DIY LED Using 10 Watt Arrays

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Do have suggestions but would love to come see your setup sometime Mike. I also liked those heatsinks so much I bought three myself today. I have 3 10w chips sitting doing nothing so I figure I'll do something with them now.

Sure thing. My setup is pretty modest, but yeah, I'd be happy to let you have a look see some time. My schedule is pretty flexible, I'll shoot you my phone # by pm. I'm in the old part of town on Mission Hill, a few blocks southeast of the hospital. I've been planning an upgrade for years, room divider probably similar to what you've done, but not much progress due to other things in life keeping me busy & drawing on my finances.

[hillegom]

Mike instead of a center brace, a half moon, maybe a quarter moon shape in the middle will clear all the wiring, terminal blocks etc.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Al is Aluminum. My lights use Aluminum bars connected into a heatsink. Dissipates heat well.

Small, light-weight heatsinks will have more trouble dissipating the heat from 10w emitters so you'll probably have to continue using fans.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Al is Aluminum. My lights use Aluminum bars connected into a heatsink. Dissipates heat well.

Small, light-weight heatsinks will have more trouble dissipating the heat from 10w emitters so you'll probably have to continue using fans.

Ok, I thought by Al you may have meant AI as in Aqua Illumination, a heatsink from the company that makes LED fixtures which you used in making your DIY. So how thick or heavy are these bars? Some photos, dimensions etc. would certainly help me visualize what you're talking about. The new heatsinks I have are advertised to work without the need for fans as well and they've been doing the job on the center row of lights for a couple of weeks now. So if I were to consider what you're proposing/using, I'd need more info. Where did you get them?

[mike31154]

Here's what I've come up with for a cover. Mostly built, but need to fine tune, stain, cut vent holes, trim the edges & figure out the hanging scenario. The existing brackets for hanging don't protrude far enough through the new top. I suppose I could hang it from the top itself, but then I'd need to bolt the top to the frame & I'd rather have the top easily removable, so just resting on the frame. I'll figure something out.

Ended up getting a sheet of 1/8 mahogany plywood & fastening that to the end pieces. Amazing how stiff 1/8 ply can be when you're trying to bend it. I had to make two more semi arcs to support the plywood & make it bend properly in the center.

[mseepman]

Nice job Mike. I like that look a lot! Do you have to drill for fans still on top?

[hillegom]

looking good

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by hillegom

Mike instead of a center brace, a half moon, maybe a quarter moon shape in the middle will clear all the wiring, terminal blocks etc.

Hmm, half moon, that's an idea. Thanks.