DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

[Toaster79]

Well you can always run a 10W (XM-L2) diode at 3W for the efficacy and heat reasons. Cree put out MK-R years ago claiming 200 lm/W, or take a look at MT-G2 for exaple. There are so many ways to skin the cat. Everybody is going crazy about the efficacy of CXB3590 but no one ever mentioned that those are actually 140W units being driven at 50W. This can be achieved with many other products on the market.

 

[HughJassBud]

Well you can always run a 10W (XM-L2) diode at 3W for the efficacy and heat reasons. Cree put out MK-R years ago claiming 200 lm/W, or take a look at MT-G2 for exaple. There are so many ways to skin the cat. Everybody is going crazy about the efficacy of CXB3590 but no one ever mentioned that those are actually 140W units being driven at 50W. This can be achieved with many other products on the market.

LOL, you beat me to it. I was just about to post something to this effect. You're the man toaster

 

[jdb420]

You are absolutely right about ways to skin that cat. The simplicity of having less labor is what makes the cxb so attractive. Using pin fin heat sinks, you can run them passive. Yes the cxb are 137 Watt cobs, but driving them softer means less heat, and according to Supraspl 50 watts is the sweet spot between efficiency and cost. Some still run them softer at 25 watts per cxb 3590. But instead of being 56.6 percent efficient at 50 watts, they are 64 percent efficient at 25 watts. There are many ways to achieve these results. Just the thought of making less electrical connections is what makes the cxb 3590 series so desirable for myself. I run high pressure aero because I am so busy with work. So, for those with more time on their hands there are so many other options, like you said. The cree cxb 3590 are available from Jerry@kingbrite at alibaba. They have the best deal on the highest bin available on the crees. And they now have predrilled heat sinks and silicone lens for these cobs. He sells you the ideal cob holder, the reflector holder, the 90 degree reflector cup, and the cree cxb 3590 for 48.10 each. Not bad. You gotta pay for dhl shipping, but your items will arrive in less than a week from time of Payment. He does accept PayPal. And it took mine 5 days to get here from china. I built my lights before the pin fin heat sinks got big, and I ordered my heart sinks from heatsink usa. I went with the 5.86 wide by 43 inches long. I spaced out 5 cree cxb 3590 on that bar, with the meanwell hlg 240 1400 mah for my driver. Two 200 mm thermaltake pure fans on the back. Probably don't need the fans, but they will make the lifespan longer hopefully on the leds. One fan would be enough, but if one quits working, I still have adequate cooling with the other fan still running.

 

[Toaster79]

4x CXB3070 @2100mA mounted to a Arctic Freezer 64LP

Heatpipes get barely warm to touch although COBs are running at about 63W each

 

[HughJassBud]

On the subject of heatsinks. Probably overkill on my part because I'm uncertain about the heat output, but I ordered 50 pin style aluminum heatsinks from alibaba. They were $6 each before shipping. Basically $12 each by the time they're at my door.

I chose this type because I'll be enclosing everything and using in line fans to cool them. In the event the in line fan isn't working or my timers are off, I'm hoping they will passively cool without breaking.

The ones I ordered will be pre-drilled with 6 M5 holes, 2 for mounting the ideal holder, 4 for mounting the heatsink to a structure. Again, probably overkill....but I'm an engineer by day so I try to design for the worst case scenario.

What you said about running 63 watts with little heat makes me feel good about this. I think it will be fine if I'm running only 50 watts per CXB3590....which will be the max allowable with my driver setup.

What are the dimensions of that light your making toaster? How far are those COBs spaced out?

How have you and jdb420 liked your COB fixtures so far?

 

[Toaster79]

On the subject of heatsinks. Probably overkill on my part because I'm uncertain about the heat output, but I ordered 50 pin style aluminum heatsinks from alibaba. They were $6 each before shipping. Basically $12 each by the time they're at my door.

I chose this type because I'll be enclosing everything and using in line fans to cool them. In the event the in line fan isn't working or my timers are off, I'm hoping they will passively cool without breaking.

The ones I ordered will be pre-drilled with 6 M5 holes, 2 for mounting the ideal holder, 4 for mounting the heatsink to a structure. Again, probably overkill....but I'm an engineer by day so I try to design for the worst case scenario.

What you said about running 63 watts with little heat makes me feel good about this. I think it will be fine if I'm running only 50 watts per CXB3590....which will be the max allowable with my driver setup.

What are the dimensions of that light your making toaster? How far are those COBs spaced out?

How have you and jdb420 liked your COB fixtures so far?

Oh, the light was built in july last year, but I'm giving it the first real run right now.

COBs are spaced 2ft apart center to center with 2 2700K 25W Bridgelux BRXA in the middle, that were salvaged from the previous closet system, so all together with fans pull about 315W in 1x1m tent.

