DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

sixstring · May 7, 2017

The cob gains eff when dimmed but the driver does not.i believe that 480 driver is best run @ 240v or 208/277v
My thoughts is buy a driver you can run wide open.these dimmable drivers put out more than 100% if you leave the dim leads capped off or install a rocker switch on the dim leads so you can turn it off .thats how i did most of mine.only time i dim is when im taking a plant down for processing. Otherwise them fuckers are running 108% haha.

Gherb · May 7, 2017

sixstring said:
The cob gains eff when dimmed but the driver does not.i believe that 480 driver is best run @ 240v or 208/277v
My thoughts is buy a driver you can run wide open.these dimmable drivers put out more than 100% if you leave the dim leads capped off or install a rocker switch on the dim leads so you can turn it off .thats how i did most of mine.only time i dim is when im taking a plant down for processing. Otherwise them fuckers are running 108% haha.

That makes sense. So what driver and how many do you recommend to run 16 cobs at 35 to 40 watts?

C labb · May 7, 2017

New to post but long time reader. Six string, you say you can "leave them capped off" or add a toggle switch. Your saying complete the circuit and cap them off together right? I'm using a hlg-150h-36b but don't need the dimmer. does the toggle need to be suited for the 36v output or the 110v input from the wall? Thanks. On my second diy with help from this feed, first dimmable driver.

sixstring · May 7, 2017

C labb said:
New to post but long time reader. Six string, you say you can "leave them capped off" or add a toggle switch. Your saying complete the circuit and cap them off together right? I'm using a hlg-150h-36b but don't need the dimmer. does the toggle need to be suited for the 36v output or the 110v input from the wall? Thanks. On my second diy with help from this feed, first dimmable driver.

No dont tie them together. You either cap both leads with tape,wire nut,wago ect or you hook up a dimming pot and put the toggle on either side,i like to put the toggle on the positive side so red wire goes to toggle,then small wire from toggle to dim pot.neg wire goes right to pot.toggle only needs to be rated to 10v which is what the dim leads are 0 to 10 v.but i used a standard automotive toggle for 12v lighting.

sixstring · May 7, 2017

Gherb said:
That makes sense. So what driver and how many do you recommend to run 16 cobs at 35 to 40 watts?

16 is a goody number for me lol.all my shit is wired for 5 cobs per driver except the one shitizen panel i have and a few 4 bangers.for groups of 5 cobs use the 185-1050,its cheap and awesome.for groups of 5@ 50w per cob use the 240-1400ma
For groups of 4 cobs you can use 185-1050ma for 35w or 1400ma for 50w.or for even more power youcan put 4 x 3590 on a hlg-240-1750 for 62w per cob and dim to whatever.guys remember even at 62w per cob these setups will be much more efficient than any hps light and will absolutely crush any mars type panel in eff and performance. I have quite a few 4 x cree panels running the 62w per and those are up off the plants about 20 inches and you get awesome coverage.

sixstring · May 7, 2017

4 banger @1750ma

5 banger @ 1400ma

5 banger @ 1050 ma

h4ppyf4rmer · May 7, 2017

I was looking at building an 18 COB system (two 9x9 units) for my 4x8 tent. I believe you can run 9 36v CREE COBs on one HLG-480 drivers.

Then I was going to add photo-red and far-red and ramp them them up and down at the appropriate times... THEN, I checked my bank account and decided to see if I can grow one plant under one 8W LED lightbulb from HomeDepot :drunk:

I REALLY need to STOP watching those GrowMau5 videos ;)

sixstring · May 7, 2017

If you wanna get crazy and run 5 x cree cxb 3590 @ 62w per use the big boy :)

sixstring · May 7, 2017

This is how i cap off my dim leads.simple wire nut and tape would also work.

ChunkySkunky · May 9, 2017

Here's a safety question that's been bugging me.

With all of that metal framework/heatsink hanging around, does anyone earth the framework back to the mains power socket or the driver chassis?

My thinking here is that if the worst happened and the frame of the light were to somehow become live it would trip the breaker box.

sixstring · May 9, 2017

lots of guys run a ground from the plugs ground to the frame/fixture i did a few lights that way,then got to thinking about mixing a/c and d/c grounds and decided to stop doing it lol. the ground from plug to driver should be enough.the meanwell drivers have tons of built in safety features.i wired a cob backwards once and when i plugged in the unit it just clicked.took me an easy 30 mins to hunt down the problem but i knew it had to me my shotty wiring

ChunkySkunky · May 9, 2017

That's what I thought, thanks.

