Build Your Own LED Grow Light

[bluter]

Hi All

I found
Fanleaf's 1st Grams Per Watt Grow Under The 25 Cree COBS

gpw thread first - liked his 25 COB setup, so moved on to PurpleGunRack's
Build Your Own LED Grow Light 42 COB diy build thread and then found this thread. So, I've done a fair bit of reading over last week or so and made some progress in remembering and applying my ancient High School and first year physics electronics. But, I have no "hands-on" experience for more than 45 years in actually building anything electronic (last project was a shortwave valve radio transmitter - in about 1971 or 1972!)

So, if I ask questions that make me seem a bit slow - I am - I'm old!

OK. Thanks greatly to PurpleGunRack - and others for all the detailed explanations you have posted to date. You've got me enthused and I just have to build a 4 x4 light. I was planning to use bridgelux BXEB-L1120Z-35E4000-C-B3‎ (gen2) strips and to run on a Meanwell constant current driver with strips in series.

I know the test current in the Bridgelux datasheet is 700mA, but I believe that would be running strips at about 50% of capacity.

If I go to the HGL-240H-C1050A I should be able to drive up to 75% when needed (and down to 37.5% if I use the built in potentiometer to dim)?

Just a few questions - if someone might be kind enough to help:

my calcs tell me I can run 6 of these strips off one driver - comes in just under the max voltage of the driver output, but I think wattage for 6 strips at 1050mA is 246Watts. Is this going to be an issue?

I would run a total of 12 strips off two drivers in a 4 x 4' build for a max wattage (running at 1050mA) of 490watts .

If this sounds OK, my next question is how much hotter are the strips likely to run at 1050mA rather than 700mA and would attaching with thermal tape or silicone paste to 1.2m x 25mm x 2mm aluminium strips be adequate as heatsinks?

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments.

not positive those strips are available any more. at any rate they have been superseded. top chipset right now is a samsung lm301 (lm301b - lm301h). much more efficient and a better emitter. you can get those in strips.

for dimming on mean well drivers chose a hlg b series - they come with external dimming.

for more up to date info on building led diy lighting check out led gardener dot com.

for the newest tech check out quantum boards. they come as an easy to build kit. bit less than half the work of the strips to get up and running.

 

[BigDannel]

not positive those strips are available any more. at any rate they have been superseded. top chipset right now is a samsung lm301 (lm301b - lm301h). much more efficient and a better emitter. you can get those in strips.

for dimming on mean well drivers chose a hlg b series - they come with external dimming.

for more up to date info on building led diy lighting check out led gardener dot com.

for the newest tech check out quantum boards. they come as an easy to build kit. bit less than half the work of the strips to get up and running.

Do you (or anyone) have suggestions on where to source parts for a DIY build? The first post in this thread lists an Alibaba distributor and says it's reliable, but then others have stated to avoid it. Any feedback? Either someone who's bought from Alibaba or other reasonable suggestions?

 

[Big Sparks]

Try Horticultural Lighting Group HLG for short. Or look up Rapid LED.

 

[BigDannel]

Try Horticultural Lighting Group HLG for short. Or look up Rapid LED.

HLG is great but I'm looking for much cheaper options... like the guy that HLG sources their parts from lol.

Is it possible to buy individual diodes and make your own board or strip?

 

[AdaminCO]

@Budget LED has a DIY kit I believe.

 

[Slicknick909]

HLG is great but I'm looking for much cheaper options... like the guy that HLG sources their parts from lol.

Is it possible to buy individual diodes and make your own board or strip?

I believe HLG sources direct from Samsung so no luck there. You can try alibaba but it's a roll of the dice as to if you're getting actual lm301b diodes not some junk like epistar or a knockoff of a knockoff.

 

[BigDannel]

I believe HLG sources direct from Samsung so no luck there. You can try alibaba but it's a roll of the dice as to if you're getting actual lm301b diodes not some junk like epistar or a knockoff of a knockoff.