How do I like them COBs?

Well...

They do their job ;)

 

[HughJassBud]

Oh, the light was built in july last year, but I'm giving it the first real run right now.

COBs are spaced 2ft apart center to center with 2 2700K 25W Bridgelux BRXA in the middle, that were salvaged from the previous closet system, so all together with fans pull about 315W in 1x1m tent.

How do I like them COBs?

Well...

View attachment 606487

View attachment 606488

They do their job ;)

Yes! Those look great! Wow, I'm really impressed actually. That's not very much wattage at all for the growth you're seeing so far, IMO.

Keep it up Toaster! I'm anxious to hear your final results.

 

[Toaster79]

Yes! Those look great! Wow, I'm really impressed actually. That's not very much wattage at all for the growth you're seeing so far, IMO.

Keep it up Toaster! I'm anxious to hear your final results.

I'm curious too. I had 150g in a 20"×38" closet with 150W of 2700K, 4000K, 5000K and 6500K mixed spectrum and a reptile T8 for UVA/B part. And those were XP-E, XT-E, XP-G2 and the aforementioned BRXAs driven at the max current.

 

[jumpincactus]

Oh, the light was built in july last year, but I'm giving it the first real run right now.

COBs are spaced 2ft apart center to center with 2 2700K 25W Bridgelux BRXA in the middle, that were salvaged from the previous closet system, so all together with fans pull about 315W in 1x1m tent.

How do I like them COBs?

Well...

View attachment 606487

View attachment 606488

View attachment 606491

View attachment 606492

View attachment 606493
They do their job ;)

Ya know if I keep seeing grows like this I just very well may convert to LED. On those side shots @Toaster79 what is the distance between inter-nodes in that tent? Just curious, from the looks seem to be a tad stretchy. Not critiquing just curious how tightly you can get them to stack with the COB's. Much love toasty!! Also what is your typical mounting height above your canopy??

 

[Toaster79]

Ya know if I keep seeing grows like this I just very well may convert to LED. On those side shots @Toaster79 what is the distance between inter-nodes in that tent? Just curious, from the looks seem to be a tad stretchy. Not critiquing just curious how tightly you can get them to stack with the COB's. Much love toasty!! Also what is your typical mounting height above your canopy??

Hey JC! Glad you're getting interested in LEDs ;)

Yeah, internode spacing is totally strain dependant. In the second pic on the right side you see Skywalker OG with 2-3" spacing and on the left side is a Purple Trainwreck x Dirty Harry (really short and bushy pheno) with 1" spacing. Third pic is GSC with 2" spacing. I'm seeing between 1-4" so wouldn't say it's got anything to do with lighting.

Lights are set pretty high, somwhere around 12" from the tallest plants. I'd drop them some but I'm afraid I'll loose the coverage. Had an auto growing directly under the COB about 3" away without any problems.

 

[jumpincactus]

thank you for the reply bro. I am nipping at the edges so to speak for sure. As you may know I have to shut my summers down as heat management just cost too much. So LED's, or also looking at plasma as a way to mitigate heat gain without upgrading the AC. I generally gift most of my meds and head stash so I am not rollin in the green so to speak...... I am having trouble figuring which way I am aiming before I pull the trigger.:)

Only want to do it once and get it right. What I would need as far as performance is getting at least the yields I am getting from 2000w of MH/HPS

So I have been lurking and watching the threads. Would like to get something going soon for sure. This last week it has ranged from 109-115 deg F Frikkn AC spins all day long. Damn thing just throws money right out the window....... LOL

 

[HughJassBud]

This is exactly what I'm trying to figure out. How many COBs is it going to take to replace a 1000w HPS?

How many is too many? What kind of spacing is ideal for replacing or superseding current HPS technology?

Also, for some, its not all about efficiency. Some people just want as much light as they can cool effectively in whatever space they have available in order to grow the biggest, densest crop possible. Seems like there are plenty of different strokes for different folks when it comes to this.

For my part, I will probably start a thread on exactly this topic. Soon I will build the light I have mentioned previously and put it up against a lumatek digital 1000w HPS. I have already ordered and received a brand new hortilux bulb to run against the LED. I will save it of course until I am ready to try this. Not the purpose of this thread though, so I'll save that for another thread.

 

[jumpincactus]

This is exactly what I'm trying to figure out. How many COBs is it going to take to replace a 1000w HPS?

How many is too many? What kind of spacing is ideal for replacing or superseding current HPS technology?

Also, for some, its not all about efficiency. Some people just want as much light as they can cool effectively in whatever space they have available in order to grow the biggest, densest crop possible. Seems like there are plenty of different strokes for different folks when it comes to this.

