+Mitch Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I am wanting to learn what others have done with their meanwell drivers. Pics are a plus I know I can simply solder the bare wires then heatshrink and keep things "exposed" per se, but I was thinking a nicer solution would be to place it inside a project box and make a clean interface using standard IEC power cord (think pc desktop power cord), rj45 for the dimmer controls, and cannabilize the cord + tip from an a/c adapter (i'm connecting to Ecoxotic Stunner strips). One concern is how much heat do these things generate? The project box has a aluminum lid and I could easily drill ventilation holes as needed. Thoughts & suggestions appreciated. TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I would not worry about vent holes if you just have one driver in a box. It does need to be tightly screwed/bolted to th aluminum box and I would not use a plastic housing. If the internal components are attached to heatsinks the heat sinks will be attached to the bottom/base of the drivers housing. I get DC power connectors here: http://www.supercircuits.com/Connectors/FEMALE-POW http://www.supercircuits.com/Connectors/YPOWER http://www.supercircuits.com/Video-Cables/EXT-POW-25 And this website has misc. components that can be used to hook things up: http://www.allelectronics.com I'm guessing you already know this but if you put a connecter between the LEDs and the driver it must be connected before power is applied to the driver or there is a very good chance the driver will apply max voltage to the LEDs and burn them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 I would not worry about vent holes if you just have one driver in a box. It does need to be tightly screwed/bolted to th aluminum box and I would not use a plastic housing. If the internal components are attached to heatsinks the heat sinks will be attached to the bottom/base of the drivers housing. I cracked open the meanwell driver. There are some simple heatsinks inside, but it's the pcb which is directly screwed to the bottom part of it's housing. The clamshell housing doesn't have any vents and actually has gaskets along the outer edge creating a nice seal. I'm guessing you already know this but if you put a connecter between the LEDs and the driver it must be connected before power is applied to the driver or there is a very good chance the driver will apply max voltage to the LEDs and burn them out. My understanding is that without any applied voltage to the dimmer controls, then no DC output is made. Thanks for reply Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Mine are just loose in my cabinet, inside the factory boxes. Of course I also don't have any local pot control (I use an apex to control my dimming). IMO its just easier to keep them loose. But if you're a tinkerer, go for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 My understanding is that without any applied voltage to the dimmer controls, then no DC output is made. Thanks for reply Tim. Thats not necessarily true. The meanwell's shut off below 10% or 1Volt however, you will still see the dimly lit because the driver is unstable at low level(per meanwell). If you just cut the power you will get flashing, which is caused by the output filtering capacitors discharging. If running an Apex you can set the min intensity to 11% and then cut the power to eliminate the flashing. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Thats not necessarily true. The meanwell's shut off below 10% or 1Volt however, you will still see the dimly lit because the driver is unstable at low level(per meanwell). If you just cut the power you will get flashing, which is caused by the output filtering capacitors discharging. If running an Apex you can set the min intensity to 11% and then cut the power to eliminate the flashing. Ahh!, that's why my Apollo Reef LEDs flash every once in a while. I'll tweak my programming. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Well, here's the project box i implemented: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I got these off of olaggie. They have been rock solid. http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/19442-led-setup-600-georgetown-tx/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 NICE. very clean application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Nice and clean project box. Did it come with the cutouts already? Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Did it come with the cutouts already? Thanks . No, I had to cut those out myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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