I know @MAXHeadRoom and someone else on this board (cant remember who right now) built lights using Quantum Boards and components from this company.
I just got off the phone with Horticulture Lighting and was told this would work great in a 5x5 tent with no additional lighting needed. Was also told that this light will run cooler then my Mars Hydro.
I’m currently running a Mars Hydro 960watt, 400 true watt light in a 3x3 tent with 45watts psf. and having great results. I was told by Horticulture that I would have even more watts per sf using this light in a 5x5, and would only be using 515 watts for the results I’m looking for.
A $1000 is a ton to pay for a light that wont make the grade! Will this light do it for me?
HLG550 indoor horticulture LED Lamp is designed to replace a single ended 1000W HID replacement. Each lamp uses 4 of our custom designed High efficiency white light Quantum Boards. With a total of 1152 Top Bin Samsung LM561C S6 LED’s, this fixture produces 1265 PPF with just 515 Watts.
Clear Anodized Aluminum
Top Features
•High efficiency white light Quantum Boards
•White Light Full Spectrum for better results
•Reliable passive cooled design
•Better canopy light penetration with diffused light
•Ideal for veg and bloom
•Dimmable Power Supply included
@Rugar89 thank you so much for considering my opinion!
The hlg is awesome light for the price, possibly the best for what you’re looking to do. That being said, a like it a lot better in a 4x4 than a 5x5. But it will absolutely smoke the light you’re currently using. See par chart… 260 ųmols at edge 4x4 you could probably expect about 150 ųmols at edge in 5x5. However those numbers were taken in open air. With reflective coating on tent, I’d probably expect it to be mid 200’s and in the mid 300’s back at the 4x4 mark at 24". And honestly, that’s probably good enough. Probably similar to directly underneath an amazon 300w model at 18" inches. It won’t be the rock solid huge buds you’ll get in the middle, but hardly fluff.
I’ll say the only way to beat it would be to get cob fixture with 16-20 cobs, and that’s gonna drive the price up considerably.
For what it’s worth, this is pretty much the same light max built for around $600. If you can get the components, we can help you. If you’re not into that I completely understand. Just an option to save $.
I would love to make my own LED like @MAXHeadRoom did but I just don’t have time or knowledge to do so at this time. But from what I’ve read those quantum boards are supposed to be pretty good. For me I’ll stick to my 600w HID until the price comes down on those.
I haven’t ever built any thing like this before, but not opposed to building one with some help. But this has now got me thinking. What if I was to build a light with 6 boards instead 4? Or 2 lights with 3 boards each? I would still probably be at or under the price of buying the HLG550, and it would better fit the foot print of a 5x5 tent. I could always turn it down some if needed using the dimmable power supply.
Sky is the limit! And if you’re already thinking quantam board, probably as easy as it gets. I’m not sure what they have in stock currently, but they offer linear heatsinks in 1, 2, and 3 board configurations. So if you can get them, any combination and configuration you can come up with. Also, I think there are a few youtube video showing testing of the boards, abd building a few configurations. It may be in your best interest to check some of those out to get a general idea, and then come back with ideas or questions.
And yes, pretty much all of the drivers you’d want to consider are dimmable. Some from the driver itself, others offer you the option of using an additional 0-10 volt signal, pwm, or a simple resistance dimmer.
@MAXHeadRoom
What spacing did you use for your boards/heat sinks for your 4x4 tent? Thinking of going with 6 boards instead of four for a 5x5 tent. And what heat sinks did you use? Slate 3?
Yes I did build a light just like that EXCEPT my board spacing was a bit wider (6 inches short axis and 9 inches long axis) and I used QB304 Boards instead of the 288s and I downsized my drivers (2-Mean Well HLG 240H-C1050B) to run at 75% which is more efficient. I also used there slate 3 heat sinks and attached them to an aluminum frame that I built. The wattage came in at 495 running full blast.
I had never built a light before but it really wasn’t all that hard.