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Do you need a driver for 3w UV emitter?

r1Bro

r1Bro

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3W UV Emitter

Hello, I have a spare Cree host laying around and wanted to swap out the T6 emitter for one of these 1W UV emitters. Should I use the driver from the T6 or should I just run it straight to the power? I also have a Q5 driver if that would be any better I think it's less powerful.
 





you don't want to direct drive off the battery. led's are like lasers, in that they are current hungry.

look at your data sheet for the uv led, then run tests on what your current driver is putting out to the current led.

Michael.
 
chipdouglas said:
you don't want to direct drive off the battery. led's are like lasers, in that they are current hungry.

look at your data sheet for the uv led, then run tests on what your current driver is putting out to the current led.

Michael.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply! Okay so the UV 3w LED I found says max current 700ma. The T6 Driver measured 3000ma on the highest mode. The Q5 driver reads 700ma plus or minus a few on its highest setting so It seems like a straight swap will work. This may also be another stupid question but if I wanted to use 4-5 UV emitters, a single T6 driver should be able to drive them all then?
 
Can you use another LED driver? Probably. It depends on if it actually has current regulation or if it is just pwm/FET based.

Be aware most "UV" LEDs are actually 405-415nm.
 
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Cyparagon said:
Can you use another LED driver? Probably. It depends on if it actually has current regulation or if it is just pwm/FET based.

Be aware most "UV" LEDs are actually 405-415nm.
Click to expand...

If you know of a driver that would be better I could use another one. I just wanted to use one I had because well I already have it and it has different modes. The new UV LED I found says 3w and they claim peaks at 370nm although I doubt it's 3w but it is significantly more expensive then normal UV LEDS. And I have found a UV pass filter that I will add on because I want this light to emit as pure UV as possible.
 
r1Bro said:
Thank you for the reply! Okay so the UV 3w LED I found says max current 700ma. The T6 Driver measured 3000ma on the highest mode. The Q5 driver reads 700ma plus or minus a few on its highest setting so It seems like a straight swap will work. This may also be another stupid question but if I wanted to use 4-5 UV emitters, a single T6 driver should be able to drive them all then?
Click to expand...

whats the vf of the uv led? what is the input voltage range of the driver, what is the out put of it
 
chipdouglas said:
whats the vf of the uv led? what is the input voltage range of the driver, what is the out put of it
Click to expand...

The DC Forward Voltage of the LED is 3.9V - 4.5V. The driver operating voltage is 3.2v- 4.2v and 700ma @ 3.7v. Maybe this driver is too strong? If the LED says voltage 700ma and the driver puts out 700ma at 3.7v a freshly charged battery will put out 4.2v. So that would mean more current then 700ma?
 
use a amc1735 driver with 2 chips with modes for fun, that will get you 700mA of regulated current
 
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^Your output will probably dim as your battery drains, and unless you use a fancier driver, you won't be using the full capacity of your battery, but rather the capacity between full battery and the point at which the voltage is too low to drive the LED. But, it's like putting a safety circuit in a direct-drive light: you know that the LED won't get more than 700mA of current. Sure, it may only get 300mA, but still, you know you won't blow your LED.
 
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