THCFarmer.com
121,251 Members Log In Register
Log In Register

Input From Led Growers Wanted:

  • Thread starter Thread starter lbristol
  • Start date Start date
  • Tagged users Tagged users None

Input From Led Growers Wanted:

lbristol 70 Replies 9,379 Views
Page 3 of 4 · Replies 41–60 of 71
#41
lbristol said:
Great. Thanks for all of your expertise. Last question: Can I mix two Vero29 x 3000k and 2 x 3500k on the same driver, granted they have the same exact specs otherwise?
Click to expand...

Shouldn't hurt anything
 
#42
Thank you!!! This was exactly the information I needed. So as it stands, this is my build:

10 x BXRC-30E10K0-D-73 (Vero29 7th gen 3000k 38.7v) $250
10 x BXRC-35E10K0-D-73 (Vero29 7th gen 3000k 38.7v) $250
5 x 709-HLG240H-C1400B (250.6W89-179V 1400mA IP67 CC 3 in 1 Dim) $320.50
5 x 4.850"x36" heat sink (from HeatSinkUSA, shipping included) $210

Total so far = $1030.50 for a true 2kW LED setup. Not bad.

I still need to look into harnesses, possibly fans/12v converters. Thermal paste as well. I watched bits of growmau5 and while I understand the concepts I still don't really understand how many fans I'll need on a setup like this, if at all. I found a Coolmaster 120mm fan for $10 a piece. But with 3 foot long lights I'm not confident one fan would do it. Care to help me out just a little more in sourcing info / the harnesses for my application? Thoughts on it?
 
#43
Honestly fans really aren't fully necessary. If you were to do it, you'd basically want to put one above each chip, and run those off their own drivers. As far as I know, most people don't bother with them.

As far as thermal paste, just get Sur-Seal Thermal Pads. Less then a buck a piece and way less hassle.

As far as a harness, you can realistically just drill some holes and rig something up to hold them. Obviously rope ratchets are ideal as they make raising/lowering super easy.

I think the 240 drivers only put out 250w max though. So you'd have a 1250w setup there. Could always add another row of lights with the same drivers for 1500w.

Again, these won't be the cheapest setups ever, but in theory you won't have to change a damn thing for years to come.
 
#44
Aww balls. I was basing those drivers off of another comparable build, although I guess he shot for 250w. I'd like to maximise it. I'm sure I can find a driver that will run them at 400w, yeah? As for the harness yes I can rig that up myself but I was referring to the LED harness.
 
#45
lbristol said:
Aww balls. I was basing those drivers off of another comparable build, although I guess he shot for 250w. I'd like to maximise it. I'm sure I can find a driver that will run them at 400w, yeah? As for the harness yes I can rig that up myself but I was referring to the LED harness.
Click to expand...

Reading that it's not best to run them at full capacity. If I bought 6 of the HLG320H-C2100B drivers I'd meet my 2kW goal and be running them at 80%. To my understanding 50% is optimal. Thoughts? Will I burn them out at 80w per LED? I'd be totaling 320w per LED x 6 for a total of 2kW
 
#46
Guess I'm not sure what you mean by harness? Vero29's have quick connectors built in. All you really needs is the drivers, some 18 gauge wiring, and some wago connectors tbh.

Yeah, I wouldn't run them at 100%. Some people will even run a chip at 120w. I guess that'd all come down to heat. They chips should be fine for quite some time.
 
#47
MW7945 said:
Guess I'm not sure what you mean by harness? Vero29's have quick connectors built in. All you really needs is the drivers, some 18 gauge wiring, and some wago connectors tbh.

Yeah, I wouldn't run them at 100%. Some people will even run a chip at 120w. I guess that'd all come down to heat. They chips should be fine for quite some time.
Click to expand...

By harness I ment the molex premade connectors. Pretty much what you're talking about.

So again, the COMPLETED list of supplies for my LED build

- 6 x HLG-320H-C2100B Mean Well drivers = $504.60
- 24 x BXRC-30E10K0-D-73 (Vero29 7th gen 3000k 38.7v) COB LEDs = $598.43 (3500k was unavailable almost everywhere, so 3000k it is.)
- 6 x 4.85" by 36" heat sinks = $424.70
- 24 x Cooler Master 120mm fans = $83.40

Total = $1,611.13 :(

I know you said passive cooling is probably fine but my house has to stay pretty hot for reasons I don't want to get into and I'm really concerned about inside temps. This should be a pretty killer setup, no? The 24 LED's will be running at 80w a piece, total actual 2kW of LED lighting, 62.5w/sqft. Grow is DWC in 5 gallon buckets ... I'll probably have only four plants in the 4x8 this time around.

Assuming an expert grow I should be looking at pro yields with this kind of setup, no?
 
#48
What are you running those fans off of then? Probably have to pick up some small drivers for those. Won't add much cost I suppose.

But yes, I guess aside from stuff like Quantum Boards this is about as "pro build" as it gets for LED's. As of right now, quantum boards just straight up aren't worth it unless you have large sums of money burning holes in your pockets.
 
#49
Wait all of this is for 4 plants? I hope you plan on vegging them for at least 6 weeks

As far as 3000K, that's completely fine. It's slightly better for flower anyways. That being said, if you can find 3000K in 90 CRI that's the bee's knee's as far as I'm concerned when it comes to spectrum. Higher blues and better reds
 
#50
MW7945 said:
Wait all of this is for 4 plants? I hope you plan on vegging them for at least 6 weeks

As far as 3000K, that's completely fine. It's slightly better for flower anyways. That being said, if you can find 3000K in 90 CRI that's the bee's knee's as far as I'm concerned when it comes to spectrum. Higher blues and better reds
Click to expand...

