Stripping and Adding
One of the first things I did was test the Chip and PSU. Both tested ok, so it was on with the next stage.
Why test the bits first? Well, no good wasting time starting a build if your parts do not work. If you do, you will just have bits lying around waiting to be put together while you wait for replacements, and lose bits have a habit of getting lost. Better to have it all on hand in the first place, if at all possible.
Experience is a great teacher.
Experience from making mistakes like that, more so!
Now, to strip down the old lamp.
(note: the gold part on the back is the LED PSU)
(I have already added it on)
The now stripped and empty case. The mounting holes at the bottom are used to attach a heatsink.
The reflector was stripped and cut to allow the LED Chip and Heatsink to fit. As you will see on the next page.
LED Cob chips generate a lot of heat. So a good heat sink to remove that heat is required. They do not waste as much energy as an old fashion globe, in heat, but they still do require cooling for the heat that they do generate. All electronics generate heat. Just the amount varies.
Now, I didn't use the case as a heat sink because of a few reasons.
For one, I wanted the case to be cool to the touch as possible, as I tend to move the lamp around a lot when working on outside projects.
Two. The case was not flat or smooth enough to mount the chip directly. I could have put a shim metal piece at the bottom or grind it flatter, but this also would not do what I wished.
Three. I usually have lots of old computer/tv/radio parts lying around, including heatsinks. I had one that I knew would be about the right size, and have the right amout of heat dissipation, and put the chip in a raised position at a central focal point for the reflector. I do have a focusing LED Cob lense, but it seemed in testing prior and after to mounting the chip, to reduce the quality of the light coverage.
So.... enter an old Pentium II heatsink. All it took was cutting a few cm's off the back fins to fit the lamp case, and the addition of a few mounting holes.
I hunted around my spare screws and nuts pile to find just the right, well, near enough, screws to mount the chip, and mount the heatsink into the case.
Viola!
