Another Led Light Thread

[NJPBG]

Hello guys,

Im new to the LED game. Actually just getting back into growing after a few years. Been doing some research on the LEDs and its a lot to learn. Anyways. i got an old 5x5 tent im gonna use for flower and a friend of mine gave me a chinese light called "bestva" for my birthday its labeled as 2000 watts but some research tells me its only 390 real watts, hey, free is for me.

im gonna hang the bestva light in the center of the tent and from the reading ive been doing i think i want to run some bridgelux eb 2 OR samsung strips around the perimeter of the other light. i want to achieve at least 600 more watts so i have 1000 for the tent. dont know where to start on materials. any information or help on this build would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Growster240]

Don't hang your head over the 390w/2000w.
The "2000w" claim is often based on that a lamp has for example 200 diodes with a max capacity of 10w.
Either way, if you push it to the max capacity, it will produce more heat than can be led away from the chip and the working temperature would reach harming levels for the LEDs which would result in a very short lifespan.

I just checked "Bestva 2000w" out on AMZ and actually counted the LEDs, there seem to be only 19*10, so more like "1900w" from his 10W/diode claim. I might need glasses though, haha.

From what I've understood, about 700 "real" LED-watts from good lights will correspond somewhat to 1000W HPS. Can vary some, depending on the light source and its efficacy. At least from what I've read, but that's a weak pointer for guidance.

Good luck with the growing!

 

[NJPBG]

Don't hang your head over the 390w/2000w.
The "2000w" claim is often based on that a lamp has for example 200 diodes with a max capacity of 10w.
Either way, if you push it to the max capacity, it will produce more heat than can be led away from the chip and the working temperature would reach harming levels for the LEDs which would result in a very short lifespan.

I just checked "Bestva 2000w" out on AMZ and actually counted the LEDs, there seem to be only 19*10, so more like "1900w" from his 10W/diode claim. I might need glasses though, haha.

From what I've understood, about 700 "real" LED-watts from good lights will correspond somewhat to 1000W HPS. Can vary some, depending on the light source and its efficacy. At least from what I've read, but that's a weak pointer for guidance.

Good luck with the growing!

Thanks for the reply man! So 700 real led watts is all I need? I used to run a 1000w hps in the same 5x5 tent and had pretty decent results. I got really close to 2lbs on my best run. Almost 1 gram per watt. But the conditions were different. I had central ac in that house and it was in a conditioned spare bedroom. The house I have now my tent will be in an unconditioned basement and I have ductless split systems in the main house rather than central ac so I can’t just add duct to the basement. Wanting to go LED to keep the heat down in the summer time and the month to month savings on electricity seems nice as well.

 

[NJPBG]

Hoping that @FutureGrower will chime in. Seeing his EB2 setup in the “perfect led light” thread gave me some inspiration. I’d love to put some of those same strips around my other light. Seems ideal to have such wide spread lighting to fill the whole canopy. I don’t really even know where to start on building one of those setups though unfortunately.

 

[Mr.jiujitsu]

I run 9 quantum board 132’s, currently running 590 watts. I have yet to pull less than 2 lbs, and hope to achieve closer to 2g per w. That’s in a 4x4 tent with 2 plants. It’s a different game. I run mine currently at 30 days into flower with the lights 5” from highest point of the canopy. I’ll snap a short video. This is not expensive to build. The boards where just on sale 4 for 100$. Drivers trust I run OUTSIDE the tent are cheap ( all 3 are just over 100$ total ... depending on current pricing maybe up to 120$ and that’s for 9 boards).


View attachment 56835367099__47D7C5F0-B434-4D72-8A7F-C91183A52DCC.MOV

 

[FutureGrower]

Ill add a link to some basic build stuff at the bottom

I'm not 100% where youd like me to start but if I had to do it over again I may still use the eb2 strips, but I like the samsung stuff better. They've gotten a few extra strips since I've done research on them but I believe the same diodes (someone correct me if I'm wrong please.)

Do you have any idea about what spectrums you want to run? Is it a full cycle light or are you going to veg and flower under separate lights?

For building supplies I believe most people are still using c channel and square aluminum stock (I cant come up with the name.)

You can get that at any hardware store but I saved about 50% by going to a shop that just sells metals versus home depot.

If you're in America you may get hit hard I haven't bought aluminum since the 20% tariff on Canada.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-guides/

Also you can check out growmau5 on YouTube. He makes some solid videos teaching the basics but they aren't the most dense info you'll get. Long series but it taught me a lot

Oh and I'm a newer grower, I'm only on my 4th cycle and only one psychical build. Guys like @sixstring even though his thing is COBs may be able to help more. Ask anything and I'll do my best to help though:)

 

[NJPBG]

I run 9 quantum board 132’s, currently running 590 watts. I have yet to pull less than 2 lbs, and hope to achieve closer to 2g per w. That’s in a 4x4 tent with 2 plants. It’s a different game. I run mine currently at 30 days into flower with the lights 5” from highest point of the canopy. I’ll snap a short video. This is not expensive to build. The boards where just on sale 4 for 100$. Drivers trust I run OUTSIDE the tent are cheap ( all 3 are just over 100$ total ... depending on current pricing maybe up to 120$ and that’s for 9 boards).


