DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

[Cocopal]

I'm also looking to get up to speed with latest led stuff. There is some info I found on Icmag in the quantum boards forum. On page 14 there are links to some deals on Alibaba supposedly a good buy.
What also caught my attention is this:

I'm new to the led thing so I'm looking for inputs if konwlodgeable floks would chime in and suggest the best option to replace a 600 or 1000 hps it would be nice.

 

[sixstring]

the 550 is a great light to replace a 600,or 1kw hps

 

[JustStartedD]

wow thats the best result ive ever seen come from an led! how much did it cost you to build one of those light units?

Go on YT and look up Cali Green. He has an afghan kush grow and dude managed to get like 8 oz growing with led. But dude also vegs for almost 2 months

 

[FutureGrower]

Basically quantum boards and strips are the goto. Strips are mostly DIY but there's people that build them and ship them to you as well. COBs tend to create hot spots and most people seem to be fading away from that direction

 

[sixstring]

Cobs suck

Not really noticing any hotspots though

 

[FutureGrower]

Cobs suck
View attachment 833183 View attachment 833184


Not really noticing any hotspots though

Cobs are awesome man. I think in big spaces they're probably superior to strips too

 

[Burned Haze]

Cob’s are my choice <3

I wonder if timber led isn’t doing d]qb anymore lol

 

[Buzzer777]

Hey guys a lot of you know me from RIU or ICMag but for the LED growers here that have not seen it, here is the recipe for building DIY LED very cheaply. Why build a DIY lamp? You can get up to 49% efficiency if you can find the top bins and run them soft (700mA). You can get 36% efficiency with the mid bin running hard (1400mA). The best commercial LEDs (Area 51, Apache, Onyx) are in the low 30s. Another advantage is the ability to have remote drivers to keep that heat out of your grow space and away from the LED heatsinks.

Everything has changed since COBs became available to us. It is much easier to build a lamp and it turns out that 3000K works just fine on its own, better than HPS even.

For the simplest build the best COBS to use are the Cree CXA3070 and Vero 29. The CXA 3000K has 14% blue and the Vero 3000K 8-10%. They are available on Digikey or if you need a bulk order you can save $ on Arrow.

As far as drivers go, 1.4A is a good compromise between cost and efficiency. They are available on eBay for $13, 90% efficient and power factor corrected. You can use Mean Well LPC-60-1400 but it is lower efficiency and not power factor corrected. If you want to run at 1050mA you can use Mean Well LPC-60-1050. The one I tested was 88% efficient.

For heatsinks, CPU coolers work great for small grows. The 92mm Arctic 11 Plus is a favorite because it can be found for $10 and uses a fluid dynamic bearing fan, lots of cooling power and not too loud. Amazon and Newegg sometimes offer them for $10. Currently outletPC has them for $10 with reasonable shipping cost.

If you are building a medium or large lamp, I recommend HeatsinkUSA 5.88" profile. A 12" length is good for (2) COBs and a 24" length is good for (4) COBs. You can cool it with a single 140mm fan to make a super efficient cooling combo. I recommend the Prolimatech 140mm from Amazon. It is quiet even at 13V and moves a lot of air.

View attachment 415611

The Vero is solder free but the Cree requires a COB holder and to go solder free. Both methods require drilling and tapping the heatsink. I don't mind the soldering so rather than drilling, I mount the COB with Prolimatech PK3 thermal paste and then use kapton to tape the COB in place so it cannot slide sideways. The paste makes a very strong vacuum when you press the COB onto the heatsink. It will not come off from gravity or heat. If you try to pry it off it will break. You have to twist it and then slide it sideways to get it off.

Small build:
View attachment 415595
Nicely done! Thanks for the information!
Medium build:
View attachment 415593

Large build:
View attachment 415594

 

[FutureGrower]

Didnt know supra was on here! Is he still active?

 

[FutureGrower]

Oh that's old lol my bad

 

[Cheeziepoofs]

Will this heatsink work to keep a citizen 1212 running @1500ma/50w cool?
https://www.amazon.com/Adaptec-Socket-Heat-Sink-ACC-9500/dp/B000HRRI88

 

[Wee Zard]

Will this heatsink work to keep a citizen 1212 running @1500ma/50w cool?
https://www.amazon.com/Adaptec-Socket-Heat-Sink-ACC-9500/dp/B000HRRI88

In a word? Yes.

 

[grobean]

I'd like to ask - since this thread has started what has changed with LED technology in ~5 years? A ton changed in the 5 years from ~2009-2014 this is when LED growing took off. Any new more efficient LED or ballast? Any new combos of LED spectrum that produce best results for veg and flower?

This is new to me , so I did a lot of spectrum research and chose ChilLED 200w x 2. the reason is they appear to a newbie to have an excellent spectrum. Maybe an LED veteran will comment.

 

[Buzzer777]

This is new to me , so I did a lot of spectrum research and chose ChilLED 200w x 2. the reason is they appear to a newbie to have an excellent spectrum. Maybe an LED veteran will comment.

The HLG boards and their knockoffs are extremely efficient and grow great plants imo..They are available in spectrums from 2700k-6500k and you can mix spectrums for better grows. This ADVANCE in led tech is only a few years old now..Google HLG Quantum boards..they are available as : assembled, kits, and separate DIY parts.
There has also been a recent advance from Samsung..there is now a version 2 chip that HLG and others are using. Even more efficient.

 

[grobean]

The HLG boards and their knockoffs are extremely efficient and grow great plants imo..They are available in spectrums from 2700k-6500k and you can mix spectrums for better grows. This ADVANCE in led tech is only a few years old now..Google HLG Quantum boards..they are available as : assembled, kits, and separate DIY parts.
There has also been a recent advance from Samsung..there is now a version 2 chip that HLG and others are using. Even more efficient.

