DIY driverless COBs for veg

[Mikesem420]

So I was surfing the web for new cob leds the other day and I came across a 4 pack of 50w full spectrum driverless cob leds for half price since 1 was damaged. I ordered a heatsink and scavenged another from an old broken pc I'm just waiting on 12v transformers to get here so i can power up the unit on 1 cord I'm using sperate 12v power supply for fans right now.

I've been told the driverless cobs are less efficient then traditional driver powered cobs an I dont have a par meter to give any concrete data on the performance but I did take a watt reading at the wall there pulling 64 actuall watts. The first one I built has a 60 degree optic on it heatsink with the 12v fan.

As far as I can tell for my veg closet these are awesome there so cheap if you buy in bulk it's like dollars a piece for the cobs. all you need is a cheap heatsink, fan, an some basic knowledge of wiring/soldering. The one thing that is kinda sketchy is they are running right off of the 110v so you gotta be careful to wire properly other than that there great. I'm going to try to build a larger 5-10 cob rig next. I'm going to use 3000k driverless cobs on a large heatsink with multiple fans for my flowering tent in theory I should be able to produce 250w or 500w actuall wattage cob led modules for half if not less of what a already built cob led would cost...

So you tell me I've had this light running for 2 cycles of 18/6 so far my gorilla glue is loving it... I'm only using these stupid burple chips in my veg because it was supposed to be just a test to see if they even work because the 4 pack was so cheap now that I think they obviously do I'm gona order the new 10 pack of 3000-3500k does anyone have any input??

 

[TorturedSoul]

What do you end up paying per assembled unit? Please keep us updated in regards to product longevity and how it performs for you.

 

[Mikesem420]

It comes out to like 30$ for everything 23.99 for heatsink,fan,and optic but you have to buy the chips in bulk if you buy 1 it's like 8.99 if you get 2 its 15.99 if you get a 10 pack it's like 34$ which is a really good deal. I'm more concerned with longevity as you said but as long as you use the right heatsink and fan and thermal paste they run about 85-90° on then infared thermometer which is good there rated at like 100°.

 

[Mikesem420]

Lights are working really good I have to say I'm actually pretty surprised.. I like the sansi bulb too it seems to be working very good for a 30w bulb.

I wired up another cob to an old CPU heatsink I also got a 12v transformer so I could just wire it to the same plug works good.

I ordered another 5, 50w 3000k cobs 1 from a different vendor faster shipping and 2, 100w 3000k cobs to test see if there worth it I order alot from China so its gona be awhile but I'll have a 50w 3000k chip Tuesday. I also order some cob strip lights might try to build a panel with them there so cheap it's a good way to practice my soldering I enjoy tinkering with leds even if there not the best of the best most efficient chips.

I have a veg tent coming tomorrow get the most from the chips. Plus I had to take the closet door off the track there getting so big ran out of room. So far so good no complaints other than the chips are a pain to solder.

 

[Mikesem420]

New veg tent came in going on almost a week of running the cobs with no issues 3000k coming today also will see how those compare..

 

[Mikesem420]

So I visually tested both the burple and the 3000k the burple cobs are really inefficient with out the optic you can tell by the plants response the side with optic had praying leaves the other not so much altho they did work with out the optic the light is blasted everywhere I dont think I would invest any amount of time or money on those.

The 3000k on the other hand seem to be working good with the 60° optic I would prolly run them as supplemental light in the flowering tent around the edges until I finish build my quantum board rig..

The cobs are cheap do they work yes but the big problem seems that the light needs to be focused to get any real results and the amount of power they pull 62watts at the wall adds up quick if you figure 12-17 of them for a 4x4 to get the necessary coverage that's 750+/- watts the par value is not good either especially with no optic so your wasting alot of power is what I'm saying it just doesnt make sense better off with quantum boards get 1000w of hps power at less than half the wattage at the wall or 100w bridgelux/cree cobs everyone wants the cheap way out but I think they have there uses maybe if your on a real tight budget they would be good but idt there a long term solution especially not the burple I wouldn't order more of those I still gotta test the 100w 3000k when they get here wish I had a par meter to show some actually data..

My overall opinion so far is spend the extra on a real quality light not a amazon box light specially not a burple light if your strapped for cash yea the 3000k ac cobs seem to work fine but I'd only use it as a temporary solution..

The only reason I have a burple light in my flower tent is it was a freebie a company trying to make good for a shityy light they sold me a while back so I stuck it in the tent why not its "1000w" burple free light lol only couple more weeks till harvest an I'm gona pull it out anyways..