Thanks, looks like I'll need to try to grease someone who works at Samsung

 

[Slicknick909]

Thanks, looks like I'll need to try to grease someone who works at Samsung

Hope you're fluent in Chinese lol

 

[BigDannel]

Hope you're fluent in Chinese lol

Wayne's World taught me all the Chinese I know... this might be difficult

"I'll have the Cream of Sum Yung Guy" hopefully is interpreted as "I need bulk pricing for lm301h diodes"

 

[Nunyabiz]

Nothing beats a DIY LM301B strip light for efficiency and cost.
I spent about $380 for each of my lights for 325w that puts out over 1300 PPFD at 18".
I have to run mine dimmed down to about 225-250w because it's just too intense, too much light until the final two weeks in flower.
I dim to about 900-1000 PPFD.

Buts it's there if I need it, plus it gives me years more use because I rarely run them full blast, they run super cool, in fact most of the time cant even tell they are on they aren't even warm.
And after several years they will start to lose some PPFD output but I have at least 100w extra I rarely use so they can lose 30% and still be fine.

Nobody sells anything close to that for $380.
Got to build it yourself.

I chose the Pacific Light Concepts strip (Photoboost Strips) because they had the spectrum, the diodes, and the quality of construction I was looking for, but iam sure there are others out there just as good.

 

[Stunned]

Or look up Rapid LED.

For Da Damn Win Baby!!!!!!!
I love those guys.
Very nice work
It's utterly apprrent when people give a fuck about what they do
Highly recommended

 

[Stunned]

Anyone that wants insight on what/could/should be done with LED lighting should read through this thread.
Should be stickied IMO

 

[leblanca]

So after getting pretty high power bill from running 2X 1000W HPS bulb on my new tent setup i decided to build my own LED setup to save on power.
I decided to go with COB and build 2X 4 X 4 grid of 16 cob so total 32 cob.
The cob selected are CXM-22-HM-61-54-AC30, I hesitated and contacted the manufacturer as the MIGRO LED are using the gen4 chip and this one is the gen3 but the manufacturer told me there would be more light in the specific spectrum for plant growth with the HS series compared to the gen4 series. I'm sure eventually there will be a gen4 HS version of the chip, it's just not there yet.
Each cob will be driven at a maximum of 56W so 51.5V at 1.1A, I intend to dim it down as this would pull about 900W for 16 cob.
The driver selected is HLG-240H-54A as I'm powering my system with 120V, there will be 1 driver per 4 cob all located remotely outside the tent for a total of 8 driver.
The chip holder is a LUMAWISE Z50 HOLDER 2828 GENERAL
Some thermal pad THERM PAD 228.6MMX228.6MM GRAY
Found some heatsink online and got 32 of those Heatsink
Will use some L aluminium bracket 1in and make the frame to support the heatsink.
Will run some 18 AWG solid core to each series of cob in parallel from the driver outside the room.
Its an expansive setup but im hoping it will out perform my HPS bulb with slightly less power and heat.
Has anyone used the HM series of light from Luminus?

 

[BubbleBucketz]

Trying to build my own light right now....I can not for the love of God figure out the wiring. I got 16 strips with two 240 meanwell drivers.

 

[leblanca]

Depends what meanwell 240 driver you have, do you have a constant voltage or constant current, depending which on you have you wire in parralel or series.

 

[BubbleBucketz]

Depends what meanwell 240 driver you have, do you have a constant voltage or constant current, depending which on you have you wire in parralel or series.

xlg-240-h-a is the driver I have..2 of them for 16 samsung strip lights

 

[BubbleBucketz]

This is the light..

 

[Nunyabiz]

Seems to be almost identical to the lights I built.
8 strips per light per driver.

I went with a Meanwell HLG-320H-C1400B driver wired like this.

 

[BubbleBucketz]

Seems to be almost identical to the lights I built.
8 strips per light per driver.

I went with a Meanwell HLG-320H-C1400B driver wired like this.

Would I be ok with copying how that is wired for mine?

 

[leblanca]

From what i see the xlg does 27 to 56v and 2400 to 6600mah depending what voltage you use.
Knowing that we need to know what what voltage the led strip operate at and how much AH they draw at that voltage.
What is the model # of the light strip?