Building a 1 watt LED light

[bombbudpuffa]

Are they all 3 watt?
How many of each?
For which phase?

Yes, they will all be 3w. I haven't decided on the configuration yet but I'll do a documented build when everything gets here. The light I'll be building will be for veg and supplemental lighting during flower.

 

[Locked]

Those king specs are .....????

Power : 1200w (120 @ 10w)
Does the w stand for watts? I would read that as 120 of the 10 watt leds. Seems misleading. If anybody can explain that spec, I would be interested in knowing if the leds are 1watt or 10. I'm sure they want to keep the ratio of all the LED bands a secret. It would be interesting to see the secret research on how they came to the conclusion for their product.

The one I'm building is about half the physical size and about 50 - 1watt leds. This will used in veg.

HL, is there a switch on the light for the different phases?
If so, can you tell how many or less blue there are in the different phases?

No. My Mars has a switch for veg and a switch for flower. The King does not but says it works for both. Personally I don't care. As long as it works in flower it is all good. I use HO T5's for Veg and they work great. If I can get an LED fixture for veg great but Flower is where I care right now.

 

[Locked]

It's crazy how close in spectrum you're light is to the spectrums I chose for my light. I'm thinking about adding a lil green and Orange nm also...just not sure yet. I might not since I bought the full spec chips...they may have enough light in the areas I didn't pinpoint.

I have to say I have been more than surprised at how well this King LED light works. I will be getting a anther one for sure. It's just hard to replace the Mars light since it has worked well. I am kinda waiting for it to burn out. Lol. Not quite wishing. Just ready when it does.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

I have to say I have been more than surprised at how well this King LED light works. I will be getting a anther one for sure. It's just hard to replace the Mars light since it has worked well. I am kinda waiting for it to burn out. Lol. Not quite wishing. Just ready when it does.

Ever consider building one? Easy and not as costly as one would think.

 

[Locked]

Ever consider building one? Easy and not as costly as one would think.

I have thought about it. Not sure I can handle yet another project with the amount of time work takes up. I am currently growing weed, growing magic mushrooms, getting ready to make a batch of Pineapple Wine, and a batch of IPA Beer. My wife got me a Wine making kit and a Beer Brewing kit for Xmas. I will eventually give making a LED light fixture a try.

Did you link to where you get your parts? Would love to know the best place to get parts from.

 

[Dan789]

Hamster, I'm going to put an amp meter on my king 1200, I'm pretty sure it's not drawing 10 amps, but strangely when I bought and first plugged it in, thought I did check the lux output next to my other fixture, I never bothered to check wattage it used. I guess I just was eager to get the tents populated and going.

 

[Dan789]

My king 1200 is drawing 1.95 amps x 120 volts =234 watts per hour. (GW-KNG S60)

 

[screwdriver]

My king 1200 is drawing 1.95 amps x 120 volts =234 watts per hour. (GW-KNG S60)

Thanks for the info.
I'm glad the W wasn't for watts. How warm does the top of the light get? I assume there are fans, but the rest of the light.

 

[Dan789]

Screwdriver, I doubt the top of the fixture ever gets to 100 degrees. I'm using one 6" centrifical fan to exhaust two 4x4 tents and the exhaust fan isn't pegged, I don't think its at the second of the three speeds.

 

[Locked]

My units are low 80's at the bulbs not much hotter on top.

 

[screwdriver]

Cool to the touch. Mine will still be vented so it should stay super cool.
Heres the box without the holes for the air flow. Kind of boring. 9"x 9"x 4.5"

View attachment 20170118_192010.jpg

 

[Dan789]

Screwdriver, very interested on your light build, on those heat sinks is the round stock steel, or aluminum? Just curious.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Did you link to where you get your parts? Would love to know the best place to get parts from.

EBay bud! Sorry I missed your question. When my stuff gets here I'll start a thread with links.

 

[screwdriver]

Screwdriver, very interested on your light build, on those heat sinks is the round stock steel, or aluminum? Just curious.

The old idea with round stock was aluminum. I don't think steel would work.
New idea is back to plan A. I'll use some 1/4" plate.

I thought about ebay but just dont trust as much. I went to china instead? Took about 3 times as long to get them if thats an advantage? Same thing on ebay except the seller had to wait. Probably same price in the end.

 

[screwdriver]

I think this is the final drawing of the light. All the leds are surface mounted, placed in the same direction spanning a hole thru the circuit board. The connection for each series of leds are at the upper part of the image. It maybe hard to explain but those connections go to the buck puck board (still making)

View attachment led board.jpg

 

[bombbudpuffa]

I think this is the final drawing of the light. All the leds are surface mounted, placed in the same direction spanning a hole thru the circuit board. The connection for each series of leds are at the upper part of the image. It maybe hard to explain but those connections go to the buck puck board (still making)

That looks good screwdriver. Anxious to see what it looks like and how bright it is.

My chips were taking forever to get here so I contacted the seller and it's Chinese New year and they won't be back into office until Feb 5. Haven't heard a thing about my heat sink I ordered either. On the bright side I bought a driver with my full spec leds and didn't even notice until I was contacting the seller.

 

[screwdriver]

That looks good screwdriver. Anxious to see what it looks like and how bright it is.

Thanks, I know I took the long way to build and the parts were taking so long to receive. Been moving too slow on this quickie project. Got all the parts now and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, just not the led yet.

Last hurdle was using the schematic program, eagle, not the program so much as the learning how to create a new component that was not in the library. I should have the final touches to the bucky board and hopefully learn how to use the cutter next week. Thats for the circuit boards. Looks so much easier to use that fancy aluminum extrusion and T nuts. Thats the way I would recommend.
BUT, I got so much crap and scrap that sometimes I get carried away.

So, I got my crayon out and drewed it on paper. That pic is worth a thousand words.

View attachment 20170120_165902.jpg

 

[screwdriver]

Here's my little box.
It just shows the lens angle with the vertical distance of the light cone is 6" on the outer two leds. These are 1 watt leds with a lens angle of 120 degrees. I still have to check the other leds to confirm. But I wanted the wide angle. Which is one reason why different led lights need to be at different distances from the canopy. For those who have leds from a manufacture, a simple way to find out is with a piece of paper, distance from led (up close), and diameter of light pattern. A little math to find the angle. Makes it easier to compare lights. I think with the 120 degree angle I'll be able to grow in a 6-9" band of light. There are 48 leds and they are spread out over a wide foot print. And I should be able to get the light close to the canopy. I think if they were a 30 or 60 degree you would have to be further away from the canopy. Even though they are still a 1 watt led. (All guesses)

View attachment 20170119_104248.jpg

 

[bombbudpuffa]

We should just merge into one big diy LED thread.

 

[screwdriver]

We should just merge into one big diy LED thread.

You can do that if you want...kind of hard to piss me off over the internet, while being stoned, talking about stuff I know very little.
BUT...this thread may deter people from actually building a light. Your thread, to me, is the better option to show people how easy it really is. No need to make a box, circuit board, blah blah. Just straight forward, solder wire to star pad, mount on heatsink. hook up power and done. There are even lenses for some of the extrusions.

On my light, I should be able to change some of the output of the leds in my design. Whether by dimming or turning off some of the leds. It should be versatile. Will more blue light help? Will more red? What if I only have one little plant, can I turn off a couple rows to save a pennys worth of energy?