I've not got the drivers yet (they are in the mail, expected on Friday) but I'm assuming the case will be earthed. I'll just tag an earth onto the case from the framework. I agree it may not be necessary, the drivers do have a lot of safety features built in, but it can't hurt.

Worst case scenario would be a little noise put onto the DC from a noisy earth, but that shouldn't adversely affect the cobs.

Gherb · May 16, 2017

Hey Folks,

Before I go sending my hard earned cash to China I want to verify that the Kingbrite that I have been in contact with is legit.

Has anyone dealt with Vicky Song before? I see lots of references to Jerry. They gave me a quote and sent me an invoice. I am ready to order.

Thanks in advance for any info confirming or denying the validity of this purchase.

Gherb

sixstring · May 16, 2017

Gherb said:
Hey Folks,

Before I go sending my hard earned cash to China I want to verify that the Kingbrite that I have been in contact with is legit.

Has anyone dealt with Vicky Song before? I see lots of references to Jerry. They gave me a quote and sent me an invoice. I am ready to order.

Thanks in advance for any info confirming or denying the validity of this purchase.

Gherb

yeah she works with him(jerry). before you do it you should contact @REALSTYLES here if you are in the usa he might be able to help as he and jerry do alot of biz together:happy:

crocodile og · May 16, 2017

Gherb said:
Hey Folks,

Before I go sending my hard earned cash to China I want to verify that the Kingbrite that I have been in contact with is legit.

Has anyone dealt with Vicky Song before? I see lots of references to Jerry. They gave me a quote and sent me an invoice. I am ready to order.

Thanks in advance for any info confirming or denying the validity of this purchase.

Gherb

Yeah she's great. Very efficient and knowledgeable.

REALSTYLES · May 17, 2017

Gherb said:
Hey Folks,

Before I go sending my hard earned cash to China I want to verify that the Kingbrite that I have been in contact with is legit.

Has anyone dealt with Vicky Song before? I see lots of references to Jerry. They gave me a quote and sent me an invoice. I am ready to order.

Thanks in advance for any info confirming or denying the validity of this purchase.

Gherb

what did you order?

Gherb · May 17, 2017

REALSTYLES said:
what did you order?

Much to my wife's dismay, I will be doing a bank transfer today after work. I went with enough cobs and pin heatsinks to run my two 4' by 4' tents separately. One tent will be getting 16 cobs powered by 1050ma. The other 4' by 4' tent will be getting 12 cobs powered by 1400ma. I also have a small clone tent that will be getting 2 cobs.

So yeah 30 cobs, 30 heatsinks, several drivers, and all the appropriate holders and adapters.

Should be a pretty interesting year.

Any final advice before I finalize payment today would be greatly appreciated.

Gherb

h4ppyf4rmer · May 17, 2017

Gherb said:
Much to my wife's dismay, I will be doing a bank transfer today after work. I went with enough cobs and pin heatsinks to run my two 4' by 4' tents separately. One tent will be getting 16 cobs powered by 1050ma. The other 4' by 4' tent will be getting 12 cobs powered by 1400ma. I also have a small clone tent that will be getting 2 cobs.

So yeah 30 cobs, 30 heatsinks, several drivers, and all the appropriate holders and adapters.

Should be a pretty interesting year.

Any final advice before I finalize payment today would be greatly appreciated.

Gherb

I feel your pain, I'll be ordering the parts for an 18 COB setup over the next month. My wife is not overly excited (to say the least) about this hobby and the up-front expense...

stonestacker · May 24, 2017

h4ppyf4rmer said:
I feel your pain, I'll be ordering the parts for an 18 COB setup over the next month. My wife is not overly excited (to say the least) about this hobby and the up-front expense...

Ha ha my wife was not to thrilled with the hobby. She sings a different tune now and smokes twice as much now compared to before ha ha.

stonestacker · May 24, 2017

stonestacker said:
Ha ha my wife was not to thrilled with the hobby. She sings a different tune now and smokes twice as much now compared to before ha ha.

She doesn't even bat an eye when I Spend money on the garden now. I just wish she would help with the chores.

DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

DIY LED with COBs - small medium and large grows

sixstring

Gherb

C labb

sixstring

sixstring

sixstring

h4ppyf4rmer

sixstring

sixstring

ChunkySkunky

sixstring

ChunkySkunky

Gherb

sixstring

crocodile og

REALSTYLES

Gherb

h4ppyf4rmer

stonestacker

stonestacker

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