Upgrading Maxspect to 15K ... Anyone DIY a fixture with the old LED pods ?

[DrPheel]

I'm looking into upgrading my 2x 120W Maxspect razors fixtures with the 130W 15K pods. I would like to know if anyone has retrofitted LED pods into another fixture with a off the shelf ballast ? Now first off , I am a big dumb dumb when it comes to electricity :jester: I can weld small wires , Follow plans , retrofit a old fixture with heat sinks and fans but I'm very reluctant to plug it in the wall and wire everything together. I did a bit of research and did not find anyone who has done this so far. I was able to see from some online pictures that there seems to be 4 wires going into each pods , 2x Black (i assume ground) and 2x Red (power) . since its a 2x channel pod, I assume you have one + and one - for both channels so this is kind of straight forward.

https://www.net-fish.com/30939-20820-large_default/maxspect-razor-r420r-led-pad-16000k.jpg



From what I understand of leds , I would have to find what power value ( voltage?!? told you i was a electrical noob :jester: ) is going to the pods with the original dimmer from 0% to 100% so I can see the range. I would then be able to find the proper ballast to drive the leds and be able to use a potentiometer to make it vary in that so said range. If I want only 2 potentiometer for 2 pods , will I need to daisy chain the power and ground ? or do I daisy the grounds and potentiate the power of each channel ? I found this online that explains the wiring from the potentiometer to the pods.

http://www.aquariumsaustralia.com.au/assets/alt_2/RAZ-UPG-15000-300w.jpg

Sorry for all the "noobness" but Id really like to make good use of those LEDS pods without blowing them up trying to wire them up. If anyone has the patience or knowledge to give me a few pointers il be sure to make a nice DIY post to help every other RC user that could benefit from this :)

Thanks in advance RC :beachbum:

[theatrus]

I'm looking into upgrading my 2x 120W Maxspect razors fixtures with the 130W 15K pods. I would like to know if anyone has retrofitted LED pods into another fixture with a off the shelf ballast ?


I don't know much about the Maxspect Razor boards - are they physically compatible? Or are you putting the 130W boards in a totally different enclosure?


Now first off , I am a big dumb dumb when it comes to electricity :jester: I can weld small wires , Follow plans , retrofit a old fixture with heat sinks and fans but I'm very reluctant to plug it in the wall and wire everything together. I did a bit of research and did not find anyone who has done this so far. I was able to see from some online pictures that there seems to be 4 wires going into each pods , 2x Black (i assume ground) and 2x Red (power) . since its a 2x channel pod, I assume you have one + and one - for both channels so this is kind of straight forward.

https://www.net-fish.com/30939-20820-large_default/maxspect-razor-r420r-led-pad-16000k.jpg



Yup




From what I understand of leds , I would have to find what power value ( voltage?!? told you i was a electrical noob :jester: ) is going to the pods with the original dimmer from 0% to 100% so I can see the range.



You need to determine two numbers. These could be marked on the driver.

Vf, or foward voltage, of the LEDs. You can also take an approximation and count the number of LEDs wired in series (end to end) and multiply by 3.4 (most LEDs will be not more than 3.4V each - certain colors will be far less).

When looking at an LED driver, the voltage of the supply must be greater than the Vf of all the LEDs. If you want to wire the pucks in series (as your later picture shows), sum the voltages as well.

Drive current:

Current is what controls the light output delivered by the LEDs (sidestepping the whole reality that voltage actually does...). This could be marked on the driver correctly, or inferred from the LEDs. Common *maximum* values are 1Amp, 700milliamps, 500milliamps.



I would then be able to find the proper ballast to drive the leds and be able to use a potentiometer to make it vary in that so said range. If I want only 2 potentiometer for 2 pods , will I need to daisy chain the power and ground ? or do I daisy the grounds and potentiate the power of each channel ? I found this online that explains the wiring from the potentiometer to the pods.

http://www.aquariumsaustralia.com.au/assets/alt_2/RAZ-UPG-15000-300w.jpg

Any potentiometer would generally be an input to the actual driver (or "ballast") - and only if the driver was a dimmable kind (not all are, or have a potentiometer inside of them for occasional adjustment). They are not wired into the main LED circuit. What drivers are you using? (Again, I'm not familiar with the MaxSpects)

[DrPheel]

I don't know much about the Maxspect Razor boards - are they physically compatible? Or are you putting the 130W boards in a totally different enclosure?

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any driver yet for the LED. I will remove the pods from my existing light to upgrade them to 15K spectrum instead of 16k. I will more than likely retrofit the led pads to a heat sync and place them in a old t5 fixture. Il get some dimmable drivers for sure and use a potentiometer to give me control on the output of each channel.

Thanks for the info I will try and crunch up a few numbers and see if my calculations add up and work up a part list for my build !

[oreo57]

Current is what controls the light output delivered by the LEDs (sidestepping the whole reality that voltage actually does...).