So after much more research on COB efficacy I'm reading that 20-30w/sq ft is actually more than enough, and the latter sometimes too much light. I probably should have bought the 1.2mA driver but instead I chose the 2.1mA. As of now I'd be running the chips at ~80w, in a 4x8 that's 62.5w/sq ft, and I'd have to dim that to 30 or 40w, under 1.4mA or so, using the same 2.1mA driver. Any idea the most efficient way to accomplish this or can someone point me in the right direction so I can learn about it?
 
#52
Why not use this type of heatsink? They come predrilled which saves a shitload of work plus they dont need fan cooling.
http://www.rapidled.com/140mm-pin-heatsink/
Plus in a 4 x 8 tent you really only need 1500 to 1700w of cob to light it up like the sun lol. 1700w of vero in there running around 50 to 62w per cob will crush it. So with 62w per sq ft like your talking about you will need co2.but i do pretty well with 25 to 30w per sq ft.
Just some more crap to simmer on :)
 
#53
sixstring! I originally based my build around yours. Thank you for chiming in. I don't think I'll even need the fans with the custom aluminum heat sinks I bought. They'll act as a frame AND heat sink. I bought the fans as a backup only. I'll probably be using thermal adhesive in place of drilling so that's really not an issue -- unless you have a good reason not to. I've been looking for an answer to this question but can't find it anywhere: If I bump my build down to 12 COB's running full at typical power of 80w I'll be at 30w/sq ft. I don't want to run CO2 ... yet. However, I'm worried about the Vero 29 footprint. Will 12 lights in a 4 x 8 cut it? Sure, I'll have enough light, but will the spread be alright? If it does cut it, I have 12 more for another 4 x 8 ;) I know efficacy decreases a bit running them at 80w but I'm not so concerned about that.

Thank you again for chiming in. I really enjoyed your DIY.
 
#54
Efficacy is still pretty damn good on the vero 29 at 80w,thats one of the reasons people like the new gen7 vero.
If i had a nice budget i would design the build for at least 1500w in there.you can always dim but adding more light after the fact is a bitch once the plants are in there.
 
#55
sixstring said:
Efficacy is still pretty damn good on the vero 29 at 80w,thats one of the reasons people like the new gen7 vero.
If i had a nice budget i would design the build for at least 1500w in there.you can always dim but adding more light after the fact is a bitch once the plants are in there.
Click to expand...

My design is already for 2000w. I'm worried about bleaching the plants at 62.5w/sqft with the Veros. Without running CO2 it seems like a waste. Can you point me in the right direction as to dimmers? Any idea on the footprint of a single COB?
 
#56
I told you many times you don't need that high of w per sq ft lol

As far as a dimmer, I'm guessing you didn't order dimmable drivers?


If this was a month from now I could've just made this all easier for you ;)
 
#57
As far as drilling holes, aside from the wire hole, I'd think you could just use small self-tapping screws to put them on the heatsink?
 
#58
I know, MW. Your advice has been valuable. I'm trying to dial it in is all. No lights will go to waste ... always more grow rooms.

As for the driver I bought the kind with a third wire to fit your own dimmer.
 
#60
I don't think I'll need dimmer knobs. To my understanding the Vero29's run very efficient even at 80w. I was looking at some charts and apparently ~800PPFD is the sweet spot where diminishing returns start. Check THIS chart out. I dug up an LED calculator that someone had posted on rollitup and toyed around with it to find the perfect configuration. It's for a Vero29 @ 4000k but I assume the figures are similar, no? This was my output per 4x4 space:

VERO29.V2.0.4000K 9 COBS @2.1A ON 4.85 PROFILE HEATSINK
16 SQ.FT. CANOPY 94% EFFICIENT DRIVER @19 CENTS PER KWH
Total power watts at the wall: 763.83
Cobs power watts: 718
Total voltage forward: 342
Total lumens: 94848
Total PAR watts assuming 10% loss: 263
Total PPF: 1215.06
PPFD based on canopy area: 817.42
PAR watts per sq.ft.: 16.44
Cob efficiency: 40.77%
Power watts per sq.ft.: 44.88
Voltage forward per cob: 38.0
Lumens per watt: 132.1
Heatsink riser thickness / number of fins / fin's length: 0.14in/16/0.66in
Heatsink area per inch: 200.6 cm^2
Total heat watts: 425
umol/s/W / CRI: 4.62 / 80CRI
Heatsink length passive cooling @120cm^2/heatwatt: 254 inches
Heatsink length active cooling @40cm^2/heatwatt: 85 inches
COB cost dollar per PAR watt: $0.83
Electric cost @12/12 in 30 days: $52.75
Electric cost @18/6 in 30 days: $78.87
Cost per cob: $24.38
Heatsink cost per inch cut: $0.98
Total cobs cost: $219
Total heatsink passive cooling cost: $249
Total heatsink active cooling cost: $83

It looks like an ideal setup for me, keeping electric costs in mind, will be 3 strings of 3 Vero29 LED's operating at 80w per 4x4.

What do you guys think? Happy medium? Slightly overkill? If this is the right range to be shooting for (~800PPFD), I will use the same figures for my other tents.

Also, I already purchased the HLG-320H-C2100B drivers. If I hook up 3 of the Vero29's to this in series instead of 4, will I still be getting approximately 80w/chip? 2.1A X 36v = ~80w. Yes?
 
Page 3 of 4 · Replies 41–60 of 71
Back
Top Bottom