Reef Discussion
My LED unit for my mantis tank has the LEDS glued on with high temperature silicone.... It transfers heat really well, sticks really really well and is easy to use! I read about a lot of people using it on planted tanks but I have no long term test results, my unit however,the body gets very hot with out the fan on which leads me to believe that the silicone is doing its job of transfering the heat from the diodes to the body/heatsink.
I meant high temperature silicone for making gaskets on cars etc.
like this
This is the big tube and the small one would be enough for at least 100 LEDs and is worth about half the price! This product or another brand of the same thing will be available from your local hardware store or autoparts store. I took a bit of a gamble (atleast thats how i see it) by using this glue but it seems to be working and am glad to be the test subject.
like this
This is the big tube and the small one would be enough for at least 100 LEDs and is worth about half the price! This product or another brand of the same thing will be available from your local hardware store or autoparts store. I took a bit of a gamble (atleast thats how i see it) by using this glue but it seems to be working and am glad to be the test subject.
I know its possibly not ideal... Thats why I used it on a 9 LED unit when I build my bigger light I will probably use alumina adhesive.
It is worth noting that the silicone ticks all the boxes for a thermal transfer medium. The idea is to use as little as possible to glue it on allowing the heat sink its self to do the work, silicone will spread so thin that it becomes transparent and will still be a very strong adhesive. These silicones can have a very high metal content, normally copper or aluminium, which aids in heat transfer and will stick just about anything to just about anything else!
If I had spent hundreds of dollars on LEDs I would have used a tried and true method of mounting... Probably alumina adhesive or maybe thermal grease and screws. However with cheap LEDs I decided that it was worth the risk!
It is worth noting that the silicone ticks all the boxes for a thermal transfer medium. The idea is to use as little as possible to glue it on allowing the heat sink its self to do the work, silicone will spread so thin that it becomes transparent and will still be a very strong adhesive. These silicones can have a very high metal content, normally copper or aluminium, which aids in heat transfer and will stick just about anything to just about anything else!
If I had spent hundreds of dollars on LEDs I would have used a tried and true method of mounting... Probably alumina adhesive or maybe thermal grease and screws. However with cheap LEDs I decided that it was worth the risk!
