Just bought some samsung PCB boards and could use advice on a driver

[Bobeuro]

hey guys I just got a few LM281 boards to play around with until i build something else. for the price i figure I can use it in an extra tent. so I got these boards

KQO 120W LED Grow Light PCB Boards with Samsung LM281B+ 3000K 5000K UV and IR Full Spectrum Panel

for 39 dollars for 2 i figure its not a big risk. this is the drivers the seller said would be best. since i have 2 boards Ill need 240w im sure. down the road if these work well i will buy at least 2 more maybe LM301Bs this next time. so yeah what driver would you guys pair these boards with? so what else will i need? a heatsink correct? mind you im wanting to keep costs low as i can so i can put more into the LM301 driver later. any help would be greatly appreciated
.

[Bulldognuts]

@dbrn32 is the one to help you with this.

[Bobeuro]

lol i think he was one who helped me decided to go with the quantum boards

[Bobeuro]

I found some ELG-240-48B drivers for under $50s but i hate to regret buying them if there is something better for close to same price.

[Bobeuro]

Im seeing that some kits come with a dimming option. could I wire a dimmer with the driver or will a driver have a dimmer included ? this kit has a nice dimmer i was trying to google and find one like this just the dimmer not the kit. I figured if i had a similar driver it would work the same as the kit in the picture right?

Im sorry for all the questions i hope someone is knowledgeable in this stuff and understands what i asking. I dont have a lot of cash and trying to make the best choices i can so any help is super awesome. thanks again

[HammerOfLight]

@Bobeuro

" could I wire a dimmer with the driver" - Yes if that model of driver has a dimming input connection.

"or will a driver have a dimmer included ? " - Some have a dimmer on board, some have an external connection, some have both and some have neither.

In addition, sometimes the driver mounted dimmer is accessed on the bottom of the driver, so you need to watch out for this in your mounting scheme.

See this example from a Mean Well driver data sheet:

[Bobeuro]

I actually found that dimmer outside the kit on amazon for 15 bucks so seems with it to get the Bs series meanwell drivers that allow the external dimmer. Ive heard the drivers with the internal dimmers are not easy to adjust.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071L9RG6M/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3K5WT4GOQ1GMO&psc=1

so this is what im looking at

LIGHT BOARD…KQO 120W LED Grow Light PCB Boards with Samsung LM281B+ 3000K 5000K UV and IR

DRIVER…# HLG-240H-48B

DIMMER…110v from picture above

WIRE… 18 gauge solid core wire ??? doe this sound right size and type wire?

HEATSINK… Length: Double (500mm / 19.69’’)
https://ledprofiles.com/products/qb-heatsinks?variant=31843094397039

Im hoping I have this stuff correct

[dbrn32]

Do you know for sure they are 48v boards? Also, what are the current ratings for the boards? Driver in kit above is 2100ma constant current, that is probably what I would go with if boards are rated for it.

Either way, if you are in US I would scratch all options with part number that starts with ELG.

[Bobeuro]

1.6mm High Thickness Aluminum PCB

1Oz (35um) Copper Layer

High Quality White OSP paint

Original SAMSUNG LEDs

SMD 2835 LEDs(3000K and 5000K), mixed 660nm Red LEDs (36pcs) CRI : >80

Circuit Design: 16S18P ( 16 Series, 18 Parallels)

Input Voltage: DC 40-48V

Input Current: 900~2700mA

Rated Power: 120W

Screw Type for Mounting: M4*10 (Screw is not included)

PPF: 2.76umol/S

KQO LED Grow light PCB Samsung lm281b+ LEDs with Red 660nm IR 730nm UV 395nm led pcb board

I found them on amazon for $39,99 for the pair and thought why not try them for that price. thank for the advice on the driver i will pay the little extra and get the HLG. it looks like they do recommend the 48v they say 40 to 48v… If anyone is interested in what i used to build this and how it turned out please feel free to reach out. I can post a parts list and costs and how i put it all together if it helps anyone. everyone has helped me so much Id like to know what i can do in return. anyway thanks again i may hit you up if i have any issues if thats ok

[dbrn32]

If they are 16s 18p 48v is good.

The reason you want to stay away from elg driver is because they only produce 75% of nameplate current when plugged into 120v circuit. So a 250 watt model is only capable of running leds closer to 200 watts. Other countries use 230v where they would produce full power.

If you’re looking for single driver to run two boards, I would probably go with hlg-240h-c2100a and wire the boards in series. That is about as hard as you would want to push them if max is 2700ma, and would come with built in dimmer 50-100%

[Bobeuro]

@dbrn32

hlg-240h-c2100a

So yes they came 2 for 39.99 which to me seemed like a decent deal for that board. Would this driver work?
MEAN WELL LED Driver Single Output Switching Power Supply - Current Adjustable by Output Cable, 48V 5A 240W - HLG-240H-48B

MEAN WELL LED Driver Single Output Switching Power Supply - Current Adjustable...

