Adding Cxb3590 To My Hps Room

Greengrower8 · Nov 11, 2018

Hi all. I’m thinking about adding a 100w cxb3590 to my flowering room.

I currently have 5, 600w hps going in about 100 square feet (8’ ceiling). My plants are kind of out growing their space. (DWC setup) I have another 40 square feet or so available in my room, but it is yet to be illuminated. I’d like to stretch these plants out into this extra square footage. I have been looking into LEDs for a long time now and at the time I set up this air cooled MH/HPS setup, GOOD MH/HPS comparable LEDs were still quite expensive. But they are becoming more affordable and with the trade off in terms of energy and heat I am ready to transition. I would have gotten 3 200w cxb3590s with no ducting, no a/c unit, etc.

Anyway, as much as I’d like to get a 200w now, I don’t really wanna spend $300 and I think a 100w cxb3590 would fill this space enough for me to spread these plants out more. But really I’m an LED virgin and I’m just going by what research I’ve done. I have been a long time believer in mh/hps setups, since the time when LEDs were just hokum. But it seems times have changed.

I’d love to hear any advice about my current issue as well transitioning my entire 150 sq ft over to LEDs without declaring bankruptcy. I don’t really want to build my own boards. Is a Cree cxb3590 a good light to use? Is there something better?

Thanks all!!

FutureGrower · Nov 12, 2018

Greengrower8 said:
Hi all. I’m thinking about adding a 100w cxb3590 to my flowering room.

I currently have 5, 600w hps going in about 100 square feet (8’ ceiling). My plants are kind of out growing their space. (DWC setup) I have another 40 square feet or so available in my room, but it is yet to be illuminated. I’d like to stretch these plants out into this extra square footage. I have been looking into LEDs for a long time now and at the time I set up this air cooled MH/HPS setup, GOOD MH/HPS comparable LEDs were still quite expensive. But they are becoming more affordable and with the trade off in terms of energy and heat I am ready to transition. I would have gotten 3 200w cxb3590s with no ducting, no a/c unit, etc.

Anyway, as much as I’d like to get a 200w now, I don’t really wanna spend $300 and I think a 100w cxb3590 would fill this space enough for me to spread these plants out more. But really I’m an LED virgin and I’m just going by what research I’ve done. I have been a long time believer in mh/hps setups, since the time when LEDs were just hokum. But it seems times have changed.

I’d love to hear any advice about my current issue as well transitioning my entire 150 sq ft over to LEDs without declaring bankruptcy. I don’t really want to build my own boards. Is a Cree cxb3590 a good light to use? Is there something better?

Thanks all!!

Super easy to gradually add LED fixtures! If you're handy you can build your own setup, if not it makes it a little harder to gradually add led but not really.

Personally I prefer the LED strips to COBs. Cobs or chip on board has many tiny led diodes over a very small surface area, then is coated with phosphorus to achieve the desired Kelvin (color of the light)

Strips have a similar process but are substantially more spread out so they have better light coverage and they dissipate heat easier. If you want to look into this checkout samsung and bridgelux strips.

1diesel1 · Nov 12, 2018

FutureGrower said:
Super easy to gradually add LED fixtures! If you're handy you can build your own setup, if not it makes it a little harder to gradually add led but not really.

Personally I prefer the LED strips to COBs. Cobs or chip on board has many tiny led diodes over a very small surface area, then is coated with phosphorus to achieve the desired Kelvin (color of the light)

Strips have a similar process but are substantially more spread out so they have better light coverage and they dissipate heat easier. If you want to look into this checkout samsung and bridgelux strips.

I like it. I’ve seriously been thinking about experimenting with led in my veg and flower. My gavitas seriously impact my wallet.

FutureGrower · Nov 12, 2018

1diesel1 said:
I like it. I’ve seriously been thinking about experimenting with led in my veg and flower. My gavitas seriously impact my wallet.

I've never used a hps but I bet the biggest thing you'd notice is reduced a/c bill maybe even more then lighting. Before making some big investment I would build or buy a light for a small portion and see how you like it.

One major advantage is no bulb replacement. If say your COB or strip burns out over time you could theoretically just buy the portion that went out which is way cheaper than bulbs. The lights themselves are pretty damn cheap it's the extras that get you and you need them. 600 watts of drivers is 150-200$ heat sinks if you get real ones cost more then anything else most of the time. If you go down the strip route I would suggest c channel aluminum for heat sinks. I haven't personally done this yet but I'm going to as soon as I get off my butt. It's a super common practice to use c channel for heat sinks in the led strip world though.