LOVE it...;)

[Breadman03]

I'm very reluctant to plug it in the wall and wire everything together.

Well there's your problem! You don't plug it in before wiring it! :lolspin:

I don't have the expertise to tell you how to DIY this, but here's a thread for using Radion pucks (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2380454). I imagine that skimming through it may help highlight some of the challenges you may face and potential solutions. There's probably even a few members there that you could tap into for help.

[DrPheel]

Well there's your problem! You don't plug it in before wiring it! :lolspin:

I don't have the expertise to tell you how to DIY this, but here's a thread for using Radion pucks (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2380454). I imagine that skimming through it may help highlight some of the challenges you may face and potential solutions. There's probably even a few members there that you could tap into for help.

Ty BreadMan , I did go trough the post a bit but the Radion pucks look wayyy more complicated compared to the MaxSpect ones. I have a friend that will come take a look with a multi-meter to see what kind of power runs from 0% to 100% to get a idea of what I would need to drive them. I will see what kind of info I get this weekend and consider starting a thread once I know what equipment to get for it to be possible.

Thanks RC :beachbum:

[theatrus]

Ty BreadMan , I did go trough the post a bit but the Radion pucks look wayyy more complicated compared to the MaxSpect ones. I have a friend that will come take a look with a multi-meter to see what kind of power runs from 0% to 100% to get a idea of what I would need to drive them. I will see what kind of info I get this weekend and consider starting a thread once I know what equipment to get for it to be possible.

Thanks RC :beachbum:

Measure at 100% - other levels aren't particularly interesting.

Take two measurements: one voltage between the + and - on a panel (or + to - across all the panels in series, though it should be the same), and one with the meter in the 10A range wired in-line (in series) with either side of the wire from the panel to the driver.

[theatrus]

LOVE it...;)

Trying to not complicate things by launching into an explanation of ohms law and non-linear I/V curves from diodes :-D

[oreo57]

Trying to not complicate things by launching into an explanation of ohms law and non-linear I/V curves from diodes :-D

I prefer flattish marbles and hills myself..

;)

Easier to explain why a 2V 1000A ps will not burn out a 3V LED.. Marbles won't roll on that hill..

I like simple..... ;)

[DrPheel]

Measure at 100% - other levels aren't particularly interesting.

Take two measurements: one voltage between the + and - on a panel (or + to - across all the panels in series, though it should be the same), and one with the meter in the 10A range wired in-line (in series) with either side of the wire from the panel to the driver.

Thanks for the additional info , I will report back my findings in this thread and when I have all the equipment and ready to pull the trigger il start a nice DIY thread

[oreo57]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?763250-Maxspect-razor-wiring-diagram

Enjoy.. see if what you find matches this:
36V per channel Tim.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=54742&d=1439070529
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j277/jedimaster1138/burnout_zps06042425.jpg

[DrPheel]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?763250-Maxspect-razor-wiring-diagram

Enjoy.. see if what you find matches this:


Thanks for your input sir !! putting this in the bookmark files for sure :beachbum:

[Theokie]

Looking at the masspec site... and going by your comment that there are 4 wires.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7669/26248702964_c2eefd46f0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FZvsUd)Screen Shot 2016-05-06 at 11.22.14 AM (https://flic.kr/p/FZvsUd)

It looks like you'd want something capable of 1.3amp.... as it looks like that is the max draw of the diods, and I image some of the lower amperage draw ones are wired up in parallel to simplify things on the actual board. I could be wrong as I don't have a physical board here to see how things are wired up.

[DrPheel]

Looking at the masspec site... and going by your comment that there are 4 wires. It looks like you'd want something capable of 1.3amp.... as it looks like that is the max draw of the diods, and I image some of the lower amperage draw ones are wired up in parallel to simplify things on the actual board. I could be wrong as I don't have a physical board here to see how things are wired up.

Thanks for the reply , is that the 15K or 16K ?

[Theokie]

Thanks for the reply , is that the 15K or 16K ?

The only one they have as replacement is the 15K

[DrPheel]

The only one they have as replacement is the 15K

as stated in OP I am upgrading to the 15k , so the pods il be using for the DIY are the old 16K's

[Theokie]

as stated in OP I am upgrading to the 15k , so the pods il be using for the DIY are the old 16K's

I would imagine they would have similar power needs, since your not replacing the power supply, nor the constant current drivers. Also 1.3 is a pretty common max current for many Leds.

[melmel3]

I actually measured the current on the 27" version and got about 2.28A. Forgot the volts.

I'm a noob at electronics but I think it's because the boards are parallel(I believe *correct me if I'm wrong) wired and the 2.3A is split amongst the same LED colors. You can verify this by doing a diode test and when you test one of the LEDs the other one/ones that are the same color light up as well

[melmel3]

^ eg
Test a single RB and all the RBs on the puck light
Same for the rest of the colors