Lighting Planning for a DIY COB build

[Z_Burp]

Cool cool. Might be a bit until I build the frame then. I'd have to do that at the folks' place. That could be interesting haha. What size aluminum did you go with. I was thinking the thinner the better for less weight.

Sent from my red IBM Selectric

1/8"
1/16" seemed too flimsy

Do not buy it at your local home improvement store! Seek out a metal distributor if you can. You'll probably save 75% this way. I bought 32' of it for the same price as 8' at the home improvement store.

 

[Z_Burp]

Cool cool. Might be a bit until I build the frame then. I'd have to do that at the folks' place. That could be interesting haha. What size aluminum did you go with. I was thinking the thinner the better for less weight.

Sent from my red IBM Selectric

You could also just use a hacksaw with a metal blade in a mitre box. I made my first cuts with one of those and then the lazy hit me so I broke out the power tools.

 

[BigSm0]

Probably not the best if your only looking to build a single light. How much I can't stand the place the cost and simplicity of the harbor freight 6" metal chop saw is the best option. It will cut numerous different types of metal quickly, straight and do it the safest way possible. 99% of their stuff either breaks or falls apart in its own but this really is a decent piece from them. I paid less than 30 dollar for mine. This blade has cut well over 100 pieces of 80/20 extrusion so it's much smaller and needs to be replaced now.

To make it even better it's only a 6" saw and comes with a 6" blade but it does accept a more common 7 1/4"

 

[Raoul Duke]

@BigSm0
Hey man. What are the dimensions of the heatsink of the almost complete cob? I'm trying to measure out my frame. Here's my design.

 

[wwwillie]

Here's the list of parts so far besides the 3-4 cobs and the driver.

1)3X 10ft - 3 different colour 18 gauge stranded wire (might be more than I need but just in case)
2)3X 2 slot wago connector
3)3X 3 slot wago connector(again might be more than I need but I like to be prepared)
4)Heat sleeves
5)1X 100k linear taper potentiometer
6)1X rocker switch
7)1X end of power cable
8)~15ft angled aluminum (need to figure out how to cut and assemble the aluminum; I'm more of a woodworking kind of guy)
Can't find my soldering iron so:
9)1X soldering iron + accessories

Anything else anyone can think of or that I missed?

Hey!
Looks pretty good. I am a bit lost on the connector count tho. Series connection from driver to lights Driver -x- Light 1 -x- Light 2 -x- Light 3 -x- Driver should be 4 2 connection, then power would be 1 3 connection. But of course I could not be thinking as you are.
I like rivets for connecting the aluminum angle, cheap and work well and easy enough to remove if you must.
Getting closer to reality! Whoo hoo!!

 

[Raoul Duke]

Hey!
Looks pretty good. I am a bit lost on the connector count tho. Series connection from driver to lights Driver -x- Light 1 -x- Light 2 -x- Light 3 -x- Driver should be 4 2 connection, then power would be 1 3 connection. But of course I could not be thinking as you are.
I like rivets for connecting the aluminum angle, cheap and work well and easy enough to remove if you must.
Getting closer to reality! Whoo hoo!!

I wasn't thinking about the connectors between lights, I figured I'd just solder those wires. How would you use the wagos there? Thanks for the suggestion about the rivets. Never used em before so I'll have to look into that.

 

[BigSm0]

The heatsinks are 5 1/4 inches round.

 

[Z_Burp]

Hey!
Looks pretty good. I am a bit lost on the connector count tho. Series connection from driver to lights Driver -x- Light 1 -x- Light 2 -x- Light 3 -x- Driver should be 4 2 connection, then power would be 1 3 connection. But of course I could not be thinking as you are.
I like rivets for connecting the aluminum angle, cheap and work well and easy enough to remove if you must.
Getting closer to reality! Whoo hoo!!

I can second the use of rivets for connecting the frame together. There are lots of ways to connect them together, though: self tapping screws, bolts w/ nuts, etc.

Here's how many, and what type, of wago connectors I used:

Driver to COB's:
One wago connector from the positive lead of the driver to the first positive wire of your first COB. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the negative wire of the last COB (in series) to the negative lead of the driver. 1 x Wago 221-412

Power to driver:
One wago connector from the neutral wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the "hot" wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the ground/earth wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412

Total: 5 x Wago 221-412 which are rated for 20A 300V. There are others with higher ratings if needed; 222-412 is rated at 20A 600V. I didn't have a potentiometer yet, so I put one wago connector on each lead of the dimmer control from the driver since I had a lot of extras and I didn't want to gum it up with electrical tape or cut the wires.

Wiring took me about 5-10 minutes with push-in connection types on the COB holders and also using wago connectors. It was a breeze. They've even put a diagram on the side to let you know how much wire needs to be exposed after stripping the insulation from the wire before connection.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I can second the use of rivets for connecting the frame together. There are lots of ways to connect them together, though: self tapping screws, bolts w/ nuts, etc.

Here's how many, and what type, of wago connectors I used:

Driver to COB's:
One wago connector from the positive lead of the driver to the first positive wire of your first COB. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the negative wire of the last COB (in series) to the negative lead of the driver. 1 x Wago 221-412

Power to driver:
One wago connector from the neutral wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the "hot" wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412
One wago connector from the ground/earth wire to the corresponding driver lead. 1 x Wago 221-412

Total: 5 x Wago 221-412 which are rated for 20A 300V. There are others with higher ratings if needed; 222-412 is rated at 20A 600V. I didn't have a potentiometer yet, so I put one wago connector on each lead of the dimmer control from the driver since I had a lot of extras and I didn't want to gum it up with electrical tape or cut the wires.

Wiring took me about 5-10 minutes with push-in connection types on the COB holders and also using wago connectors. It was a breeze. They've even put a diagram on the side to let you know how much wire needs to be exposed after stripping the insulation from the wire before connection.

Thanks bud. Gonna do up a new parts list soon.

Sent from my red IBM Selectric

 

[Raoul Duke]

Here's an updated design.

green X = 2 slot wago
blue circle = positive lead
yellow circle = negative lead
green circle = potentiometer

I might try to add a switch where the power cable meets the driver. We'll see. I also added wagos between the lights so I could move them around without having to do any soldering if I wanted to. Let me know what ya think. Any ideas for mounting my potentiometer? Still not sure if I want to mount the driver on the light, or outside the tent, opinions?