Get all your metal materials at a local metal supplier if you can and not home depot if you can. You'll save alot of money like 40% alot of the time.

If you are interested in DIY growmau5 has a bunch of videos, longer format not very dense info but great, it really helped me grasp what was going on.

FutureGrower · Nov 12, 2018

I don't know everything but if I can help don't hesitate to ask man this stuff is fun for me

Greengrower8 · Nov 12, 2018

I know you guys mean well, but, like I said, I don’t wanna build anything. Simply searching for bridgelux strips brings up a bunch of circuit board looking things - I’m not sure how they become lights or whatever. Just reading about this stuff, I feel like I need an electrical engineering degree to understand it. But people who do it make it sound like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Also every “led” light claims to be the best thing since sliced bread, when in actuality most don’t work (horticulturally) and the technology behind these “led” lights varies incredibly.

These are the reasons I’ve avoided trying to go towards LEDs - the technology sounds exceedingly complicated and you have to be an expert to understand what anyone is talking about. A light fixture is not complicated or at least it shouldn’t be. But when I try to research and get bombarded by cob, qb, heat sinks, channels, par, and on, and on, and on my head starts spinning. Why does it have to be so overly complex?

Trying to find a plug and play “LED” light that will work at least as well as an mh/hps setup with less wattage and less heat is way harder than it should be. I can’t take any advertisements at their word, cuz they bend the truth as far as possible or straight out lie. And when I try and investigate things further, I get totally lost in the minutia of techie jargon.

FutureGrower · Nov 12, 2018

Greengrower8 said:
I know you guys mean well, but, like I said, I don’t wanna build anything. Simply searching for bridgelux strips brings up a bunch of circuit board looking things - I’m not sure how they become lights or whatever. Just reading about this stuff, I feel like I need an electrical engineering degree to understand it. But people who do it make it sound like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Also every “led” light claims to be the best thing since sliced bread, when in actuality most don’t work (horticulturally) and the technology behind these “led” lights varies incredibly.

These are the reasons I’ve avoided trying to go towards LEDs - the technology sounds exceedingly complicated and you have to be an expert to understand what anyone is talking about. A light fixture is not complicated or at least it shouldn’t be. But when I try to research and get bombarded by cob, qb, heat sinks, channels, par, and on, and on, and on my head starts spinning. Why does it have to be so overly complex?

Trying to find a plug and play “LED” light that will work at least as well as an mh/hps setup with less wattage and less heat is way harder than it should be. I can’t take any advertisements at their word, cuz they bend the truth as far as possible or straight out lie. And when I try and investigate things further, I get totally lost in the minutia of techie jargon.

This is why I said if I can answer any questions just shoot them my way I'll do the best I can.

Fluence and hlg are the companies you're looking for. Those are pricey but you'll save money in a year or so with electrical costs. You can buy plug and play 100 watt single COB kits but I haven't seen a u.s. made kit that i would personally buy over something HLG builds.

Its complicated and confusing i spent many hours researching before making my choices and I'm still learning new stuff all the time.

As far as it being complicated, its only complicated because everybody does a terrible job at explaining stuff, myself included. It's pretty darned straight forward with the exception of building the frame, if you can build IKEA furniture you can put together predrilled cob kits in my opinion. Lots of frustration just like anything else.

To be blunt if you are on a tight budget and arent building it yourself you may be best sticking with hps or cmh stuff.

Like anything man if you want it done right and cheap your only option is to do it yourself until the industry gets bigger

SmithsJunk · Nov 12, 2018

Greengrower8 said:
Hi all. I’m thinking about adding a 100w cxb3590 to my flowering room.

I currently have 5, 600w hps going in about 100 square feet (8’ ceiling). My plants are kind of out growing their space. (DWC setup) I have another 40 square feet or so available in my room, but it is yet to be illuminated. I’d like to stretch these plants out into this extra square footage. I have been looking into LEDs for a long time now and at the time I set up this air cooled MH/HPS setup, GOOD MH/HPS comparable LEDs were still quite expensive. But they are becoming more affordable and with the trade off in terms of energy and heat I am ready to transition. I would have gotten 3 200w cxb3590s with no ducting, no a/c unit, etc.

Anyway, as much as I’d like to get a 200w now, I don’t really wanna spend $300 and I think a 100w cxb3590 would fill this space enough for me to spread these plants out more. But really I’m an LED virgin and I’m just going by what research I’ve done. I have been a long time believer in mh/hps setups, since the time when LEDs were just hokum. But it seems times have changed.