View attachment 849895

Hey man hell of a setup you got there and a beautiful scrog! Shoot me some links for those boards and drivers, heat sinks and any other material I may need. For a total of around (300$ bucks?) it’s definitely something to consider. I’m not sure if I want to just scrap that 2000w blurple LED and just go with all boards now after seeing your results. Or maybe keep down on cost and just add 4 more of those boards in the corners of the tent. I would like to do scrog but it’s take up lots of real estate and time. The results definitely seem worth it and with only two plants looks nice and easy to water under the screen. Might need to get an extra tent for just scrog. Are you running full spectrum and staying in the same tent for veg and flower? What’s your turn around time like?

 

[NJPBG]

Ill add a link to some basic build stuff at the bottom

I'm not 100% where youd like me to start but if I had to do it over again I may still use the eb2 strips, but I like the samsung stuff better. They've gotten a few extra strips since I've done research on them but I believe the same diodes (someone correct me if I'm wrong please.)

Do you have any idea about what spectrums you want to run? Is it a full cycle light or are you going to veg and flower under separate lights?

For building supplies I believe most people are still using c channel and square aluminum stock (I cant come up with the name.)

You can get that at any hardware store but I saved about 50% by going to a shop that just sells metals versus home depot.

If you're in America you may get hit hard I haven't bought aluminum since the 20% tariff on Canada.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-guides/

Also you can check out growmau5 on YouTube. He makes some solid videos teaching the basics but they aren't the most dense info you'll get. Long series but it taught me a lot

Oh and I'm a newer grower, I'm only on my 4th cycle and only one psychical build. Guys like @sixstring even though his thing is COBs may be able to help more. Ask anything and I'll do my best to help though:)

Hey man I still definitely like the concept of the strips as well. I’d love to get some links so I can compare pricing between the strips and boards. Is the channel stuff called UNI-strut? Or does it not have holes in it? I’ve got some unistrut sitting in my basement it’s aluminum c channel but it has oval holes every inch. It’s used for hanging stuff with threaded rod. This tent was meant to be a flower only tent. The Bestva light is full spectrum though so if I were to get the strips to supplement the other light they would preferably all be on the flower spectrum. As for the list, what would I need to get an extra 400 watts to supplement my other light? How many strips/drivers? What kind of wire is needed etc. thanks for your time and the help!

 

[NJPBG]

What kind of timers do you all use for these drivers and strips/boards? Is it built in to the driver or will I need a separate wired 15amp timer?

 

[FutureGrower]

Man I forgot about this thread I'll try to do some research for you and find the links. @sixstring do you know if they have EB3's or the next gen yet? I keep hearing rumors but I cant tell if they're lies. I'll research later, I'll do my best to make some time :)

 

[FutureGrower]

What kind of timers do you all use for these drivers and strips/boards? Is it built in to the driver or will I need a separate wired 15amp timer?

Separate 15amp OR you can add a electric potentiometer (my god I cannot remember the name someone help please lol I'm not even stoned!) Some of those have built in timers. Depends on the driver too.

 

[Mr.jiujitsu]

Separate 15amp OR you can add a electric potentiometer (my god I cannot remember the name someone help please lol I'm not even stoned!) Some of those have built in timers. Depends on the driver too.

Potentiometer- dimmer-electric motor control are all names used to perform that function. I run my power from the driver to pot then through multimeter display then to the lights. The drivers are plugged into a 15 amp timer.

 

[FutureGrower]

Potentiometer- dimmer-electric motor control are all names used to perform that function. I run my power from the driver to pot then through multimeter display then to the lights. The drivers are plugged into a 15 amp timer.

I meant some PMW's have timers built into them, I couldn't for the life of me come up with pulse width modulation lol

 

[FutureGrower]

@NJPBG
If I could remake my setup I would've ran the 2 foot (22" actually) strips. The reason why is the 42" strips flex like crazy. Also you would be able to be as bland or as creative as you wanted to really easily in the lighting configuration i.e. leave a 1sq ft gap for UV bulbs in the center of a 4x4 or whatever...

This is 3500k spectrum only because this is what I used. I may have played with 2 or 3 different spectrums if I knew what I know now, but also maybe not. Just simpler I can add on at any point without adding more than maybe $50 at a time.

So I'm not going to tell you item for item what to buy I don't like spending others money but I'll answer whatever you want. Please remember that I chose 3500k and I'm happy with it but there are other options that seemingly would work great as well.

