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So I seen this sketch you did for a vero fixture.
Love it reading more in the diy light thread
Ordering parts soon
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it depends on which way you’re going to orient the rails? And the price you found on Vero 29?
I think the vero se that’s solderless will be more difficult to attach optics to. Luminous or citi cobs and buying ideal holder is probably not anymore expensive, and will accept at least a reflector better. Most of that is heavily dependent on the heat sink you get for wire routing. I’ve never installed lens on anything, so I’m not 100% sure.
Personally I would opt for the 90cri over the 80 regardless of color temp. But they’ll all grow weed. So if there’s a reason you think that’s better, fine by me.
I have a quote from kingbrite in my inbox. $55 to ship 6 heatsinks. The low prices aren’t all they appear to be. Much cheaper to get them domestically. In which case, you’re not limited to what he has as far color temp goes either.
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About 22 bucks per bulb
I like the cxb3590 but read about the addition parts you need for install
Heard all you need is to tap the veros straight to your heatsink and no holder needed
Same specs as the cxb but seemed like an easier way to go
Which citi or luminous cobs would you recommend
Drawing looks like it would work. Technically I’m pretty sure they all have holes that can be fastened directly to heatsink. What you would be concerned about is the solderlees connection and whether the heatsink is drilled and tapped for the holder or drilled and tapped for the holes that are in cob right? Some may accept both, but that depends on where the sink comes from.
The only vero that comes with built in holder like that ends part number with se. the se line comes from factory with what I believe is bjb holder already installed. A vero gen 7 without se designation is going to come just like a cree, citizen, or luminous cob. So make sure you’re looking at right parts. I don’t exactly have a preference here, just pointing out the potential issues with optics. That vero se is more difficult to fit.
Another thing, is that if you’re chasing standard 50 watt performance, you’ll need to be in the 52 volt vero 29 citi or luminous cobs. The 36 volt versions a little behind the cree at that power level to best I’ve seen. The 50 volt cobs are a little more funky to fit on drivers too. I don’t see anything wrong with going to 75ish watt cob, but I would definitely ditch the 36 volts if that’s the case. Covering a 6’ span will be more difficult that way though. Not a lot of single drivers to run 5 75 watt cobs well, and 4 may be a little shy of 6’ spread. I’m not sure, never tried it.
Gotcha
I can drill and tap the heatsinks myself and I am alright with soldering
Explore more options really seems like the cxb3590s are the way to go
Looks like at least 3-4 drivers per fixture then.
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This is of the 36 volt cobs at 50 watts or less, they are the most efficient. Change power, or operating voltages and that is not necessarily the case. The other side of that, you can give up a little efficiency and run a different 36 volt cob that will cost half as much.
I don’t really care how you do it lol. I’m just trying to give you all the information. If you like the ease of 36 volt cob that citi 1216 is only giving up something like 3% to the cxb I think and it’s half the price.
The other thing, you’re only really limited to like 4 cobs per driver going with the higher powered. 5-50 watt cobs per driver usually isn’t an issue, especially in the 36v.
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Yup it’s a goody!!and hope your grow plenty of wicked pain relief 
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If you can get a heat sink already tapped for your COB, that makes it much easier. I found that tapping the aluminum heat sinks for the M3 screws to mount Vero29s was difficult. Broke one tap and had to do the alum soak trick to get the tap stump out. I got smarter as I went along:
Later, I mounted the Vero29 using M3 machine screws and bolts on a 2" x 3" x 1/4 inch piece of copper. No tapping required. Then I mounted the big piece of copper on the aluminum heat sink using tapped holes for 8-32 machine screws. Much stronger tap. You need to make some holes in the aluminum for the M3 screw heads, but those holes are tiny compared to 6 square inches of copper for transferring the heat. You also need thermal goo under the COBs AND between the copper and the aluminum. But the heat transfer is almost twice that of COB against aluminum. And looking at high performance microprocessor heat sinks I see that a lot of the good ones use a copper heat spreader against the chip.
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Right on @1BigFella always appreciate your insight and advice
I think I am gonna build out the primary space and as suggested I am going to section it off
So primary space I have will be roughly 6’x10’
I am going to split the space in half
So that way I can build just one or two fixtures to cover just one space for now so I can get a few plants inside to finish. This will cut my expected light build cost in half.
Right now I have the cash but being that I am only working here and there instead of a regular 9-5 I am hesitant to spend the cash to build fixtures for the whole room so I feel better now that I have decided to build it as a split set up. Thanks again for you time
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Right on thanks @dbrn32
I was rackin my brain on the cost of lighting the entire space
I am an eager beaver so when the wife gifted me the space I was convinced to do it right and do it all at once
I picked up most of my materials to build out the space and am under $100 not including what ever wall treatment I go with still not sure what I want to use.
Then I started pricing what it would cost to light the space and do it right and its a hard number to wrap my head around. Have the funds to do it but the only money I am bringing in right now is my lil side jobs they are kinda steady but I was making alot more money before so I decided to split the space in half as suggested and build cob fixtures for one space for now then make adjustments and build more fixtures later.
That way I have a good space now and get to keep my cash in the bank for now
Thanks again for all the help
I am still researching and pricing stuff
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So what are we looking at for room size now?
I think you’ll find 3 x 5 more easily manageable. If you get behind on funds like I did, you can veg under a homemade fixture with a bunch of these 4000k LED bulbs
Then you can build or buy a good light for flowering @Growit
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Right on
So this is what I think I am gonna get
What do you guys think of the kit
I tried on a couple sites to put a package with the same components and could not get it under 950 so I think the kit , though it has a hefty price tag it seems like a good bang for buck fixture.
@dbrn32
@1BigFella
@OldSkunk
It is a luminus build kit from rapid led.
I priced all the exact parts separately at a couple places and could not get everything within the price that they are sellin this kit for
Alibaba/kingbrite is out due to shipping costs and wait times
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I like it. They have that kit listed as 5x5 solution or 4x4?
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