I’d love to hear any advice about my current issue as well transitioning my entire 150 sq ft over to LEDs without declaring bankruptcy. I don’t really want to build my own boards. Is a Cree cxb3590 a good light to use? Is there something better?

Thanks all!!

Cree isn't the only manufacturer Vero29v7 is a comparable COB and costs a lot less. You can buy CXB3590 x2 fixtures direct from China for about $200 or a stripped down model on Amazon for $250. There are only two reasons I prefer the Cree CXB3590, it retains it's efficiency when dimmed to under 70% (unlike the Vero29, and I'm pretty sure I got that % right, but double check), and the COB chip is modular and can be easily swapped out for a different spectrum frequency more specific to the grow stage. I love my CXB3590s and wouldn't trade them for any other light, though I would like to add Quantum boards to my grow arsenal due to their extremely high efficiency.

For a 40sq' area you're likely looking at 4-5 200w units with 5' headroom. You can probably reduce that to 3-4 if you set them higher and dont use the popular 90deg concentrator lenses. I grow in a tent but I've heard these beauties can do a whole lot more in a spacious grow room.

The Bridgelux Vero29v7 is a less expensive option, but if you're like me and want the best you won't regret CXB3590's, and if what I've read from very experienced growers is true, you won't regret a Quantum purchase either.

P.S. there are also much larger Bridgelux fixtures that have arrays of lower wattage COBs spread out for coverage at very competitive prices.

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

Bro i was nervous when i 1st changed from hps to led cobbs but the facts are this when i 1st changed i run 1 x led cobb unit with 9 x cree 3590s per 5 by 5 space with 1 light per plant and get 2lb per plant average lol i was running 1000 watt hps in the same space per plant and get around 1 to 1.5lb per plant results speak for themselves added bonus was more yield less power and no need for a ac unless its a hot summers day i highly recommend you change bro its the best thing i ever did

FutureGrower · Nov 12, 2018

SmithsJunk said:
Cree isn't the only manufacturer Vero29v7 is a comparable COB and costs a lot less. You can buy CXB3590 x2 fixtures direct from China for about $200 or a stripped down model on Amazon for $250. There are only two reasons I prefer the Cree CXB3590, it retains it's efficiency when dimmed to under 70% (unlike the Vero29, and I'm pretty sure I got that % right, but double check), and the COB chip is modular and can be easily swapped out for a different spectrum frequency more specific to the grow stage. I love my CXB3590s and wouldn't trade them for any other light, though I would like to add Quantum boards to my grow arsenal due to their extremely high efficiency.

For a 40sq' area you're likely looking at 4-5 200w units with 5' headroom. You can probably reduce that to 3-4 if you set them higher and dont use the popular 90deg concentrator lenses. I grow in a tent but I've heard these beauties can do a whole lot more in a spacious grow room.

The Bridgelux Vero29v7 is a less expensive optiin, but if your like me and want the best you won't regret CXB3590's, and if what I've read from very experienced growers is true, you won't regret a Quantum purchase either.

P.S. there are also much larger Bridgelux fixtures that have arrays of lower wattage COBs spread out for coverage at very competitive prices.

Man I keep forgetting about those units I need to keep them in mind! Great advice right here

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

SmithsJunk said:
Cree isn't the only manufacturer Vero29v7 is a comparable COB and costs a lot less. You can buy CXB3590 x2 fixtures direct from China for about $200 or a stripped down model on Amazon for $250. There are only two reasons I prefer the Cree CXB3590, it retains it's efficiency when dimmed to under 70% (unlike the Vero29, and I'm pretty sure I got that % right, but double check), and the COB chip is modular and can be easily swapped out for a different spectrum frequency more specific to the grow stage. I love my CXB3590s and wouldn't trade them for any other light, though I would like to add Quantum boards to my grow arsenal due to their extremely high efficiency.

For a 40sq' area you're likely looking at 4-5 200w units with 5' headroom. You can probably reduce that to 3-4 if you set them higher and dont use the popular 90deg concentrator lenses. I grow in a tent but I've heard these beauties can do a whole lot more in a spacious grow room.

The Bridgelux Vero29v7 is a less expensive optiin, but if your like me and want the best you won't regret CXB3590's, and if what I've read from very experienced growers is true, you won't regret a Quantum purchase either.

P.S. there are also much larger Bridgelux fixtures that have arrays of lower wattage COBs spread out for coverage at very competitive prices.

