Led Driver
- Thread starter baseballfanatic2
- Start date
- Tagged users None
SPR1968
No, it wasn’t expensive dear....
Reef Squad
Reef Squad Leader
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
UK Reef Club Member
Hospitality Award
I can’t answer the specific question, but I can bump the thread to see if we can get you some help
Diyreef8401
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2020
- Messages
- 158
- Reaction score
- 117
Need a little more information, such as which model led and what colors.
Diyreef8401
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2020
- Messages
- 158
- Reaction score
- 117
Basically take the drivers voltage range and divide it by the turn on voltage of the leds you want to drive. You also need to make sure the current matches the leds current. You would want to select a current that is a little lower than the max of the led.
Diyreef8401
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2020
- Messages
- 158
- Reaction score
- 117
I don’t see how that is a problem. Metal halides are 130 volts. T5s have 120 ac. Your going to have a bad day no matter what light you dunk in your tank.
blasterman
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2019
- Messages
- 1,730
- Reaction score
- 2,025
Newer Cree provided they are not ambers or reds have a forward voltage of 2.85 to 3 volts. So, just divide by the total voltage capacity of the driver.
However, this is not ideal. Maxing a driver in terms of both current and forward voltage can significantly reduce its lifespan. You want some free room of about 25% in terms of not maxing the drivers current or not maxing its forward voltage.
I'm not thrilled about high voltages with DIY either. If you are soldering any irregularity with solder connections gets amplified with higher voltage. All it takes is one tiny loose solder joint and that will cause the driver to reset and potentially blow your entire string.
However, this is not ideal. Maxing a driver in terms of both current and forward voltage can significantly reduce its lifespan. You want some free room of about 25% in terms of not maxing the drivers current or not maxing its forward voltage.
I'm not thrilled about high voltages with DIY either. If you are soldering any irregularity with solder connections gets amplified with higher voltage. All it takes is one tiny loose solder joint and that will cause the driver to reset and potentially blow your entire string.
Yodeling
Active Member
Here's a potentially more complete answer.
1) Check the specs on the LEDs you want to use. They will list a forward current and voltage (e.g. 500mA, 3.0V, etc)
2) Make sure the LEDs forward current one of the selectable currents on your driver (listed at the top).
3) Then take the 50.4W (driver's maximum output wattage) and divide it by the LED's current and then divide it again by LED's voltage. For example, if the LED is 500mA and 3.0v, the calculation would be 50.4W / 0.5A / 3.0v = 33.6 LEDs. This is the theoretical maximum.
4) Take the theoretical maximum from the above calculation and reduce it by 10% (multiply it by 0.9). Then round down, and you have the number of LEDs to use safely. In the above example, you would end up with 30 LEDs.
5) If you want to double-check your math, just take the number of LEDs, multiply by the LEDs forward current in amps and forward voltage. You should end up with about 45 Watt or less.
1) Check the specs on the LEDs you want to use. They will list a forward current and voltage (e.g. 500mA, 3.0V, etc)
2) Make sure the LEDs forward current one of the selectable currents on your driver (listed at the top).
3) Then take the 50.4W (driver's maximum output wattage) and divide it by the LED's current and then divide it again by LED's voltage. For example, if the LED is 500mA and 3.0v, the calculation would be 50.4W / 0.5A / 3.0v = 33.6 LEDs. This is the theoretical maximum.
4) Take the theoretical maximum from the above calculation and reduce it by 10% (multiply it by 0.9). Then round down, and you have the number of LEDs to use safely. In the above example, you would end up with 30 LEDs.
5) If you want to double-check your math, just take the number of LEDs, multiply by the LEDs forward current in amps and forward voltage. You should end up with about 45 Watt or less.
Last edited:
