Questions regarding Quantum Boards

[Gimik]

After reading around on the forums it seems like the general consensus is Quantum Board LED's are the way to go. I just have some questions.

I'm going to be running a 4x4 tent with probably 4 plants. How much lighting is going to be necessary for this setup?

I was thinking about getting 4 of the QB288 V2 with the LM301b diodes @ 4000K.

Thoughts?

 

[Stunned]

I would go 3000K if you plan for the lights to do all around growing

 

[Gimik]

Yeah I plan to do full cycle with the lighting. The reason I was thinking 4000k was because I have two 150w-HPS lights I plan to add during the flowering phase but I'm open to suggestion.

Also, do you think 4 of the QB288's will be enough?

 

[DrDoob]

I have four of them in a 4’x4’ they do alright. I added a light rail to move them back and forth slightly and I feel like I have just enough lighting.

In my other 4’x4’ tent I have three 288s and four 132s and I like it better.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Get 3000k.

4x 288 is nice for 4x4 and will be very good for 4 plants since you have a lamp for each plant.
6x 288 is full light saturation.

 

[Gimik]

Get 3000k.

4x 288 is nice for 4x4 and will be very good for 4 plants since you have a lamp for each plant.
6x 288 is full light saturation.

You say you run 6 288's in a 4x4? Seems like it would be really crowded in the tent. How many plants do you run when you use 6?

Also, Is it going to be necessary to use a heat sink with every QB?

 

[PurpleGunRack]

You say you run 6 288's in a 4x4? Seems like it would be really crowded in the tent. How many plants do you run when you use 6?

Also, Is it going to be necessary to use a heat sink with every QB?

Plenty room for 6 288 boards, but by all means start out by getting 4, it's well nice for 4x4
Number of plants, depends on grow style and pot size, not the light.

288 diode boards need heatsinks, 132 and 120 boards doesn't, but personally I heatsink everything.

 

[Gimik]

What i'm having a tough time finding out is how many watts it pulls from the wall, what the light penetration is like/how far I need to hang above canopy, how many drivers I need for 4 288', whether I can adjust wattage or not etc.

The concept of quantum boards is weird to me, i'm used to using big 5w diodes as opposed to these 0.3w diodes so i'm having trouble wrapping my head around the information i'm reading online.

 

[Stunned]

what it pulls from the wall is entirely up to you (within specs)
an HLG-240H will pull anywhere from 150 to 260 watts on the B version I think???
the light penetration has been well documented
LED Gardener - Learn to Grow With LEDs
2 above drivers for 4 boards, do pairs
there's nothing weird about Quantum Boards

 

[PurpleGunRack]

What i'm having a tough time finding out is how many watts it pulls from the wall, what the light penetration is like/how far I need to hang above canopy, how many drivers I need for 4 288', whether I can adjust wattage or not etc.

The concept of quantum boards is weird to me, i'm used to using big 5w diodes as opposed to these 0.3w diodes so i'm having trouble wrapping my head around the information i'm reading online.

30w - 170w AC per board, but I don't recommend going much over 135w per board.

Penetration depends on 3 things: diode count, diode density and how hard you run them.
In flower the 288's have nice penetration.

In flower keep them ~15cm above the tops and back away if tops get light burn.


For 4 288's you need 1, 2 or 4 drivers based on the number of individual lamps you want, I always recommend as many lamps as possible when using 288's.

Forget about ye olde mono diodes, they're dead and soon to be buried

DSC03746.JPG

• PurpleGunRack
• Oct 18, 2018

DSC03749.JPG

• PurpleGunRack
• Oct 18, 2018

 

[Gimik]

30w - 170w AC per board, but I don't recommend going much over 135w per board.

If they can get turned up to 170w why do you recommend not going much higher than 135w? Does it burn out the boards? or just begin to generate too much heat for only passive cooling? Also, how much better is HLG's Slate 2 heatsink compared to the Slate 1? Trying to save money where I can!

In flower keep them ~15cm above the tops and back away if tops get light burn.

You're saying it has good penetration during flower, am I able to use these boards from seed all the way to flower? Or are they only useful for veg/flower and not so much from seed?

For 4 288's you need 1, 2 or 4 drivers based on the number of individual lamps you want, I always recommend as many lamps as possible when using 288's.

If I plan on only running four plants with each plant getting its own lamp how many drivers do i need? I saw online I can wire a driver to 2 lamps?

I really appreciate the feedback, I'm working 50hr work weeks so it's hard for me to find time to do enough research into these QB's so it really helps that I can ask questions on here =)

 

[Gimik]

Has anybody tried using a HLG 550 V2 3000K in a 4x4 tent? I found a supplier on Alibaba that has same specs as HLG but for 1/3 the price.

It's come down to either 4x QB288 (3000K) or 1x HLG 550 V2 (3000K)

 

[Chris Scorpio]

I think they would perform very similar

I like my qb132 bds. I can have then as close as 8" or so, or a bit higher in veg

Was a great diy project and very affordable

 

[GrizzWald]

Im really lost.. Do you need 4 x 288 v2 in 4x4? And up to 6? Thats 1040w-1560w and between $2000-$3000 to light up 16square feet? (Im sure there's cheaper supplies)..... Do you mean 135s maybe? Hopefully, lol... Specs say 1 288 will flower 2x4, so only two should be needed

 

[DrDoob]

Im really lost.. Do you need 4 x 288 v2 in 4x4? And up to 6? Thats 1040w-1560w and between $2000-$3000 to light up 16square feet? (Im sure there's cheaper supplies)..... Do you mean 135s maybe? Hopefully, lol...

I have 4 x 288 v2s in a 4x4 and they don’t use that many watts or cost that much. They use about 480w and cost about $700 from Timber.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

4 bds, not 4 sets of 2 bds

Im really lost.. Do you need 4 x 288 v2 in 4x4? And up to 6? Thats 1040w-1560w and between $2000-$3000 to light up 16square feet? (Im sure there's cheaper supplies)..... Do you mean 135s maybe? Hopefully, lol... Specs say 1 288 will flower 2x4, so only two should be needed

 

[GrizzWald]

4 boards not 4 sets of 2 boards... Does that mean 4 135s for a 4x4? How many Watts to run a 4x4

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Each bd, qb288, has 288 diods
Usually sold, built, in 2 bd Combos

Like mine

Wanna say each board is about 140w

 

[DrDoob]

4 boards not 4 sets of 2 boards... Does that mean 4 135s for a 4x4? How many Watts to run a 4x4

I’ve read somewhere a good guide is 30w to 50w per square foot. So my 480w is the minimum according to wherever I read that.

It’s kind of subjective. In my other 4’x4’ tent I have 3 288s running at 320w and 4 132s running at 200w and I feel like that is plenty.

 

[GrizzWald]

Ok, think I'm with it... Similar to what I run my 3590 at.. 50wsf is perfect for them.. I had thought the qb were more efficient again...