Willy's DIY LED Grow Lights

housepet said:
I just want leaft pulls from my vft to stave off winter dormancy and proliferate. What kind of LED setup should I use?
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If I understand correctly, you are looking for a light for your vft leaf-pullings during winter? It doesn't require much, if you aren't talking about more than a hundred pullings, a 9w LED light bulb will be sufficient.

Sloppysponge said:
I am super interested in these for my Chameleon enclosures!!!!! Can we talk about this?
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Yep! I custom-made stuff for people regularly. Free feel to inbox me anytime! :)
 
I'm no VFT expert. But isn't it better to wait for a bulb to form instead of ripping a leaf of and expect that leaf has enough energy to root?
 
krizz, the leaf will still strike if there is a part of the rhizome is attached (the white part near the root). VFTs don't form bulbs, I believe that you are talking about the rhizome. Can't blame you, I thought it was a bulb too when I first started caring for them.
 
Willy I think that I am about ready to start dipping my toes in the water. Can the LEDs be used as strips supplementing open T5HOs or would the heat cause early death of the chip?
 
grackle said:
Willy I think that I am about ready to start dipping my toes in the water. Can the LEDs be used as strips supplementing open T5HOs or would the heat cause early death of the chip?
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Hello Pam!
I am working on a new design that produces less heat (air-cooled, no fan is needed) and is similar to the regular T8/T5 in terms of size. Send me a PM on the forum or FB and we can chat!
Best,
Willy
 
I just found this thread and thought I'd chip in with the lights that I've made.

I've done both COB and strip-light builds myself. The COBs I mounted to old computer heatsinks I had laying around and recently purchased some commercial reflectors for them. It's nice to be able to use a single light to cover a good-sized area, but the light distribution isn't exactly even, though I take advantage of that for one grow space to grow plants with varying light tolerance together.

I really like the strips due to more even light distribution, higher efficiency, and they're actually efficient enough that a heatsink is completely optional (though I use one anyway to make sure I get the highest efficiency possible, and also act as a rudimentary reflector.) The ones I use are essentially direct replacements for T5HO bulbs as well so it's easy to figure out how many you need. You can buy the same type of LEDs in large arrays (they call these quantum board LEDs) if you want to cover a larger area with less work.

DIY LED strip lights by Nimbulan, on Flickr

LED strip lights by Nimbulan, on Flickr

LED strip lights by Nimbulan, on Flickr
 
and here are those same lights in my highland system. Thanks will
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Testing some prototype units of a new design...
Some should be ready for sale or trade as soon as Spring! :)
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Specs & Features:
Length: ~ 2 ft long
Color temperature: 4500k, optimized for plant's coloration and growth
Low power consumption, 10 watts
High Efficiency, directional lighting, 1200 lm
Low Temperature influence, cool to touch
Low maintenance, long life, lasts up to 50,000 hours
Air cooled with Aluminum housing, no moving parts, no noise
 
Hackerberry said:
Nice, how much will you be selling them?
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$20 each for unit with power plug, $18 each for LED unit with extension cable (add-on unit)
2 of these will be sufficient for a 10 gal tank or one 1020 dome-tray setup; 4 will give you some even more amazing results. :)
 
Are the units powered from a 12 volt transformer or directly from the 110V AC line? For safety reasons, having a 12V isolation transformer would be better. Less shock and fire risk. I know you're doing a good job on these but at the same time, they aren't U/L ™ approved.

Nobody loves tinkering more than I do but once you sell stuff (even at a very reasonable price), you have to either make it up to accepted industrial safety standards or disclose any risks.
 
Yep, I agree, Lloyd. Safety is always the first priority when it comes to DIY and tinkering.
My intention of making new lights for trade/sale is really just to open up more options for members here, especially for people who liked my previous works.
While I wish that I can afford to get some of my designs to be approved for certificates, there is little that I could do, for just a few experimental units and for customized builds.

The power supply unit is placed inside the aluminum housing, where it will be safe from short circuits and water ingress.
The transformer is indeed an isolation transformer (unless I have mistaken what you meant), and the PCB is professionally designed (not by myself) and sold for regulated constant current applications like LEDs.
This is one of the boards that I'm utilizing:
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Should something goes wrong, it should not cause any fire risk (for there's nothing flammable inside the housing), and the aluminum housing serves as an extra layer of barrier.
There won't be any exposing electrical contacts and upon request I can perform water-proofing techniques to custom builds.
Before the release in Spring, I'm also planning to do a series of intensive testings on the few prototype units I am running right now, just to make sure that nothing will go wrong.
I hope that answers some of the concerns you may have. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask me :)
If there are ways to improve the safety of DIY things in general, I'd love to learn more about them!
 
I know that getting U/L ™ approval for just a few items would be prohibitive. However your design does seem to be very professional.

I'm presently using T5HO 54W 4 foot x 4 light units 6500K. Do you think you could make 4 foot units similar to the above? How do you think they would compare in PAR to my lights?

I'd be interested in buying a 4 foot x 4 unit if you ever make one.

I do think that having the isolation 12V transformer(s) remote from the units would be even safer. This would of course add to the expense. Perhaps this could be an option. So if a customer did something stupid (not that I would do anything stupid, like dropping a Heli, for instance ) not much would happen.
 
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Noted, it could be an option that the transformer is wired externally, at additional cost ~$5-10 with an additional casing.
The power supply board is secured inside the housing, with a plastic shield around it.
In my opinion, dropping the light will be okay. I'm going to do a few drop tests to verify.

I can make similar units in 4ft, in fact, I have parts for cold white (6000k-6500k) right now.
For PAR, I'm not sure how to calculate or measure it.
Do you mind running a comparison test or an experiment to find out how the LEDs perform? I can give you a nice discount for doing that.
 
I'd be happy to run a comparison test. I have a PAR meter so I could run a PAR comparison against 4 x 48" 54W T5HO new Sunblaster bulbs with reflectors. I could do a comparison of temperatures under the lights, above them and in the terrariums. I would also keep a log of how the plants do over a few months.

You can put me down for one 48" 6500K 4 strip unit with special waterproofing and remote 12V transformer. Is any reflector required or are the lights focused so reflectors are not needed? I guess the separate strips would be spaced similar to the 4 x T5HO fixtures for best coverage.
 
Sounds great! I appreciate the tests and helps.
I will PM you the cost once I figure out the numbers, probably in a week or two.
No reflector is required.
I don't have any T5HO fixure, what is the spacing you desire between each lighting tube?
 
A friend is Beta-testing the new design for me currently... And yes, the "paper-tubes & 3D printed joints stand" might be available too! :)
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PS: Her planter is about the size of a 1020 tray, so yes, this setup will work for a 1020 tray with/without dome. LED power: 4*10w
 
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