Led q&a

wow you guys are getting in deep. i love it. what is the difference between the bridgelux and cree.

 

They are different led manufacturers. I couldn't go into exact details because it can be technical. but generally bridgelux are the cheaper of the two and dont perform as well as the crees which also cost more.

 

Looks like you can de solder to me. The method I use, is to grab the diode in the middle with a pair of needlenose pliers, and when the solder melts, I bend it up, and off of the contact. That way, you can pull the diode of with the pliers when the solder melts for that side.

 

Bridgelux are the cheaper ones, and can only be run at 700ma max. Crees have many different series, the oldest ones have 700ma max(XRE), the older ones have 1000ma max(XP-Es), and teh newest ones are at 1500ma max(XT-E). The cree XML can even be run at 3000ma!. A promising brand IMO is osram, I like their hyper reds, as they will fit the XP/XT cree footprint, and take 1000ma max.

 

Ok, maybe I can get some help/insight here. I'm looking for comparable/replacement dimmable drivers to replace the drivers I have now, which are just on/off, no other control. A good friend built the fixture for me, but I would like to use the Apex ability to dim the lights. He is unsure of the dimmable drivers.

I'm really confused as to how the drivers are determined using LED voltage and current specs. I have a basic understanding after watching a couple videos, but this is beyond my comprehension at this point.

If anyone knows of a good write up explaining it all, please point me to it

Anyways, here's what I'm using now:

Meanwell LPC-35-700 running 4 Blue led's. I would like to be able to control 8 Blue's total with 1 driver. LED Specs are:
Forward Voltage: 10.2v
Forward Current: 700mA

Meanwell LPC-35-700 running 4 Royal Blue. LED Specs are
Forward Voltage: 10.2v
Forward Current: 700mA

Meanwell LPC-20-700 running 4 leds. LED Specs are:
Forward Voltage: 3.9v
Forward Current: 700ma

Meanwell LPC 60-1400 Running 3 whites. I want to run 6 whites total on 1 driver. LED specs are:
Forward Current @ Test: 1.05A
Forward Current If Max: 1.2A
Forward Voltage @ Test: 12.8V
are these being Overdriven at 1.4amps with the current driver??

 

I believe Bill and I helped you on another forum, I can repost it here later today so the info is in the thread.

 

I saw the rc thread, did they not unsolder with the method I described? I remeber having a tough time getting them off of stars.

 

My method to remove these from stars, is to desolder the legs first. You pry them up with a small flathead precision screwdriver while you heat the leg.

Once both legs are up, I put the star in a workbench vice, wedge the same flathead underneath the led, and use a rubber mallet to pry it loose. Works every time.

Tweezers just ripped the diode casing off whenever I tried to use them.

 

These wouldn't budge one bit using the exact method bhazard described. In the end it all worked out. After the modifications I am seeing dramatically increased growth in my corals. Very pleased!

 

Awesome! lmk if you need help with the dimming upgrade, it takes everal hours for me to do, so you may end up spending most of the day if this is your first time. Also, the same thing happened to me, they are welded down somehow on some of them.