For my part, I will probably start a thread on exactly this topic. Soon I will build the light I have mentioned previously and put it up against a lumatek digital 1000w HPS. I have already ordered and received a brand new hortilux bulb to run against the LED. I will save it of course until I am ready to try this. Not the purpose of this thread though, so I'll save that for another thread.

Good response. I would be willing to take advice on those types of questions as well. I've been months straight researching diff lighting and my head is spinnin. I am sort of leaning towards plasma from what I am seeing from the specs on various units. It appears to be solid tech, with a much better overall spectrum as opposed to LED. Tho it would seem plasma does throw more btu's in the heat range. LED's run cooler. So I am on the fence for sure. Other than input I get online all my information is limited due to the actual grows I see are from everyone I know here and they still run HID type lighting. So no close friends to actually see the side by side results.

 

[HughJassBud]

Good response. I would be willing to take advice on those types of questions as well. I've been months straight researching diff lighting and my head is spinnin. I am sort of leaning towards plasma from what I am seeing from the specs on various units. It appears to be solid tech, with a much better overall spectrum as opposed to LED. Tho it would seem plasma does throw more btu's in the heat range. LED's run cooler. So I am on the fence for sure. Other than input I get online all my information is limited due to the actual grows I see are from everyone I know here and they still run HID type lighting. So no close friends to actually see the side by side results.

You've convinced me. I will start a thread on this topic so, with everyone's help, we can all find the answers to these questions. I too suffer from the same problems. And whats more, my friends are die hard fans of HPS/MH! So for most of them I think there would have to be some real big benefits to even consider trying anything different. Hopefully, this is something that can be put to rest. I would at least like to find a cooler alternative with similar performance to HPS. That alone would be a mission accomplished in my book.

P.S. I'll be friends with all of you! Also, I promise to give accurate and honest reports of my accomplishments/failures that you can trust. I have nothing to gain from claiming success if reality shows otherwise. I really want to know what is better. If I am wrong about this COB stuff and I have repeated results showing HPS as being better, than fine, I'll just wait until COB technology improves. This I am sure of though, if it hasn't already, COB technology will surpass HPS. It just has so much further to grow. If you look at the pics I posted previously from the microscope, those connections and lithography are large compared to the likes of what Intel, Nvidia, or AMD are working with. With better tooling and more importantly better materials technology, these chips will only continue to get more efficient and cooler. I am very excited to see what this technology holds. Now on to read about Plasma lights....because I am admittedly unfamiliar with them except a mention here and there.

 

[jdb420]

I think that from what growmau5 has said that you should be able to get by with 1 cob per square foot. This will give you the best coverage and also there will be no hot spots because the cobs are all evenly spaced, and you will get light at all angles instead of from one single source point. Hugh Jass Bud please start your new thread and give us the link to it in this thread, so people can find it more easily. I am very interested in seeing a side by side done with identical clones. This sounds like a great idea ! And to be fair, you need to have the led side at 35 to 40 rh and the humidity at the 45 to 55 range on the hps side. If I had cooler summers, I would be down to try it out. Because I want to know just as bad as you do. I also would like to pick your brain and see what you think is tbe best way to supply usable light in terms of color temperature. The general consensus seems to be that the 3500 kelvin is great from Seed to harvest. I'd be curious to see if you get less stretch from adding some 5000 or 5500 kelvin in the mix. Then I'd like to see if adding some 2700 kelvin during bloom, if it would give you a bigger or denser Flower set. I think that you are heading in the right direction to figure out the answers to these questions we all seem to have. The best way to figure it out is to do a side by side like you suggested. I can't wait to see your thread, and the results. If I can help out in any way, just let me know. I'll help you with what i can. Between all the people here that know there stuff and the resources available to us, you shouldn't have any problems. I can't wait to see those Hugh Jass light hoods you have. I like your idea of using those hoods to help mitigate the heat out of your grow. Even if the cobs make less heat, those hoods will just be a better way of insuring that your temperatures stay in the sweet spot. The hoods should also extend the life of the leds because they will be run so cool. Look forward to seeing the results of your experiment !!! Ask supraspl for his advice on the number of cobs and at what mah you plan on running them at. Also, please list how far your light is from the top of the canopy. If you use a 100k potentiometer on the b version of the meanwell Drivers, you can just dim your light's at the beginning and slowly increase the intensity to match the needs of the plant without having to move your light. And if you use the 36 volt version of the crees, you can get by with less drivers. Just remember that we all can benefit from your experiences, good or bad. I can't thank you enough for being so kind and doing this. This will hopefully give the skeptics just the information they needed to convert to the new tech !