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/bridgelux/BXEB-L0560Z-35E2000-C-B3/976-1734-ND/7907663

After you checkout this link please read the data sheet and try to figure it out. It may be a struggle but by the time you understand it you'll probably be way more confident in what you're purchasing.

Led drivers are something you really should understand a little about before you purchase. I went with a CV or constant voltage driver, it honestly seems safer to me than the CC stuff with thermal run away, but that's not a common thought. Most people use CC or constant current, atleast with COBs. If you go on other forums I think constant voltage or CV is more popular got strips. I could try to explain the differences but in afraid I would miss too much. Growmau5 on YouTube has a single video on cc vs CV or maybe 2 videos... they're a great introduction.

I'm showing a hlg185h just for an example. If you choose to get the hlg 185 that drives at 1.050 Amps you'll run pretty much 1 watt per volt. Watts are determined by volts multiplied by amps. If you choose a 0.7 amp drive current you'll be able to fit more strips per driver and it will use the same watts. There's 2 major benefits to running your lights soft, one is less heat, 2 is you have a larger light coverage area, and 3 is there's an increased light efficiency when you run them soft.

That's not to say using a 1.4amp drive current is bad but you'll fit fewer strips per driver, each light will run a little harder, yadda yadda. I haven't actually seen any of these lights fail from running them in their mid range I'm sure somebody has thrown some voltage they weren't designed for and that probably didn't go great.

Basically what I'm trying to say is there's no wrong way as long as you put the proper driver to the lights.

Here. You can see the bridgelux data sheet showing that the 22" strips @.7amps draws a peak slightly over 20volts. That's probably way in the safe range of the driver overdrive or whatever it is, but if you go to a hlg185 it has a peak voltage of 24 and has a minimum of 12. Well within your range, the driver should be able to adapt to your LEDs as long as its within its range (it shouldn't give the full 24volts again if I'm wrong someone please correct me.)

At 1.4amps the same led strip draws 21.6v which again may be within the over ride of the hlg185h-20v driver but I would jump to the 24.

Sorry I'm not the greatest at explaining stuff I'm trying lol!

 

[NJPBG]

@NJPBG
If I could remake my setup I would've ran the 2 foot (22" actually) strips. The reason why is the 42" strips flex like crazy. Also you would be able to be as bland or as creative as you wanted to really easily in the lighting configuration i.e. leave a 1sq ft gap for UV bulbs in the center of a 4x4 or whatever...

This is 3500k spectrum only because this is what I used. I may have played with 2 or 3 different spectrums if I knew what I know now, but also maybe not. Just simpler I can add on at any point without adding more than maybe $50 at a time.

So I'm not going to tell you item for item what to buy I don't like spending others money but I'll answer whatever you want. Please remember that I chose 3500k and I'm happy with it but there are other options that seemingly would work great as well.

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/bridgelux/BXEB-L0560Z-35E2000-C-B3/976-1734-ND/7907663

After you checkout this link please read the data sheet and try to figure it out. It may be a struggle but by the time you understand it you'll probably be way more confident in what you're purchasing.

Led drivers are something you really should understand a little about before you purchase. I went with a CV or constant voltage driver, it honestly seems safer to me than the CC stuff with thermal run away, but that's not a common thought. Most people use CC or constant current, atleast with COBs. If you go on other forums I think constant voltage or CV is more popular got strips. I could try to explain the differences but in afraid I would miss too much. Growmau5 on YouTube has a single video on cc vs CV or maybe 2 videos... they're a great introduction.

I'm showing a hlg185h just for an example. If you choose to get the hlg 185 that drives at 1.050 Amps you'll run pretty much 1 watt per volt. Watts are determined by volts multiplied by amps. If you choose a 0.7 amp drive current you'll be able to fit more strips per driver and it will use the same watts. There's 2 major benefits to running your lights soft, one is less heat, 2 is you have a larger light coverage area, and 3 is there's an increased light efficiency when you run them soft.

That's not to say using a 1.4amp drive current is bad but you'll fit fewer strips per driver, each light will run a little harder, yadda yadda. I haven't actually seen any of these lights fail from running them in their mid range I'm sure somebody has thrown some voltage they weren't designed for and that probably didn't go great.

Basically what I'm trying to say is there's no wrong way as long as you put the proper driver to the lights.

Here. You can see the bridgelux data sheet showing that the 22" strips @.7amps draws a peak slightly over 20volts. That's probably way in the safe range of the driver overdrive or whatever it is, but if you go to a hlg185 it has a peak voltage of 24 and has a minimum of 12. Well within your range, the driver should be able to adapt to your LEDs as long as its within its range (it shouldn't give the full 24volts again if I'm wrong someone please correct me.)

At 1.4amps the same led strip draws 21.6v which again may be within the over ride of the hlg185h-20v driver but I would jump to the 24.

Sorry I'm not the greatest at explaining stuff I'm trying lol!

Thank you man for taking the time to write this up for me I appreciate it! I will certainly check out growmau5 on YouTube as well.