LED: Drill and screw or Glue to the heat sink???

[sra_chipmunk]

For those of you who have done your own LED setup, when you put the LED on the heat sink, did you gule them or drill and screw them to the heat sink? I would like to glue them to avoid the time comsuming drilling and screwing. My major concern would be, if I wanted to remove the LED, if it difficult to remove the LED and the leftover adheasive from the heat sink? I dont want these things to be perminently stuck on the heat sink.

Thanks
Tom

 

[sgt_slaughter]

I'm about to take this on myself and will be gluing.
I'm "told" it's a simple scraping to remove with no damage to LED or heat sink

 

[sra_chipmunk]

Sgt.Slaughter;620554 wrote: I'm about to take this on myself and will be gluing.
I'm "told" it's a simple scraping to remove with no damage to LED or heat sink

If thats the case, i would much rather glue them then screw them. :lol2:

What glue are you going to use?

 

[markl]

Drill and tap is the only way imo.

 

[morganatlanta]

I glued with Arctic Alumina thermal adhesive (from newegg.com, but some of the aquarium LED sights now sell it too)

Not sure about moving them as I haven't tried. It might be a pain, but I don't anticipate it would be fatal to either the LED star or the heatsink.

 

[ryles]

I just created a 10 LED unit for the back part of my corner 37. Happy with the color but not so happy with the intensity. I'm going to add 3 more LED's to get to 13.

I glued mine and it seems fine. I'm contemplating squeezing the 3 in or removing 4 of the 10 and re-organizing to get the additional 3 in. If I decide to remove the 4 I will update on how easy it is to chisel them off and re-use them.

 

[superclown]

I would def tap and screw them. Glue can fail over a course of time sure it might hold up but some things are not meant to last forever plus if done right will look more professional. Last thing you want is a led falling into your tank

 

[enderg60]

Sgt.Slaughter;620554 wrote: I'm about to take this on myself and will be gluing.
I'm "told" it's a simple scraping to remove with no damage to LED or heat sink

BS!

I'd like to see any thermal glue worth a crap that you can remove without totally distroying the LED!

Spend the time and drill and tap for screws and use thermal paste. Makes life much easier when one LED goes out.

 

[rbredding]

screw them... always plan on having to take it apart... (and murphy say's you'll never have to)

otherwise.. you'll DEFINITELY HAVE to take it apart.. LOL

 

[sra_chipmunk]

These are the heat skinks ordered (7.280" x 14")
http://www.heatsinkusa.com/categories/7.280%22/?sort=priceasc">http://www.heatsinkusa.com/categories/7.280%22/?sort=priceasc</a>

These are the LED's that I ordered
[IMG]http://shop.stevesleds.com/3-watt-Ultra-Cool-White-10000K-LED-2-Chip-3-watt-White-LED-2-Chip.htm">http://shop.stevesleds.com/3-watt-Ultra-Cool-White-10000K-LED-2-Chip-3-watt-White-LED-2-Chip.htm</a>
[IMG]http://shop.stevesleds.com/3-watt-Royal-Blue-LED-2-Chip-3-watt-Royal-Blue-LED-2-Chip.htm">http://shop.stevesleds.com/3-watt-Royal-Blue-LED-2-Chip-3-watt-Royal-Blue-LED-2-Chip.htm</a>

so just drilling them and installing stainless steel screws will do the trick??? I I have to countersink the holes?

 

[ryles]

I used the Steve's LEDs. They are 3 watt and supposedly comparable to Cree XRE's. The 3 additional ones will be Cree and when I build a unit for the front/main portion of my tank to replace my T5 HO's I will buy Crees.

I built the smaller unit as a test and to see if Steve's LEDs would work. I haven't done the Cree's but the 3 addtional LED's should tell me all I need to know.

I can't comment on the heat transfer but I seriously doubt the glue is coming off any time soon. Many many DIY's have been built with the glue and I have yet to read of an LED "falling into a tank".

 

[sra_chipmunk]

I will be running 60 degree optics on half of the LED's. This is my first major electrical project so I'm very timid about doing it.

 

[morganatlanta]

Amici;620747 wrote: Hmmm are you going to be using optics? I am not familiar with those brand of LED's and CREE is what gives you the punch you need for corals.

The numbers on these look comparable to CREE, and they are half the price. I say go for it. At this price, LED becomes a no brainer compared to MH and T5.

CREEs are top notch, but they aren't the only game in town. I think LEDs are to the point where it is no longer the power that is the issue, but getting the right color and even spread. A lot of people end up dialing back the current to their LEDs because they have too much power, so even if these aren't quite like CREEs in terms of lumens per watt, they might still do the job.

These are interesting times in the lighting world.

 

[sra_chipmunk]

Getting the even spread is something I need to read up on.

 

[jaustin]

Just make sure you adjust the drivers so you dont fry them and make sure you are using the correct drivers and you will be just fine.

You don't have to adjust the drivers sold by Steve'sLEDs.

 

[morganatlanta]

Amici;620827 wrote: I am not trying to be rude by any means but how many brands of LED's have you tested and played with first hand? Remember lumen per watt is just part of the game here..... I can tell you that there is a huge difference in the brands and the fact that someone says the numbers are comparable does not mean its true. I've been playing with LED's for about 2 years and the output on the cheaper 3w LED's is substantially different and the 1w LED's are extremely difficult to utilize without a TON of them.

Well, if they are lying about the lumens/watt numbers, then they are lying and I can't help that. All I said is the numbers look comparable, and they were worth a try based on those numbers. It's worth investing a few dollars to try a few of these out before going out and spending hundreds extra on CREEs. I fully expect the price of reef-appropriate LEDs to come down over the next year or two. While it may not be these ones, one of these days, there will be a decent LED that comes in at half the current price/lumen of CREEs, and that will totally change the lighting game.

 

[grouper therapy]

Can rivets be used?

 

[sra_chipmunk]

Well my buddy has a PAR meter and he will be able to take good readings of these LED's and we will post the numbers. I e-mailed Steve and StevesLED's.com and he said my order should ship out by Monday so I will have product finished by the end of this month.

I agree that the LED industry will go way down in price within the next year or two, but there will always be different varieties/brands of LED's, much like MH bulbs, ballasts, reflectors. Some are better then others, some not so much. I bought Staves LED's because a buddy of mine bought all Royal Blue Staves LED's to replace his VHO actinics and the PAR he received from them was good so I am just the guinea pig on this project.

 

[morganatlanta]

I'm not wild about the CREE royal blue color. I find it hard on my eyes. I think it probably needs supplementing with an equal number of regular blues like in the AI fixtures, so it is definitely worth looking around at other brands. A single LED with the "right" blue would save big $$ over the CREE.

 

[darcurr]

just in case, since I haven't read it here. If you mount the LEDs with screws, you still need a thermal compound between the LED and Heatsink for optimum heat transfer.