Let's talk DIY lights

So you think add one more 1120 and run at 1050 would get me near same lumens running at 75% so another say 24$ for another strip 10 $ in u channel and how mu h more would the driver be for 6 in stead of 5 eb 1120s running 1050 I would like to be able to run at 1400 if I wanna move it to a flower room … what temp in Fahrenheit is optimal and what temp us max tolerable without breaking stuff for extended period of time … say 12 hours at a clip

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I’m not sure, I didn’t run the math that way. There’s not a good fit in meanwell driver application to run 6 of them in series. The 1050ma hlg-320 has line potential of 305 volts which exceeds connector rating. Your space is 2.5 ‘x5’ right? If it was me, I’d probably go with two hlg-185’s at 700ma and 560mm strips.

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Naw this is for the veg cabinet that’s 18" x48" and that’s getting a little pricey I’d rather do the 5 then and run at 1050 … how much is a 1050 say 165ish watt range with dimmable driver gonna run me

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If you’re only going to be vegging 6 square feet, why don’t you just put 4 or 5 1120mm strips on hlg-185h-c700a.

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What’s the lumen on that set up u suggest I’ve come to this idea 2 separate 5x560s

45 bucks one thing I was not sure about it says 6 pin connector where does that co e into playing also want to be able to use it for flower in future and would like to build another one of these maybe 2 more to replace the 400hps in the future do you think a light of that stature can compete with a 400 hps in flower I know hps has 55000 lumens that’s quite a bit but I know you said lumens aren’t everything from what I hear and read 5 1120s or 10 560s at 1050 should be able to side by side a 400 hps …

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You don’t need a driver that big to hit your target is what I’m saying. Hlg 185 is $15 cheaper than hlg240. Doesn’t really matter if you run 560’s or 1120’s.

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I haven’t been able to find anything cheaper that can handle that the hlg 240s I see are 59$

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Oh duh u said hlg 185

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Ya, it’s a 200 watt driver. You can load it full with 14 560mm or 7 1120mm strips at 700ma. 5 1120mm strips at 700ma would put you right where you want to be.

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Here’s the parts list for a 400 watt DIY Veg only light built with Citizen CLU048-1212 80cri .


That’s under $350 for a light that’ll grow some badass plants.
Can’t beat it for a great light. Thanks for the guidance on the 1st one.

Pepe

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Awesome job and thanks for the detailed parts list with pricing. That’s probably cheaper than anything I’ve done with cobs.

Merry Christmas brother!

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So with those cobs there is no separate driver you just wire up the light in series…to what kind of converter to take 110 down to what ever volts they are… or are they strait 110s… the perimeter you listed is that basicly you dimmer… see before I started even growing weed indoor I was hearing about led led led… and @OldSkunk hit my vision right on the head… would that board exactly in half cut the price pretty much in half seems pretty strait forward beside the power cord and dimmer… @dbrn32 what do you feel would he the superior light what pepe did or 400 watts at 1050 1120 eb,gen2s I’m leaning tword 1050 over 700 I dont need electric saving I dont pay electric at my place and I want to be 110% on light (lumens and watt not worried about the cost of the delivery) want a quality light with high capability and high efficiency when turned down but I want potential…I’m leaning tword the 2 separate 5x 560s and I can build more identical lights and add them as the money comes in but I’d like to build the 2 at once …I’m going to build these 2x 5x560s with a single driver and each panel I build after this build will be 5x560s with a single driver on it… being able to build them for well under 100$ each seeming like I can build them for less then 75$ per panel

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The 2 panel will be the center peice and I can add single board wings to each side first one will be 4foot and 2 foot panel additions in future might make them a little crooked so there just under 4 and 2 feet so I can fit inside my 6 foot space I’m building a ac stand to get that up off the ground to utilize that space for plants but originally need the 4 footer for veg but it will find a new home

What heat sinks did you use? That’s a great price for the whole build. I’m planning to expand my grow area by quite a bit over the next few months. That price would make lighting it easier.

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He needs drivers, just forgot to list them. Good catch.

1050ma is fine, but you’ll have an issue finding 100 watt dimming driver that size at 1050ma. Would be easier to do running all 10 strips from same driver, giving up dimming, or going to lower current.

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We were talking about the hlg 185 yesterday and you said they were 25$ cheaper then the ELG 240 I couldn’t find much of anything bigger or smaller cheaper then that can you drop a link of one that much cheaper if you know where to get it

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And a merry Christmas to you too my friend

Pepe

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A short answer about why I used COBs over QBs is that I bought 20 heatsinks for $10.50 each and Rob helped me work with what I had. I was an engineering tech at Boeing, so I knew how to make aluminum plates work to my advantage.

Pepe

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Math came out to 259.50 pepe not to be so critical but I was like jesus that’s super cheap but once you add 400 watts worth of driver and or buy a good power cord (I understand you can use any3 prong appliance whip but not everyone got broken appliances laying around) seems like your going to be right back to around 1$ /watt at 400 watts

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I said

And the hlg-185 is about $46 and hlg-240 about $60. I never mentioned elg driver because I was assuming you were wanting to run on 120v. The elg series drivers derate output current when input voltage is that low.

I don’t even remember where we started with this. You said you wanted about a 165 watt light for 18”x48” space right? That sounds fine to me. I just suggested there was no reason to buy a 250 watt driver when a 200 watt driver will do that and is cheaper. Then you wanted two fixtures, which is fine by me too. But all of the constant current drivers have minimum and maximum operating voltage range.

In grand scheme of things, I don’t really care what you decide to do. But you reached out for help, so I at least feel obligated to tell you what will and won’t work. And then beyond that, where even if something will work what may not be greatest idea. Anything meanwell makes in hlg c series under 150 watt driver isn’t available in 1050ma output current. So you need to be flexible somewhere in your build. Either go with one driver, give up dimming, or change output current. At least as far as my understanding of what you’re trying to do.

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