DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

[DGP]

You shouldn't have any heat issues with those heatsinks,not so sure about the cheap sinks.i run some cree 3590 at 75w each on a 140mm x 70mm with 10mm base thickness and they are right about at the border of needing fans.they run about 120 to 130f depending on a few variable like wind speeds and temps in the room.

Yeah, the surplus heat sinks worked but not quite as well as the Arctic 11 plus. So, that is what I am going with. Already ordered a bunch more from NewEgg who happens to be selling them for $7.61 right now so with shipping they are under $10.

I didn't even take formal data on the Arctic 11's because the hottest spot on them never went much above 85F and only about 15F over ambient. The surplus ones were about 25F over ambient.

I completed testing yesterday of the first fixture I built and it is already running some rooted clones in the veg tent.

It seems Cree has always been the gold standard for the industry but I really wonder if these 90 CRI Luminous parts aren't just as good. They seem to be readily available stateside (without having to wonder about what you get from China) and are only $19 for the 50V/150W version.

DP

 

[sixstring]

Yeah, the surplus heat sinks worked but not quite as well as the Arctic 11 plus. So, that is what I am going with. Already ordered a bunch more from NewEgg who happens to be selling them for $7.61 right now so with shipping they are under $10.

I didn't even take formal data on the Arctic 11's because the hottest spot on them never went much above 85F and only about 15F over ambient. The surplus ones were about 25F over ambient.

I completed testing yesterday of the first fixture I built and it is already running some rooted clones in the veg tent.

It seems Cree has always been the gold standard for the industry but I really wonder if these 90 CRI Luminous parts aren't just as good. They seem to be readily available stateside (without having to wonder about what you get from China) and are only $19 for the 50V/150W version.

DP

Yeah the lumi chips are a great value and that guy cobkits has tried very hard to get us cheaper cobs at an equal quality. Tell ole Bobby I said hi when ya order. Also if anyone wants cheap cree Jerry at King bright has them down to about 30 bucks per cob now

 

[Toaster79]

Lumis are at $16 at digikey, $7 if you buy 400+

 

[DGP]

So I deployed my light into the flower room and it is above some 6 week old plants that are a couple weeks into flower. So, being new to the world of using LEDs for grow lights, I have a few questions:

1. What are the general rules of thumb about power of lamps and distance from the canopy top?
-I am using Luminous 90CRI 3000k 150w LEDS run at 60W on 12" centers with Angelina reflectors. Each supply has a dimmer.

2. Are the reflectors going to help me? They are translucent so it seems they would be inefficient anyway but the specs talk about them being quite efficient. When I remove them the evenness of the light seems better but I need to take some intensity measurements to see if I can determine how even it is or isn't with the reflectors vs. no reflectors.

3. If these drivers are so efficient (95% or better) why do they seem so hot? I put the drivers outside the grow room because they get really hot. I don't know how much actual power is lost through heat to the driver case but it seems that they are too hot to handle when they are running. I am using a Mean Well HLG-240H-54B constant current/constant voltage supply.

My setup for a 4X4 grow area in a 6X4 insulated room is 3 rows of 4 COBs all on 12" centers in both directions.

Thanks!

DP

 

[led grow]

So much information in this article.Thanks a lot..

 

[sixstring]

So I deployed my light into the flower room and it is above some 6 week old plants that are a couple weeks into flower. So, being new to the world of using LEDs for grow lights, I have a few questions:

1. What are the general rules of thumb about power of lamps and distance from the canopy top?
-I am using Luminous 90CRI 3000k 150w LEDS run at 60W on 12" centers with Angelina reflectors. Each supply has a dimmer.

2. Are the reflectors going to help me? They are translucent so it seems they would be inefficient anyway but the specs talk about them being quite efficient. When I remove them the evenness of the light seems better but I need to take some intensity measurements to see if I can determine how even it is or isn't with the reflectors vs. no reflectors.

3. If these drivers are so efficient (95% or better) why do they seem so hot? I put the drivers outside the grow room because they get really hot. I don't know how much actual power is lost through heat to the driver case but it seems that they are too hot to handle when they are running. I am using a Mean Well HLG-240H-54B constant current/constant voltage supply.

My setup for a 4X4 grow area in a 6X4 insulated room is 3 rows of 4 COBs all on 12" centers in both directions.

Thanks!

