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Strip LED growlamp with controller

nice.chili

nice.chili

After seeing the lamp that lespaulde built and posted last September - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/58028-how-to-build-an-led-growlight/?p=1583288 - I got inspired...
 
So in true "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" fashion I created something similar. It has:
  • 6x Samsung LT-F562B LED strips, 4x 4000K and 2x 5000K
  • Manual and programmable mode: on / off / brightness / etc.
  • Brightness control
  • WiFi enabled (e.g., current time sucked from the internet, programmable mode config, etc.)
  • Size is 640 mm x 400 mm (25.2" x 15.75")
It's basically finished - I still have to install the hanging cables (just waiting on a part) - but here are some first photos:
 
strip-lamp-06.jpg

 
 
Lamp in manual mode - on / off, with brightness at 10%:
 
strip-lamp-04.jpg
  
strip-lamp-05.jpg
 
Nicely (pun intended) done! Great handiwork, too! Love that you can configure it however you like. An aside for future reference... here in the US, most white, or clear, cable ties aren't generally UV resistant.
 
:clap:

Very nice build indeed, and thanks for the flattery - although truth be told, I copied the design from the 420 forums, and you, good sir, took things to next level! Amazing job, very neat results, and it being WiFi controllable is simply too cool!

What kind of area are you looking to cover with that? I'm finding I need to turn things down to probably 50-60% intensity in order not to 'sunburn' the plants; you having 2 extra strips should allow you to run them even cooler.

Again, very nice build, thanks for sharing!

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
 
nmlarson said:
Nicely (pun intended) done! Great handiwork, too! Love that you can configure it however you like. An aside for future reference... here in the US, most white, or clear, cable ties aren't generally UV resistant.
Click to expand...
 
 
And why would one specifically need UV resistant cable ties when using a lighting setup that doesn't have any UV output? :-) Adding UV output to the rig would be killer, though, as you could potentially eliminate hardening off for sunlight.
 
Also, most people living in Europe (including myself) buy bags of cable ties at Lidl and those are specifically labeled as UV resistant. 
 
podz said:
 
 
And why would one specifically need UV resistant cable ties when using a lighting setup that doesn't have any UV output? :-) Adding UV output to the rig would be killer, though, as you could potentially eliminate hardening off for sunlight.
 
Click to expand...
 
My bad.  I was under the impression most LED lights emit UV wavelengths, even if in very small amounts.  If that IS correct, I suspect even a small amount of UV would degrade a cable tie over time.  I, personally, wouldn't risk even the very small chance of degradation, if no risk was possible.
 
nmlarson said:
 
My bad.  I was under the impression most LED lights emit UV wavelengths, even if in very small amounts.  If that IS correct, I suspect even a small amount of UV would degrade a cable tie over time.  I, personally, wouldn't risk even the very small chance of degradation, if no risk was possible.
Click to expand...
 
Those LED light strips are so lightweight that even with a split cable, they are unlikely to fall under their own weight :-) If I were using them to hold cast-iron sewage pipes, then I might be worried!
 
nice.chili said:
After seeing the lamp that lespaulde built and posted last September - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/58028-how-to-build-an-led-growlight/?p=1583288 - I got inspired...
 
So in true "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" fashion I created something similar. It has:
  • 6x Samsung LT-F562B LED strips, 4x 4000K and 2x 5000K
  • Manual and programmable mode: on / off / brightness / etc.
  • Brightness control
  • WiFi enabled (e.g., current time sucked from the internet, programmable mode config, etc.)
  • Size is 640 mm x 400 mm (25.2" x 15.75")
It's basically finished - I still have to install the hanging cables (just waiting on a part) - but here are some first photos:
 
Click to expand...
 
 
BTW, do you have a PAR coverage grid map available for this rig?
 
nmlarson said:
Nicely (pun intended) done! Great handiwork, too! Love that you can configure it however you like. An aside for future reference... here in the US, most white, or clear, cable ties aren't generally UV resistant.
Click to expand...
 
 
podz said:
 
Those LED light strips are so lightweight that even with a split cable, they are unlikely to fall under their own weight :-) If I were using them to hold cast-iron sewage pipes, then I might be worried!
Click to expand...
 
 
Fair points - I'm not so concerned about the cable ties. They are there to keep everything neat and tidy. Specifically all the wires are solid core mains wires, soldered on, left over from renovation work - 1.5 mm2 rated at 230 V 10 A. Once bent it doesn't really change shape.
 
(This also explains why the individual strip wires are at an angle: I started to install them one way, changed my mind and then didn't bother to unbend / re-bend them to run them along aluminium profiles.)
 
 
The LED strips meanwhile are stuck on using thermal two way tape. I can't comment about long term resilience to heating, but at the moment the tape/strips aren't going anywhere. A test of the tape, just to see how well it stuck, led to a good 30-60 minutes of removal with a razor blade and alcohol...   :lol:
 
Here are some measurements I made with the lamp at 100% in a Homebox Ambient Q60 (60 cm x 60 cm x 120 cm). The distance between the lamp and the sensor was 1 m. All values are in umol/m2s.
 
  359.7  387.5  352.8
 
  389.9  417.5  383.0
 
  355.2  399.2  345.8
 
The inside surface of the grow chamber is all reflective thus the values could be fairly indicative of actual output. It would be interesting to do the comparison with calculated output if the spectrum data was available.
 
After all the measurements were made the lamp was running hot, so most probably best used in free air at least when at full power.
 
is that wifi controller DIY? sure has a clean look. nice enclosure and components.
 
really, the whole build is just very clean overall. superb.
 
Yep sinensis, the controller is all DIY - thanks for the kind words.
 
It's based on a Particle Photon for control, display and the WiFi connection. There's a small PSU in there and the main power is controlled by a couple of relays in each line.
If I did it again, I might make it headless, i.e., without display and buttons. That would cut down on the height of the case, but would mean one is solely reliant on having it connected to a network. This would take away the ability to have it operate completely in standalone mode like one might expect a regular growlamp to do. Always trade-offs...
 
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