I went ahead a sprung for the 15 dollar external dimmer also that was why i thought that driver would be good. Im tempted to buy another set of these boards if this turns out good. are there cheaper drivers that would push these board or would it not be worth the risk? I was speaking to the chinese company that makes the mars hydro drivers. I cant believe a light thatt costs that much wouldnt use mean well drivers lmao but it only reinforces my decision to build my own. I also found a double heatsink for 30 bucks that is made for quantum boards so I think I have the right stuff here to get a good end result. im really thankful for the help you and this community has provided for me.

[dbrn32]

The driver will work, but will power boards near max current. If heatsink sucks and you’re using parallel configuration on cv driver opens the door thermal runaway problems. That’s why I recommended cc driver with a little lower current anyway. You could use external dimmer with either them, just need part number ending in B. I use to use them exclusively, but used A dimming 1 time and realized there wasn’t any reason to dim below 50% current, so why bother wasting money on additional equipment to dim below that.

Meanwell is considered the cheaper driver that will do what you want. There are definitely other drivers, but more expensive.

[Bobeuro]

thanks again @dbrn32… I didnt realize that they had a built in pot to adjust. I will keep that in mind now as i plan to build at least another 240w build. I actually spoke to the driver supplier for Mars Hydro lights. they were selling 240w driver samples for $20 but sadly the shipping costs about 20 to 25 to get to me. making total cost about 40 to 50 per driver. Im not sure if that would be worth it. I found one chinese company willing to sell samples of its 240w constant current drivers do you think these would be ok for future builds? if so I can 2 of these for the price i paid for just one of the HLG 240s. one more thing and ill leave you alone lol what percentage do you think I should run the 2x boards with the HLG 240 on? I plan to use them for mostly flowering as i have a veg tent also.

Luminous Efficacy(lm/w):
4000

Place of Origin:
China

Brand Name:
Fahold

Model Number:
FD-240E-054B

Output Power:
201 - 300w

Output Type:
Single

Input Voltage:
100-277V

Output Frequency:
50/60Hz

Output Current:
3.6-7.2A

Type:
Consant Current

Case Material:
Aluminium

Color:
Silver

Input range:
100-277Vac

Efficiency:
92%

IP Rate:
IP67/IP65

Protection:
Short-circuit Protection

Dimension:
2397538mm

Application:
LED Lighting Driver

[dbrn32]

May be worth trying, would really need to go over data sheet to know for sure. But the specs listed aren’t for a constant current driver.

[Bobeuro]

Have you seen the Sunboard versions of these? I can get these 4x with a meanwell and heatsinks full kit for 179.00 I cant find much reviews about these sunboards though

4x Sun Board 96 LED 3500k Samsung lm301b Strip Quantum Grow Light HLG Driver DIY

Im still waiting for my heatsink to come in the mail so i can build the first light lol but Im always looking for the next project

[dbrn32]

Which driver does it come with? 96 chips per board they probably have max power around 40 watts per board.

[Bobeuro]

they are running 4x on the HLG-150H-48A drivers.

so ill ask you one more question and leave you alone. serious super grateful for your help.

I found these XLG-240-H-A drivers they are are only 39.99
they are using these drivers to power 2x LM301 quantum boards in this amazon premade kit for 179.99.

Amazon.com: LM301B LED Board 240W LED Grow Light with Samsung LM301B Chips &...

does this seem like a decent setup for the price? I was thinking of just buying my own boards again and pairing them with XLG-240-H-A. the 2 boards were only 40 and driver is 40 and if this heatsink i ordered is ok it was about 40 after shipping so I could build another 240w setup with these materials for roughly $120 dollars. but would this even be worth my effort. I could get a couple LM301 boards to pair with it and still pay less than a premade light. Sorry im slightly on the poor side lol so im all about biggest bang for lowest amount but i dont wanna waste money either

these seem to have better boards for flowering which is what im looking for

[dbrn32]

It depends on how much you justify the savings vs not knowing the performance of the boards. If you are ok with potentially getting 10-15% less performance to save some money, then would likely be reasonable.

[Bobeuro]

ok so i took your advice about the driver and got a Hlg-240h c-2100a/. i think i got a good deal $49 with shipping brand new. now Im going to purchase a few of the samsung LM301 boards to pair with HLG-240H-48B that i already bought. im wanting to use these for flowering so when i go to pick my boards out should i get some that has IRs and the extra red spectrums or does the plain 3000k work best. do you have a certain supplier you trust for the boards? Im going to need 2 LM301b or h boards now to pair with the HLG-240H-48B I already have. this will make 2 set of 240w which should be enough for my 4x4 im thinking. thanks again im sure im a pain in the butt to you but i wont you to know your really helping me.

[dbrn32]

I would get boards that are warm white with additional 660nm leds for flowering.