Introduction: 84W PC Chassis LED Grow Light
- Expandable to 240W or 480W (depending on power supply limit)
- 4 modes: Red; blue; red and blue; green
- Red and blue LEDs for growing plants
- Green LED suitable for viewing plants at night without disturbing them
- Controlled with lamp timer
Step 1: Tools and Materials
- Tap wrench
- M3 tap
- #6-32 tap
- assorted drill bits (with 2.5mm and #36 bits)
- center punch
- drill driver
- soldering iron
Grow Light
- 1 x ATX power supply
- PC chassis (with drive bay removed)
- 1 x 120mm case fan or 2 80mm case fans
- 1 x 5V power supply
- 1 x outlet timer
- 1 x strip board
- thermal paste
- 2 x 1N4001 diodes
- 8 x IRFZ44N N-channel MOSFETs
- 9 x 2N3904 NPN transistors
- 8 x 100k resistors
- 8 x 0.82 ohm 1W resistors
- 2 x 10M resistors
- 1 x 10k resistor
- 2 x 1k resistors
- 2 x 3 ohm 2W resistor
- 16 x 3W deep red LEDs
- 12 x 3W royal blue LEDs
- 1 x 3W green LED
- 8 x 4 LED aluminum base plates
- 1 x 2.1mm panel mount jack
- 1 x DPDT on-off-on rocker switch (2A)
- 3 x push button on-off-on DIP switches
- lead free solder
Fasteners
- 10 x M3 x 10mm screws
- 10 x M3 nylon washers
- 10 x M3 split ring washers
- 6 x sets of M3 nylon stand-offs
- 4 x #6-32 x 2 1/2" screws
- 4 x #6-32 x 2" screws
- 4 x #6-32 cap nuts
- 4 x #6-32 nuts
- 8 x #6 split ring washers
- 4 x #6 flat washers
Step 2: LEDs Soldered to 4 LED Aluminum Base Plate
To save space on the heatsink and simplify wiring, solder the emitters to a 4-LED aluminum base plate with thermal paste on their cooling surfaces. For a 12V power supply, each base plate can have up to 3 blue LEDs or four red LEDs.
Step 3: Heatsink Marked for Drilling
Mark the heatsink for mounting its parts and indent the marking with center punch. I used an aluminum CD rack as the heatsink.
The tap and drill bit sizes are:
- 3mm and 2.5mm for the LEDs and circuit board
- #6-32 and #36 for the fans, stands, and air deflectors
Step 4: Heatsink Drilled and Tapped for Fans
Step 5: Heatsink Drilled and Tapped for LEDs
For maximum cooling, install the base plates so that the LEDs are directly above the heatsink's flat surfaces. I used M3 x 10mm screws, nylon washers for insulation, and split ring washers.
Step 6: Heatsink Drilled for Cable Ties
Step 7: Heatsink Drilled and Tapped for LED Driver
Step 8: Heatsink Drilled and Tapped for Stands
Step 9: Heatsink Drilled and Tapped for Air Deflectors
Step 10: PC Chassis Drilled for Mounting and Ventillation
Step 11: LED Driver Circuit
An external 5V source can be plugged in to a 2-prong lamp timer to control daylight hours. Some plants depend on daylight hours for flowering. Turning on SW2 or supplying 5V through the DC jack turns on Q1 which shorts PG-ON to ground.
In the zip file, I have included the ExpressPCB files with a printable sample for the stripboard.
Attachments
Step 12: Stripboard Track Cutting
Step 13: Soldered LED Driver Circuit Board
Step 14: Soldering the LEDs
Step 15: LED Base Plates With Thermal Plaster
Step 16: Hot Glue As Wire Strain Relief
Step 17: Rewiring the ATX Power Supply
Modify a four pin connector so that:
- One black wire is connected to PG-ON
- One black wire is connected to 0V
- One red wire is connected to +5vsb (not +5V)
- One yellow wire is connected to +12V
For the expansion connectors, you only need the +12V and 0V rails.
Step 18: Rubber Washers for Spacing the Fan
Step 19: Cable Ties for the ATX Connectors
![Hydroponics and Indoor Gardening Contest](https://content.instructables.com/FZN/QCKN/HN81YXWA/FZNQCKNHN81YXWA.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&width=320)
Second Prize in the
Hydroponics and Indoor Gardening Contest
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Participated in the
Workshop Contest
![Build My Lab Contest](https://content.instructables.com/FTE/3I4X/HJKC2IYE/FTE3I4XHJKC2IYE.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&width=320)
Participated in the
Build My Lab Contest
![Make It Glow Contest](https://content.instructables.com/FNH/LUA1/HMVJHDHA/FNHLUA1HMVJHDHA.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&width=320)
Participated in the
Make It Glow Contest