Hi Buzzer777,
Yes QBs look good, and I will find out for myself as there are two on order from GrowersLights. They are a 3k 320w XW (extra wide), and a 4k 135w. I am going to supplement the quantum board 320w in the flower room with a blue and red strip Solstick from SolStrip. The 135 will be an attempt to transition away from t5 fluorescents for growing seedlings and rooted cuttings in veg. The umol/J lamp efficiency of the 320 is stated as 2.45umols/J. I don't have the numbers for the ChilLED 200s at hand, but, if memory serves correctly, it is equal to or greater than 2.45umols/J.
But intensity of PAR is only one part of the equation of interest to me. There are processes that occur in response to energy below 400nm and above 700nm. in other words, IMO, the ChilLED lights are closer to sunlight than the HLG Quantum Boards.
Using either product, I am hopeful will reduce heat and produce at least the same quality as the 315w Ceramic Metal Halides they are replacing.

 

[Buzzer777]

Hi Buzzer777,
Yes QBs look good, and I will find out for myself as there are two on order from GrowersLights. They are a 3k 320w XW (extra wide), and a 4k 135w. I am going to supplement the quantum board 320w in the flower room with a blue and red strip Solstick from SolStrip. The 135 will be an attempt to transition away from t5 fluorescents for growing seedlings and rooted cuttings in veg. The umol/J lamp efficiency of the 320 is stated as 2.45umols/J. I don't have the numbers for the ChilLED 200s at hand, but, if memory serves correctly, it is equal to or greater than 2.45umols/J.
But intensity of PAR is only one part of the equation of interest to me. There are processes that occur in response to energy below 400nm and above 700nm. in other words, IMO, the ChilLED lights are closer to sunlight than the HLG Quantum Boards.
Using either product, I am hopeful will reduce heat and produce at least the same quality as the 315w Ceramic Metal Halides they are replacing.

I am not well versed in the science, but I can only attest to my own results..The QBs rock. I also still have a Unit Farms Burple (higher end with Cree and Oshram diodes) that I saved when replacing my old cheapo Meizhi LEDs..The Meizhi(s) did just fine, but the QBs to it better with more efficiency. I think you will be very happy. I like the Chilled stuff, but they are too pricey for me. Tech is changing so fast, that inventing huge sums of $$ today could be a mistake for me (I only grow for me and mine + the fun)..I use mostly external dimmers on my QBs (and knockoffs).

 

[grobean]

I am not well versed in the science, but I can only attest to my own results..The QBs rock. I also still have a Unit Farms Burple (higher end with Cree and Oshram diodes) that I saved when replacing my old cheapo Meizhi LEDs..The Meizhi(s) did just fine, but the QBs to it better with more efficiency. I think you will be very happy. I like the Chilled stuff, but they are too pricey for me. Tech is changing so fast, that inventing huge sums of $$ today could be a mistake for me (I only grow for me and mine + the fun)..I use mostly external dimmers on my QBs (and knockoffs).

Yes the chilled were $299.99/each, so for a meter sq. I ended up paying $636. The QB 320 was $433. A far cry from the prices for HPS! still, no bulb changing or reflector dulling. Could only swing it because of a small inheritance, otherwise I'd have kept going with the CMH 315s.
Can you tell me how far above the canopy your QBs are?

 

[Buzzer777]

Yes the chilled were $299.99/each, so for a meter sq. I ended up paying $636. The QB 320 was $433. A far cry from the prices for HPS! still, no bulb changing or reflector dulling. Could only swing it because of a small inheritance, otherwise I'd have kept going with the CMH 315s.
Can you tell me how far above the canopy your QBs are?

Depends on the plant..I usually start at 18" in flower and drop to about 12" as the plants adjust. I am running about 500+ watts of LED and need to watch out for heat and light stress..In Veg..the lights are about 18" above the tops.

Since I stagger my grows and always have different strains in the same tent with different needs, I find that more smaller lights suit me better than few larger lights.
This is an older shot but you can see what I mean.

 

[grobean]

Depends on the plant..I usually start at 18" in flower and drop to about 12" as the plants adjust. I am running about 500+ watts of LED and need to watch out for heat and light stress..In Veg..the lights are about 18" above the tops.

Since I stagger my grows and always have different strains in the same tent with different needs, I find that more smaller lights suit me better than few larger lights.
This is an older shot but you can see what I mean.

View attachment 849608

Nice. There are similarities between our growing methods. I have always mixed light sources in an attempt to have light similar to sunlight, and almost always grow many varieties in various stages of maturity. Hope to get nice results like you have shown.
Is it true that there is a need for higher cal/mag with LEDs?

 

[Buzzer777]

Yep..More Cal-mag..+ I also use a mix of RO and tap since out Reno NV USA water sux big time..RO and LED = MORE Cal Mag. I use Herculean Harvest from Nectar of the Gods for Calcium these days. (My nutes are now based on Megacrop, since I wanted to save some $$ from the Canna I used to use.

That shot is my 3x3 flower tent and doesn't show the additional QB132 in front..I love the 132's since no heat sink is needed. I also run a few other brands in my Veg and breeding tents(veg is a closet). This is a Photon Sunboard (up to 100 watts..no heatsink needed) using the same diodes. I got the boards with 4000k and 2700k alternating spectrums. I also built a simple aluminum frame for them.


Of course the "lights" in the 2nd and 3rd shots are beyond compare..at any price! LMAO