RootsRuler said:

C'mon now.....I've read a few posts where people have built there own. Anyone able to guide me at all or am I going to have to start from scratch?

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RootsRuler said:

So I'm starting to do my homework on a lighting upgrade. I currently have 2 COB style fixtures that each put out 275 watts. I have a 5 x 5 tent and I would like more light to try and improve yields.

I'm leaning towards a bar style light as I like to SCROG so I'd like to have complete canopy coverage with as little PPFD difference from edge to center. The COB's I have now have hot spots that I'd like to even out.

I'm pretty handy when it comes to building and customizing things to my liking so I think I'd like to start there and see if it's worth building your own versus buying ready built.

The parameters will be 2 lights rather than one. Watt to sq/ft at 30+. In my tent I've calculated that I'll need at least 800 watts of power to achieve the light intensity I'm going for so, since I'm looking for 2 fixtures each one should be at least 400w. Ideally I'd like each light to be at least 600w so that in case one light breaks the other can run a bare minimum of acceptable light until I'm able to replace the broken one. I can run them at 3/4 or 1/2 power which will also preserve the LED's since I'm not pushing them full out.

As a precursor I'll say that for a ready built I like the Gavita 1700e specs. Unfortunately, it's pricey so I'm trying to maybe build something comparable in performance.

As far as a driver it seems like Meanwell is the driver of choice so I'll stick to that unless there is something better out there.

DIY Light Builders.......SCHOOL ME!!!

Click to expand...

RootsRuler said:

So I'm starting to do my homework on a lighting upgrade. I currently have 2 COB style fixtures that each put out 275 watts. I have a 5 x 5 tent and I would like more light to try and improve yields.

I'm leaning towards a bar style light as I like to SCROG so I'd like to have complete canopy coverage with as little PPFD difference from edge to center. The COB's I have now have hot spots that I'd like to even out.

I'm pretty handy when it comes to building and customizing things to my liking so I think I'd like to start there and see if it's worth building your own versus buying ready built.

The parameters will be 2 lights rather than one. Watt to sq/ft at 30+. In my tent I've calculated that I'll need at least 800 watts of power to achieve the light intensity I'm going for so, since I'm looking for 2 fixtures each one should be at least 400w. Ideally I'd like each light to be at least 600w so that in case one light breaks the other can run a bare minimum of acceptable light until I'm able to replace the broken one. I can run them at 3/4 or 1/2 power which will also preserve the LED's since I'm not pushing them full out.

As a precursor I'll say that for a ready built I like the Gavita 1700e specs. Unfortunately, it's pricey so I'm trying to maybe build something comparable in performance.

As far as a driver it seems like Meanwell is the driver of choice so I'll stick to that unless there is something better out there.

DIY Light Builders.......SCHOOL ME!!!

Click to expand...

RootsRuler said:

So I'm starting to do my homework on a lighting upgrade. I currently have 2 COB style fixtures that each put out 275 watts. I have a 5 x 5 tent and I would like more light to try and improve yields.

I'm leaning towards a bar style light as I like to SCROG so I'd like to have complete canopy coverage with as little PPFD difference from edge to center. The COB's I have now have hot spots that I'd like to even out.

I'm pretty handy when it comes to building and customizing things to my liking so I think I'd like to start there and see if it's worth building your own versus buying ready built.

The parameters will be 2 lights rather than one. Watt to sq/ft at 30+. In my tent I've calculated that I'll need at least 800 watts of power to achieve the light intensity I'm going for so, since I'm looking for 2 fixtures each one should be at least 400w. Ideally I'd like each light to be at least 600w so that in case one light breaks the other can run a bare minimum of acceptable light until I'm able to replace the broken one. I can run them at 3/4 or 1/2 power which will also preserve the LED's since I'm not pushing them full out.

As a precursor I'll say that for a ready built I like the Gavita 1700e specs. Unfortunately, it's pricey so I'm trying to maybe build something comparable in performance.

As far as a driver it seems like Meanwell is the driver of choice so I'll stick to that unless there is something better out there.

DIY Light Builders.......SCHOOL ME!!!

Click to expand...

Observationist said:

Maybe it was frankster?

Man there was someone on here making some...

Start from scratch lol, I briefly looked into

Research some diodes, order a strip.

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GreenGalaxyFarm said:

why not add more COB to the tent total, which specific fixtures are you running

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PipeCarver said:

Hey, I've a 5 x 5 with 2 se 3000 & an se600 covering a 3 x 5 section of the tent leaving me room for equipment up front. ( heater, fans, humidifier ) If I was to fill the tent with lights I think 2 of their SE5000 would do and with some luck will be my next upgrade.

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Buzzy12 said:

How much are you looking to spend? Are you committed to building your own lights? That's something I have yet to try and do...

I know two HLG 350R's in a 5×5 would crush it. 3×5 footprint, 1000 PPFD per light for 330 Watts a piece.

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GreenGalaxyFarm said:

can you not find a spider farmer se1000w in your area and replace the setup completely?

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RootsRuler said:

Yeah...I think you're right. I seem to remember that name when it came to DIY lighting. I'm thinking of maybe ordering the premade light bars and grouping them together. It looks like that's pretty much what a lot of the light bar makers have done. If I go that route then I need to find a high quality bar that uses high quality diodes. Gavita 1700e performance specs are the parameters I'm trying to approximate in terms of umol to energy efficiency.

Once I can secure the bar light I'll need to find a driver that will drive all the bars(8). I'm looking for a Meanwell driver since that seems to be the driver of choice. I'll design it to be detachable so I can mount it outside the tent to minimize heat accumulation since the bump up in wattage is going to raise the heat in the tent.


I thought of doing that but COB's tend to have hot spots which is one of the issues I'm trying to minimize. I may still do it if I find that DIYing a grow light isn't feasible financially or performance wise as it would be as simple as just buying and adding another light.


There's definitely the gear out there to satisfy my needs. I'm just wondering if a DIY light would be worth it. Like I mentioned before, I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty. I like fabricating custom stuff to my needs. Doing this would also help me be able to help others as I would be much more knowledgeable about LED grow light performance.


The 2 fixtures I have totaled around $225. If I use that as a guideline I guess my budget would be around $500 if I factor in the better coverage, less hot spots, etc the bar lights would afford me.

2 HLG 350R's would definitely be a great setup but that would cost around $1,000 and change to get those to my doorstep. Trying to see what would be the most cost effective vs performance way of doing this.


Sure but the whole point is to be able to enjoy the performance an SE1000w would give without the price tag!

I realize that this may be an exercise in futility but I want to get in there and see, definitively, the pros and cons of doing something like this.

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GreenGalaxyFarm said:

the only way to get even spread with COB is to add a bunch really
you are adept at lighting electronics?

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