DP

at 62w per cob i would run them at 18 in with reflectors or 12 in no reflector.you dont need to be this close but i would not get closer.i prefer no reflector. your driver is getting hot because you are pushing it to max power(240w). if ya dim it some it will cool down some.you prob have nothing to worry about,some driver/cob configs just run hot on the driver side.could put a small fan on em if your worried.they are designed to handle alot of heat (70c) which is pretty freakin hot 158f

 

[DGP]

at 62w per cob i would run them at 18 in with reflectors or 12 in no reflector.you dont need to be this close but i would not get closer.i prefer no reflector. your driver is getting hot because you are pushing it to max power(240w). if ya dim it some it will cool down some.you prob have nothing to worry about,some driver/cob configs just run hot on the driver side.could put a small fan on em if your worried.they are designed to handle alot of heat (70c) which is pretty freakin hot 158f

Thanks! The driver isn't at 70C but my concern was at the specified efficiency rating it seemed like it shouldn't be that hot even at max power.....not too worried about reliability on a mean well supply. When I was designing LED systems we only used mean well and they were always super reliable.

 

[BombBP]

Those high powered drivers have the components inside the casing covered in some type of silicon, probably to water proof them. No air can get to the components so that's another reason they probably get a lil hot. I know because I took one apart.

My active heatsinks blow my passive ones away. The thing with active heatsinks is fan failure is going to happen at some point so keep replacements on hand.

 

[Toaster79]

Those high powered drivers have the components inside the casing covered in some type of silicon, probably to water proof them. No air can get to the components so that's another reason they probably get a lil hot. I know because I took one apart.

My active heatsinks blow my passive ones away. The thing with active heatsinks is fan failure is going to happen at some point so keep replacements on hand.

Also make sure you mount some hepa filters on the intake or you'll be crying a river cleaning those sinks.

 

[diskokobaja]

Guy<s do you have heat problems..I have 400w of cobs in my 1m2 tent and when on they raisem my tent temp by 6-7c, which made me lots of problems.. I had to dimm leds down to 360w...

 

[DGP]

Guy<s do you have heat problems..I have 400w of cobs in my 1m2 tent and when on they raisem my tent temp by 6-7c, which made me lots of problems.. I had to dimm leds down to 360w...

First thing I would do is wire the drivers so they can be relocated outside the tent. My drivers get real hot but my trouble is the opposite since my 2x4x5 tent is in my garage which is 50 degrees F or less most of the winter

 

[BombBP]

I agree with @DGP . Get those drivers out of the tent and that should help.

 

[diskokobaja]

But my driver are just warm..You can put your hand on them and keep it there forever .... The thing is my buddy who has moved out made those leds.. So Im current stuck with them as they are.

 

[BombBP]

With my active heatsinks I can literally grab them and they're barely warm. No heat issues from mine.

 

[The Dawg]

Guy<s do you have heat problems..I have 400w of cobs in my 1m2 tent and when on they raisem my tent temp by 6-7c, which made me lots of problems.. I had to dimm leds down to 360w...

Your Problem Is You Have A 4 Inch Exhaust System. You Need A 6 Inch Exhaust System To Keep Your Tent Cool.:party1:

Also You Need Some Fans Blowing :cool:

 

[diskokobaja]

Your Problem Is You Have A 4 Inch Exhaust System. You Need A 6 Inch Exhaust System To Keep Your Tent Cool.:party1:

Also You Need Some Fans Blowing :cool:

I have primaklima 125 extractor,with prima klima carbon filter, my 1m2 has sommuch negative pressure with primaklimaset 50% of strenght ... i think that 1m2 tent is just to.small space fir 400w of cobs.but they are dimmed now and I'm haplier than before

 

[brazel]

you need to sync the heatsink to the heat being produced. A simple way although not accurate is to use watts. Energy produces heat, so the more you use the more heat.
Heatsink work by dissipating heat. You use a medium that has high thermal conductivity. Copper being the best then aluminium.

So if you have a 12x12x12 square block of aluminum and a pin heatsink that's 5x5x2 the pin heatsink would be way better even know the block has way more aluminum.
Surface area is key.

IMO a constant current diver is where it's at. I decide the current I want and get that power supply.
Dimmer? I mean come on now, you wouldn't buy a Ferrari to slash a couple of its tires

 

[sixstring]

400w is 400w that tent would be just as hot if not slightly hotter with a 400whps lamp and ballast in there.like dawg said,move more air. should be fairly easy to remove heat from the top of that tent

 

[Lpferris4]

Can am HLG-60H-700A run two CXB3070s? Just got all my stuff today with some arctic 11 heat sinks. Hooked everything up and the leds flash as if they were strobe lights? Checked all my wiring and it's correct which makes me thing the driver is too weak.. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sixstring]

not familiar with that driver at all,whats the max voltage on it ?