Try the 90 lenses bro ive tryied both 120deg and 90 deg lenses they both work great

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

If you buy directly from china you can purchase lights that have interchangeable cobb chips that you can upgrade the chips to cree 3590s i found this option much cheaper than buying individual cobs for a diy build

SmithsJunk · Nov 12, 2018

Pass2TheLeft said:
Try the 90 lenses bro ive tryied both 120deg and 90 deg lenses they both work great

I have the 90s on my units and love them but I've been told running them open is more effective, even with the more dispersed light. Because the lens slows and bounces back photons for reduced efficiency. I don't know if this is true, just what ive read. Want to try no lens at 120 in open grow room. Heard you can grow 8 plants with 300w. Now, ain't that some sh*t. I've been blown away by how powerful these lights actually are. I burnt the sh*t out if my girls at first because I thought the claims were B.S.

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

SmithsJunk said:
I have the 90s on my units and love them but I've been told running them open is more effective, even with the more dispersed light. Because the lens slows and bounces back photons for reduced efficiency. I don't know if this is true, just what ive read. Want to try no lens at 120 in open grow room. Heard you can grow 8 plants with 300w. Now, ain't that some sh*t. I've been blown away by how powerful these lights actually are. I burnt the sh*t out if my girls at first because I thought the claims were B.S.

View attachment 840725

It really depends bro on the type of grow you do i grow 1 plant under 9 cree 3590s so i need the penertration with smaller plants like yours id definatly use 120deg lenses because you dont need the penetration because your plants are way smaller

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

Also in veg ive found the 120s better to get a more even canopy and plant next grow im going to experiment with light spectrums during the flip in veg i run full spectrum to stretch my plants next time during the flip and stretch period ill run only the blue lights to try compact the flowering points then back to full after the 1st 2 weeks of flower

Rootbound · Nov 12, 2018

Also look into HLG Quantum boards/QB's. Pre made boards with samsung strips.

Greengrower8 · Nov 12, 2018

I don’t mind spending some money, but I’m not looking to throw it in the toilet on ineffective products.

There is more contradiction in these responses. More confusion abounds.

One response says 40sq ft needs 4-5 200w cxb3590s which sounds like WAY TOO MUCH. Especially when someone else says and I’ve read that you can grow 4-6 plants under 1 200w and 8 under a 300w. I was thinking like maybe 1 100w or 1 200w at most for this space. Not 5-10 times as many.

I’m not growing in a tent. It’s a room 10x15x8’.

Also people are talking about using some random number of cxb3590s with no indication of wattage??
I have no idea what 90deg or 120deg lenses are or what they are supposed to do.
Obviously, any one plant can be put under any one light, etc but that is not a typical setup nor is it mine. More useful information would be how many plants can be sufficiently grown under a 100/200/300w, etc. But there is already contradiction there.
I also don’t understand the talk about upgrading/changing chips, etc. Why do I need to upgrade a light I just bought? And why do I need to change chips during the grow- I thought one of the best things about these lights is they can be used for the entire veg and flower cycles?

SmithsJunk · Nov 12, 2018

Pass2TheLeft said:
Also in veg ive found the 120s better to get a more even canopy and plant next grow im going to experiment with light spectrums during the flip in veg i run full spectrum to stretch my plants next time during the flip and stretch period ill run only the blue lights to try compact the flowering points then back to full after the 1st 2 weeks of flower

I ran the 200w at 65% during veg to keep them tiny. Lifted the fixtures and increased to 100% for flower. I am not disappointed. I'll buy 5k and 2.7k chips eventually.

Pass2TheLeft · Nov 12, 2018

SmithsJunk said:
I ran the 200w at 65% during veg to keep them tiny. Lifted the fixtures and increased to 100% for flower. I am not disappointed. I'll buy 5k and 2.7k chips eventually.

Awesome bro make sure you buy a few spares there cheap as chips haha but can save you heartache and super easy to change better to be prepared than wait a few weeks if a chip fails

SmithsJunk · Nov 12, 2018

Pass2TheLeft said:
Awesome bro make sure you buy a few spares there cheap as chips haha but can save you heartache and super easy to change better to be prepared than wait a few weeks if a chip fails

I want to mix them on my own riggs and I might sell fixtures to the locals. I have to buy them in lots to get the cheap prices so I'll have "lots" to spare for fixture+chip bundles. Haven't seen those on Amazon yet. Only pre-mounted. Odd, I'd figure such an exploitable sales point would have been used by now.

Adding Cxb3590 To My Hps Room

Adding Cxb3590 To My Hps Room

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Pass2TheLeft

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