I just bought some cheap LEDs supposedly HIGH CRI.  They are built to be replacements for those Halogen 500 Watt tubular lamps

I got 5 with the sockets

I got these

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002970801305.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.21ef18027ktqnm  $4.33

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256802092589161.html?spm=a2g0o.new_account_index.0.0.421825b9j2Drp9  under a buck

 

 

Now here's the deal:

They plug into the wall. No conversion to DC,  no fussing with polarity, no   building electronics to control voltage.  

They plug into the 120 VAC wall outlets. the box says 110 to 140 volts

 

 

This is the Socket  the metal mounting bar is not energized at any time, it's insulated by the ceramic socket.

 

This is me plugging on in.  I plan on hooking all five up in parallel see if that works.

 

Dang...why didn't I think of this?

Thanks Cliff. Look forward to your evaluation.

33 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Look forward to your evaluation.

They work in parallel great.  the light is pretty good really strong.. I made a light bar for our seedlings.

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3 hours ago, lew said:

Video won’t play

Some people~!!!  HMMMMPPPPHHH

REMOVE THE {{{}}}

https:{{{}}}//the-axlotal-tank.smugmug.com/Experimental/i-VtnpQSr/A

 

I screwed 'em to a hunk of wood painted it reflective and hung it over some seedlings wired up in parallel.

I've used plain no name LED spotlights and i have done well using them as grow lights.

 

Here's the thing.  LEDS have a funny characteristic.  The hotter they get the more energy it takes to drive them until they overheat.

When they overheat they die.

I've been running  these for 4 Hours.  The bulbs are hotter than any LED I've ever  had ever got but the light seems undiminished  They are about 105F according to my infrared thermometer but 154 F according to a contact thermometer.

 

2 minutes ago, Cliff said:

Here's the thing.  LEDS have a funny characteristic.  The hotter they get the more energy it takes to drive them until they overheat.

When they overheat they die.

I've been running  these for 4 Hours.  The bulbs are hotter than any LED I've ever  had ever got but the light seems undiminished  They are about 105F according to my infrared thermometer but 154 F according to a contact thermometer.

 

Maybe some kind of heat sink 

29 minutes ago, lew said:

Maybe some kind of heat sink 

I'd have to glue it to the glass tube in which  the LED is encased.

I was thinking more of thermal conductive paste

On 5/14/2022 at 8:27 PM, lew said:

thermal conductive paste

 

How do you imagine the sink be mounted?  It'd have to cling to the glass some how and that  with out blocking the light.  I'm pretty creative but I don't think I can pull that one off.

So far the heat seems to plateau. I'm running  'em all day & into the night. I give the plants about 8 hours to recover.

5 minutes ago, Cliff said:

 

How do you imagine the sink be mounted?  It'd have to cling to the glass some how and that  with out blocking the light.  I'm pretty creative but I don't think I can pull that one off.

So far the heat seems to plateau. I'm running  'em all day & into the night. I give the plants about 8 hours to recover.

Just going by the images, maybe make an L shaped fixture then mount the sockets Horizontally. A reflector/ heat sink could be fashioned to mount above the lights. The heat sink could have inverted plateaus that extend down to rest against the glass. Thermal paste applied to the glass/heatsink contact area would facilitate conducting the heat into the metal heatsink. 

So far these lamps are great. I will definitely  be buying more.

My seedlings LOVE these things.  The response is   - - well - - dramatic.

 

I want to build grow-racks in my cellar for starting garden veggies.  These put  out so much light over such a wide area providing enormous coverage.  I have 5 of them producing the equivalent of 500 watts each on one 15 Amp line. So that's a 2500 watt  equivalent  of light output  on 15 Amp circuit.

Of course the energy from a 500 watt incandescent lamp is mostly  heat energy  maybe 90% of it is heat energy lost. That's why I'm aboe to run these LEDS on a small circuit. 

They peak  out at 150 - 160 F and don't get hotter over the course of a whole day.

 

Edited May 19, 20224 yr by Cliff
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