Thanks, neighbor at our shop is a metal fab guy. Going to dig through his surplus.
Will I need thermal tape?
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This makes perfect sense if you have a supply of aluminum to do a diy strip build.
You will need thermal tape.
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Actually, you won’t need any thermal tape going with the 288 boards. Even the kits running them at nearly max current don’t use thermal tape. What you will want to do is make sure your aluminum surface is flat. Like sanded with 150, then 240ish then something like a 400 wet/dry. Then clean the life out of it.
The thought process there is as long as the surfaces are in good contact, it’s a good enough thermal bond. If you wanted to go above and beyond, I would go with ultra thin layer of thermal paste, but it’s a giant pain in the ass and unnecessary. Especially at lower currents.
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Perfect!
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My hps friend I converted went with these. 16 of them! He’s using 4mm aluminum plates for heatsinks.
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Hey @dbrn32 I found these for sale. Think it would be wise to just purchase these with a compatible driver instead of spending an extra 200$+ on a light that I have to assemble anyway? I have plenty of aluminum sheeting at work to make a heat sink.
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Maybe. Hard for me to tell you exactly what is most convenient when I’m not in your scenario. But, you could build a nice light with them. Usually put 4 qb120 boards on meanwell hlg-240h-c2100a driver. Those boards won’t need any additional aluminum for heatsink either.
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Cool much appreciated! I’m trying to dip my toes into building my own light.
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A 4 pack of 120 boards is a great way to start. They make ideal light for 2x4 or 3x3.
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Yeah I was thinking of building one to match the 320xl I have in my 5x5.
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So more inline then. You should maybe check prices on the double f-series gen 3 from Samsung. I think three of the 1120mm would fit nicely on a hlg-320h-c2100.
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Will do. Thanks man
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No problem.
I’m going with two separate drivers also. If one fails at least there would be four boards still running. Accident prevention lol
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Good choice
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Dbrn, I’m looking at light meters. Want a quality meter, but looking to purchase something on the relatively affordable side.
Thoughts on this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-LGBQM-Quantum-Micromol-Sensor/dp/B0055F59LA/?tag=greenrel-20
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I’ve never used one, but reviews on amazon don’t look very good.
Do you have a laptop? If so, I would maybe take a look at apogee sq-420 or sq-520. Going to cost more, but getting higher quality meter with a lot more potential.
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I’ll check it it.
Curious, why do I need a laptop? To work with the meters?
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And yes, it needs a lapto! Thanks. Now let’s see if they work with the worlds BEST computers…
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Sorry, busy at work today. Did you get one?
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