVOutPut.

Graphs and keeps a history, you can upload tariffs and convert to cost, etc.

 

[Synodontis]

Thanks @macca_75 will look into that. :)