diy canopy and led
- Thread starter gmoney243
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gmoney243
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So my LEDs finally shipped monday they are in Taiwan now should be here friday Fedex claims. i also ordered a 4 light moonlight kit from Rapidled it was shipped today should all be here friday hopefully pics comming soon and without any problems.
i did have a couple quick questions though. should i use thermal paste or grease and screw it in? also do i needa prep the c-channel besides just cleaning it off with alchohol? i was gonna do my spacing at 2" between which is like 3" from center to center of the leds should be close enough yea?
i did have a couple quick questions though. should i use thermal paste or grease and screw it in? also do i needa prep the c-channel besides just cleaning it off with alchohol? i was gonna do my spacing at 2" between which is like 3" from center to center of the leds should be close enough yea?
poolkeeper1
Valuable Member
I recall being told that 3" x 4" apart is recomended as proper spacing, As far as Paste or Artic Silver and Screws would IMO depend on if your using Solderless connectors or soldering them? If the latter Thermal paste may be the better choice as Rick did his that way i believe and I used Artic Silver with Screws.
As long as the channel is clean to make good contact you should be fine doing what you said, Those stupid stickers leave glue on the stock and that you will need gone if a LED falls on that area.
If you put them too close together you may get more heat than you want, And with optics 3" Min is plenty of light spread JMO
Bill
I would not use screws, unless you use the solderless connectors that Bill is talking about. If you are soldering them, then use Artic Silver 2 Part Epoxy. It's a thermal epoxy (same thing that motherboard manufactures use on heatsinks on chipsets) so there is no removing them after they setup. With screws you risk shorting out the LED and essentially all the others in the same strip. Some people have used nylon washers on screws, but to me that is risky also, plus a lotof work. With the epoxy you have about 5-10 min work time so you can line them up nicely before it dries. Remember LESS is better. You only want a very thin layer of compound. I have some of the thermal Epoxy if you need it.
Clean the U channel with acetone. Rubbing alchol can still leave behind some residue, not that it prob matters but with the thermal epoxy/grease, it is filling microscopic groves and you want good conductivity.
Clean the U channel with acetone. Rubbing alchol can still leave behind some residue, not that it prob matters but with the thermal epoxy/grease, it is filling microscopic groves and you want good conductivity.
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gmoney243
2500 Club Member
so my moonlights arrived today and i was testing the leds with DMM to see if they worked .. but they dont light up bright .. are they suppose to be kinda dim when u use a DMM to test?
poolkeeper1
Valuable Member
DMM?? Explain please...
Bill
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gmoney243
2500 Club Member
Yea I know they not that bright but kit says 4led for large tank. I thinl its probly just the multimeter barely put off power so its not as bright as it should be. Well see
Question tho any1 ever use these thermal pads? They suppose to replace artic silver?
Question tho any1 ever use these thermal pads? They suppose to replace artic silver?
No they will not be bright with the DMM. You can use 2 AA batteries and connect them to the leds to test them also.
Technically yes the thermal pads are like artic silver, but not the same quality. But I would not replace arctic silver with those
Technically yes the thermal pads are like artic silver, but not the same quality. But I would not replace arctic silver with those
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gmoney243
2500 Club Member
so i used the thermal pads .. and after few hours the leds are still cool and the pads stuck very well to the rails just like glue impressed with the pads so far and the led moonlights are super bright 4 LEDs over a 150gal 48'Lx24"Wx31"H sitting 6" above the tank. 2 of these lights would do the trick on this tank. 4 is almost to bright.
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gmoney243
2500 Club Member
thx for the acetone advice rick that worked much better than alchohol on that glue. found a good use for the wifes nail polish remover lol. and yea i wouldnt use the pads on the regular LED i was just curious if they was any good to use on the moonlights or if i should glue them down. but i went with the pads since my local radio shack only carried the grease not the adhesive.
Looks good Mike! Acetone is the bomb.... Has lots of uses in my hobbies 
For the moonlights the pads will be fine. Just with 90 other LEDS things can heat up when they are all on during the day and you want good thermal transmission to the U channel. I have a 6 tubes of the Arctic Silver Epoxy if you need some. I will never use that much.
For the moonlights the pads will be fine. Just with 90 other LEDS things can heat up when they are all on during the day and you want good thermal transmission to the U channel. I have a 6 tubes of the Arctic Silver Epoxy if you need some. I will never use that much.
Make sure you solder them before glueing them on. Once their glued on its almost impossible to get the solder to heat up and u will get cold solder joints. The iron will overheat the led and transfer the heat to the u channel which can burn out the led!!!
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gmoney243
2500 Club Member
Well my solder iron shorted out when I was almost done tining the leds so I just glued em all down hopefully these last like 5 led will be fine. These are harder to solder I think cause they are not lined up in a sheet like the crees I see they are just loose leds. Had to get some sleep I work late night so now I'm bout to hit lowes on the way to work to get a new iron. I only had been asleep for hour when fedex showed. And since I'm hardcore I went right to work on the leds lol. P.s. that glue they give says 10min dry was seriously few hours lol be good I guess if u make mistakes
poolkeeper1
Valuable Member
I would advise against trying that as Rick said, You will loose them if you do most likely as the heat just transfers now that they are attached. JMO
Bill