 

[jumpincactus]

I think that from what growmau5 has said that you should be able to get by with 1 cob per square foot. This will give you the best coverage and also there will be no hot spots because the cobs are all evenly spaced, and you will get light at all angles instead of from one single source point. Hugh Jass Bud please start your new thread and give us the link to it in this thread, so people can find it more easily. I am very interested in seeing a side by side done with identical clones. This sounds like a great idea ! And to be fair, you need to have the led side at 35 to 40 rh and the humidity at the 45 to 55 range on the hps side. If I had cooler summers, I would be down to try it out. Because I want to know just as bad as you do. I also would like to pick your brain and see what you think is tbe best way to supply usable light in terms of color temperature. The general consensus seems to be that the 3500 kelvin is great from Seed to harvest. I'd be curious to see if you get less stretch from adding some 5000 or 5500 kelvin in the mix. Then I'd like to see if adding some 2700 kelvin during bloom, if it would give you a bigger or denser Flower set. I think that you are heading in the right direction to figure out the answers to these questions we all seem to have. The best way to figure it out is to do a side by side like you suggested. I can't wait to see your thread, and the results. If I can help out in any way, just let me know. I'll help you with what i can. Between all the people here that know there stuff and the resources available to us, you shouldn't have any problems. I can't wait to see those Hugh Jass light hoods you have. I like your idea of using those hoods to help mitigate the heat out of your grow. Even if the cobs make less heat, those hoods will just be a better way of insuring that your temperatures stay in the sweet spot. The hoods should also extend the life of the leds because they will be run so cool. Look forward to seeing the results of your experiment !!! Ask supraspl for his advice on the number of cobs and at what mah you plan on running them at. Also, please list how far your light is from the top of the canopy. If you use a 100k potentiometer on the b version of the meanwell Drivers, you can just dim your light's at the beginning and slowly increase the intensity to match the needs of the plant without having to move your light. And if you use the 36 volt version of the crees, you can get by with less drivers. Just remember that we all can benefit from your experiences, good or bad. I can't thank you enough for being so kind and doing this. This will hopefully give the skeptics just the information they needed to convert to the new tech !

es it will be nice to get this going. Especially the side by side with same cuts from same Mom's and do a true side by side. Same nute regime etc etc. I will be pulling up a chair, popping some corn, breaking out the cold ones and share a big azz blunt with all of you . Subbed

 

[HughJassBud]

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/d-i-y-cxb-3590-cob-panel-vs-hps.82354/

and so it begins. Thanks for helping me with this guys. I really do appreciate all your input and sound advice. I'm still waiting on heat sinks, but there are some other things that I can start on in the meantime. I'll try to consolidate my design post into a single, concise, post which I will put up later tonight. For now, drop by and say Hello!

 

[HughJassBud]

Th


Thank you its really tought me well,
The thing is I do not have access cree cobs in my country in order to get them from wwide i have to pay extra extra money, soo I will go some other brands cob or osrams mono leds, also osram cobs available I hope .. But everyone in this forum talks like while Crees cobs have 10x effect on plants other brands cobs 1x effects..
Couple cobs available to me :
http://www.ilker.com.tr/urunler/kategori/COB-LED/132







could you please check them and advise me

Hey buddy, I didn't want to leave you hanging. I don't know where you live, so I'm not sure what the restrictions are like, but as mentioned previously I would order my parts from china. Yeah, shipping is going to be a little high, but the price is probably worth it. I know its a tough pill to swallow at first, but I think you'll be better off in the long run.

Here are links to the suppliers I used for 90% of my build. I'm sure a lot of people can speak to how good Jerry at Kingbrite is!

Shenzhen KingBrite Electronics Co., Ltd
Shenzhen KingBrite Optoelectronics Co., Ltd
HongKong KingBrite Technology Co., Ltd
Tel: 0086 755 29064293
Skype: kingbrite.jerry
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kingbrite.cn


For Heat Sink, best to order these in bulk if you can. There may be a better option where you live. Joyce Yu is the person to contact, snip the base sketch from earlier in this thread and send it to her. That should save you a little as they'll already have this figured out.

http://hzjfjx.en.alibaba.com/produc....html?spm=a2700.7803228.1998738836.185.YvxvFv

All though I think Jerry will sale you a heat sink too. Then you can combine all your shipping. I didn't realize they did that as well when I placed my order.....


If this still is no good to you then I would look for whatever the most efficient, high wattage COB is and go with that. I started to look through those links, but there were a few too many options for me to take in all at once.

-HJB

 

[levradus]

Me and one of use from this forum, agreed upon using COB's but from a different brand : Samsung ;
He said there is no difference that all to be bother with...
LC040B you can google it
Samsungs cobs and
I am getting those pretty cheap like 7 dolars each

 

[levradus]

4 x 3000k with hlg185 c1400b
or
4x 3000k with 1x5000k hlg185 c1050b

?( by downing the c1400 to c1050 i can use one more cob right)