Heat sink options?

[BigD1128]

I was watching a DIY cob build video earlier. In the video the guy used a slab of 3/8" aluminum as a heat sink. I wasn't sure if it was just for show in the video. Would a slab of 18"x6"x3/8"thick aluminum actually work as a passive heat sink?

 

[KonopCh]

If you drive them soft enough...

 

[BigD1128]

That makes sense. I started obsessively watching DIY cob videos over the weekend, I'm feeling more confident in building my own light. I have access to all sorts of aluminum and was curious how much material I would be able to utilize without buying extra parts.

 

[thetreeman]

Good sized chunk of aluminum and you may not need to drive them soft at all. Just depends how much power and the surface area of the heatsink. Try to keep the junction temp below 85c and you should be fine. If the sink gets too hot to touch, you probably need more surface area, this can be done by adding some more mass if necessary. Computer CPU heatsinks screwed to the larger chunk would dissipate a lot of heat and can be found cheap/free often.