Looks like you were correct about pricing. I got like $1100 for rapid 600 watts of cree, $1400 timber 600 watts of cree, or $1050 timber 600 watts of citizen.
I only see two real differences. The timber is going to come with a better heatsink. The rapid sink is still good though, but is inferior and cost less than than the timber if you were to source them. The other, is that timber is quoting a complete fixture compared to rapid a box of parts. Since the box of parts works better for you, I’m wondering if the price wouldn’t go down from timber as well. I’d shoot that email out and see like you said.
I also took the liberty to grab performance numbers from the lights.
Cree
@Covertgrower you also have to keep in mind that the Hlg is doing that with less draw from the wall and the fixture is a little smaller. The boards themselves are going to be more even than cobs in general, but I think your light footprint will be larger with the cobs.
Here’s what that would mean to me… if you grab the Hlg on sale, it seems no doubt the best bang for your buck and will do great in half that tent. Also for what like $850 you hang, plug in, and go on your way. The cobs on the other hand cost more and you will have to build. But you’re going to get more light at bigger footprint. Potentially, you could hang them in the middle, and put one of the less expensive lights you already have on each side? And then maybe call it done?
Not sure, but it looks good as I type it lol. Perhaps just another scenario to consider.
I think the cree would be best in comparison to the citizen in almost twice as bright. Almost. I actually checked Steve’s LED’s and that’s exactly what I was looking for. Three chip color option. You can select just blue, or just red, or all three. Or various whites. Just think on the screen so to speak. (Or out loud?) either way, I’ll look into both the timber and rapid kits, and see which one works best. Or I prefer more of. Just considering everything as a whole. Have to now a days. @dbrn32
Yep. The rapid kit isn’t bad at $1090, especially if you take the 10% discount. Sourcing stuff individually, it’s like $65 per cob just for cob, heatsink, thermal pad, and holder. $50 per 200 watts per driver too. If I can still add in my head, that’s like $930. It will almost be like getting wiring and frame for free.
@dbrn32 could’ve saved you some trouble, I was doing the same thing last night! Lol. Cost per part it’s more affordable to buy it in bulk. You end up spending way too much when you buy it all separately. One more thing, do you think the reflectors are necessary? If it’s going to be in a reflective tent, it’ll just bounce around a bit anyways.
I don’t think you’ll need them in your application,They actually cost you some efficiency too. If you wanted to entertain the possibility of adding them later, just get the cob holder that’s compatible with them. If you decide later you want to possibly add them, it won’t be a big deal.
@rodri59 checking trichomes again tonight to see if I see more amber than I did last time. GSC will get the chop first for sure. She’s looking ready. I was thinking 10/20, but maybe sooner. I do not want to rush anything. I’ve worked so hard. Og Kush is a close behind. White widow the pistols are finally turning a little brown, the THC bomb and Txaki are dead last with hardly any pistols brown yet. I’ll check those and report back. This will be a multi week harvest I believe. Positive note, at least I’ll have something to sample. No nutrients to anything though. Just water, microbe brew, honey, and humic acid. When things start “getting ready” it happens very fast, but be confident that the trichomes will be packing on weight, as long as you’re patient enough to hold out! Huge difference an extra week makes to hold on a bit longer before the chop.
EDIT: I have all the confidence in the world the dehumidifier made the night and day difference in packing the trichomes on. I highly suggest getting one and making the air as dry as possible.
You’ll want the cob holders, I’m assuming they are included in the kit anyway? The rapid heatsinks should be predrilled for the bolt pattern on the cob holder. Plus it will make your wire terminations solderless. Not that soldering is a big deal, but the overall benefit is well worth the cost.
Like I said, the kit should come with a holder for each. I believe there are different models, and not all of them are compatible with the Angelina reflector. So if by chance you may want to add reflector later, may as well make sure to get a compatible model ahead of time.
@dbrn32 just for giggles I put a timber kit in my cart, and started the check out process they wanted $200 more for shipping. Rapid was free. Although as you pointed out the heat sinks are better quality. I was leaning towards the rapid anyways. Heavily leaning towards the cree chip. I haven’t checked out yet. I do this every time I know I’m spending a lot. Justification to spending that much mulls over in my head I suppose. We discussed the 3000K chip from Cree would be the proper wavelength?
Is an automatic dimmer suggested for when the lights come on, they dim slowly on? I poked around at controllers but wasn’t entirely sure that’s what I was looking at. I am considering a controller because I think I might want to add additional lights later. This would allow for different lights to be on and controlled remotely. Steve’s LED’s offers nice 3 way led chips that You could switch more blue for veg and more red for flower. I do understand the lights work as is out of the box, but I wouldn’t mind a bit of fine tuning. Or is adding additional lighting just unnecessary? I know you’re no expert, but I don’t mind opinions.
I suppose switching LED’s with a switch is always the cave man option. Thanks for the help. I’ll tag you probably in a couple of weeks when I make that commitment. I love do it yourself projects. Makes me feel successful in the end when finished.
Thanks @Countryboyjvd1971 for mentioning the full spectrum. The only thing that is missing is UV/ and IR end of the spectrum. I’m considering adding them seperately at a later date. Your thoughts on that?
I appreciate anyone else I forgot that may have mentioned something. Anyone reading this feel free to weigh in at anytime. Anything for educational purposes!
@yoshi the LED’s you suggested just don’t have the coverage I need for a 4x8 area but are very respectable extremely bright and efficient. It’s a another source that is viable to suggest in the future. I like the red flowering option the most.
In my opinion, leave the controller to possibly controlling those other spectrums if you decide later. Also my opinion, the benefits from adding those additional leds won’t justify the cost. @Countryboyjvd1971 suggested full spectrum, he can clarify. But full spectrum is generally referred to as 400-700 nm. And Cree cobs should produce at least some intensity at those wavelengths, making them indeed full spectrum.
Rapid sells the 90 cri 3000k, may be worth seeing if that’s an option. Otherwise yes I’d say 3000k or 3500k in 80 cri. Check the last few posts in diy thread to see an example of 80 cri vs 90 cri.
As far as the dimming goes, those drivers are available in a and b models. Both will dim. The “a” models have a built in potentiometer that allows to be dimmed from 50% output to 100% output with a screwdriver. The “b” version comes with a cable to hook up an external or remote dimmer. The easiest way is using 100k pot with 10k resistor. Depending on size of meanwell, most are not rated for dim to off, so the resistor is a safety measure to keep from dimming completely off. When installed like that, you can dim from 10% output to about 105% output. Yes 105%! When the dimming circuit on “b” version is opened, they’re actually about 105-108% of rated output. You also have the ability to buy a 50k pot and 5k resistor and dim two drivers on a linear scale equally. You can also do with a 0-10v dimming circuit, or pwm. But those are more complicated circuits that do the same exact thing in this case.
