Retro-fitting L3 to DE

[jlehigh]

Darn shipping can take a long time.. Especially when you want to get something NOW!!

Anyway I FINALLY recieved the socket last night which also came with a bracket. I was originally skeptical as to wether or not I wanted to use the bracket but after looking at it, it will make this retro easy-peasy!

Pros:
- It already is adjustable to length supporting up to 1000W DE bulbs
- Already has been drillied for mounting
- Very strong and simple providing the base for a firm mount

Cons:
- The bracket runs from socket to socket and will block some vertical light which may have otherwise been reflected back into the tank from the top of the reflector..

I will be coordinating now with a local club member who is helping me out (Very cool guy whom I wont name until I have permission ) Updates are inevitable

 

[jlehigh]

Update!!!! Whohoo!!!

The good news is the U bracket is sweet, the glass I got is awesome and I was easily able to drill for the wiring and mounting to my light rail

The bad news is the bracket I purchased for the sockets isn't long enough despite the claims of the tech department at the store I bought them from!! So now I need to make that piece. Essentialy I need straight bracket with the threaded holes to be 9" long instead of 7".

I'll geit'r'dun soon:

More to come in the next week

 

[bc_slc]

ah, that is too bad. I cant wait to see what it looks like over a tank.

 

[jlehigh]

Tomorrow or Saturday The awesome guy helping me out with the metal work gave me a very simple solution. Cut the bracket and create new holes for bolting down.. Shoot I might as well go do it right now...

 

[PGS]

cool

Looks very nice so far! Can't wait to see it finished, take lots of good pictures!

-Luke @ PGS

 

[jlehigh]

GotRdun

Well it's finished. All and all it is a very simple mod requiring UV-glass, one "U" bracket and a few drilled holes...

The difference is awesome. I will easily be able to replace the 4 pendants with three L3's over the tank (should I ever be able to afford 2 more L3's )

I took pictures comparring a typical brand DE reflector to the L3. The L3 FOUR inches closer to the water! The center of the bulb was in the same location with no other bulbs turned on.

Here's the problem: The camera automatically adjusts the white balance so capturing the difference in brightness doesn't work with my cam. I'll see if my cousin's camera can be set to a consistent level..

In person the difference is obvious and I am easily gaining an additional 6-10 inches of coverage while obtaining a much more even distribution of light across the lit area. Their are ZERO shadows visible from the custom bracket.

All in all this is was/is a big success and given the simplicity I recommend PGS take a look at the design for future production. The DE is lighter, takes up less space (bulky SE mogul and bracket) and provides a very attractive offering to all DE users.

I would be interested to see what Sanjay's tests would show but I cannot spare the light. I would predict a better spread, a raise in PAR, and more even distribution.

Standard DE pendant

Retrofitted L3

Let me know if you have any questions,
John

 

[szidls]

Sweet! I think it's all in the stand off bracket..LOL.
Hey John can you tell any dark spots? That pic is really a dramatic difference in light getting back into the tank.
Good Job, Scott

 

[jesshimom]

szidls,

I was just wondering if you could see any spots even if you tried?

Always,

jesshimom

 

[jlehigh]

Sweet! I think it's all in the stand off bracket..LOL.
Hey John can you tell any dark spots?
Good Job, Scott

Hehehe Well the stand-off bracket was 99.9% of the mod so I agree metal man

Not only is the L3 coverage larger and intensity brighter but there are NO shaded areas. I used to have a shadow cast on my pink mili from one of my overhead inlets but now that is gone and the mili looks really really pink now

Bottom line: The L3 converted to DE appears to outperform the usual DE pendants.

BTW: Both of your Avitars creep me out

 

[Elmo18]

BTW: Both of your Avitars creep me out

AHHAHAh, I tend to agree

Nice. In fact, I saw this myself...when I visited....the metal man. Awesome setup there John.

- Elmo

 

[jlehigh]

Any other thoughts all? I have a few potential improvements but I want to see ehat others think. Any 250W DE users considering a conversion to L3's? 250 watt DE retros are even easier since you dont have to hack the socket manufacturer's DE bracket in half.

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Any other thoughts all? I have a few potential improvements but I want to see ehat others think. Any 250W DE users considering a conversion to L3's? 250 watt DE retros are even easier since you dont have to hack the socket manufacturer's DE bracket in half.

I'm considering the conversion, I currently have ROIII. I must have missed what you used for the DE socket part, were did you find a retro kit?

 

[jlehigh]

I ordered the DE sockets from an online store. I think it was premium aquatics since custom aquatics didn't carry them The sockets came with the steel bracket which I hade to cut in order to accomodate the length of a 400W DE bulb. If you run 250Watt DE the bracket is ready to mount to the fabricated U-bracket without modification.

 

[DisturbedReefer]

John,
Have you noticed/found any hot spots at all? I would like to see how things do for a little bit before jumping in head first and dropping a load of $$$. Keep us posted on the progress. From what I saw on the tour everything was looking great on the conversion!

 

[jlehigh]

Hey Todd. What do you mean by "hot spots"

 

[DisturbedReefer]

A friend brought up a point that I hadn't even considered with the multi angles of the luminarc...a place where it would have more concentrated reflection, thus causing a "hot spot" that in turn burn out a coral underneath.

 

[jlehigh]

Actully the opposite ocurs when using Luminarc reflectors. One of the huge benefits is that the overall distribution of light is much more even than any of the other reflectors. If you go to some of Sanjay's studies you will see he measures the peak PAR readings but also the overall light leaving the reflector. The plot of the readings off the luminarc spread more light over a broader area. The typical pendants in the hobby like PFO's have much more concentrated beams over small areas (Hot spots). This was for me the biggest benefit of L3's.

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Great! That's what I thought but my friend playing the devils advocate got me second guessing

 

[Zeppelin]

Great thread. How tall are the 'U' brackets?

Larry

 

[jlehigh]

Hey Welcome to Reeffrontiers Zeppelin!!

To be honest.. I dont remember. To determine the height Align the arc of the bulb at the same place an SE bulb's sits. This is easy if you have the SE bracket with the Luminarc reflector. If not then I would find center on the opening where the SE bracket enters the reflector and use that as the bulb height..

Just a little backwards engineering. If I get a chance I'll measure it for ya..