Fanleaf's Huge 42 COB Array Build Plus Other Builds

Buckshot317 said:
I'm about to do away with tent, I have 12ft ceiling. So I'm thinking I need to build a table with wheels. I can move it, and don't have to bend over
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If you have a restaurant supplies store that sells second hand stuff, I saw a guy with plants on one of those stainless cafeteria carts with a handle on one side but flatbed. He put 5 gallons on it, the tops hit him crotch level. Slick.

Gauge
 
12 foot ceilings....... I am height challenged to reach my 8 foot ceiling. I got a 3 foot gripper arm so I can hang "S" hooks on my ceiling racks then hook ratcheting ropes to those.
DSC0032712.JPG


At first I was clipping the ropes directly to the racks but it proved to be too difficult to move them around with the plants in there. then I hit on the S- hook - gripper arm idea and that works well. My next grow will be a sativa dominant "Incredible Bulk" that can get really tall. so I have decided to use two ratcheting ropes hooked in opposite directions on each corner of the light; one that pulls up from the bottom and one that pulls up from the top. That way when I have pulled the lights up using the lower rope as far as I can reach I can then pull the light up using the other rope that pulls from the top. Does that make sense? I will post pictures when I get there. The reason for not just using one that pulls from the top alone is the release would be out of reach at the top and you cannot come back down to make small adjustments.

Hey a "metro cart" might be useful. They can be built to any shelf height you want!
cart1.jpg
 
Buckshot317 said:
Metro cart, that could work perfect. It's just how the house was built, it's how I ended up with 12ft ceiling in semi basement. Sometimes it's nice,but you always need damn ladder lol
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I wish I had about 1-2 feet more ceiling height in my basement. Dang "Michigan basement" is 6.5'
 
Hey fan, I had to go back few pages, I was guessing at least 700 to 800grams on your grow. Looks like you might be hair over. That's pretty darn good for 500 watts.

I got to get rid of my tents. I have 4 chill boards coming, going to add to my light. Gonna have one big frame hanging from ceiling. Instead of adding single diodes, I'm hoping the boards will have same effect. This first full grow under cobs are doing pretty good. A lot of other people been pushing 90cri's for a whole build to get more stretch. Mine are 9 or 10 days into flower, seems like I'm getting pretty good growth with only 80 cri. Idk, but I'm thinking if you went all 90cri, you'll be losing out on efficiency ( a major reason to switch to cobs).
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I'm trying to come up with way to attach chill boards with my cobs, 2 different size heatsinks. The chill is a little smaller. Might have to make some washers. From specs, seems like the boards hits uva, some deep blues and reds. Should be good combo.

Do you think I should control each color individual or just wire in series and dim all channels together? Thanks bro
 
Gotta Admit I thought i lost my mind building out rooms - But this thread shows there are a few of us who I think have more fun engineering the room then going out to a bar
Great work
 
Buckshot317 said:
Hey fan, I had to go back few pages, I was guessing at least 700 to 800grams on your grow. Looks like you might be hair over. That's pretty darn good for 500 watts.

I got to get rid of my tents. I have 4 chill boards coming, going to add to my light. Gonna have one big frame hanging from ceiling. Instead of adding single diodes, I'm hoping the boards will have same effect. This first full grow under cobs are doing pretty good. A lot of other people been pushing 90cri's for a whole build to get more stretch. Mine are 9 or 10 days into flower, seems like I'm getting pretty good growth with only 80 cri. Idk, but I'm thinking if you went all 90cri, you'll be losing out on efficiency ( a major reason to switch to cobs).
420-magazine-mobile766203664.jpg
420-magazine-mobile1492586903.jpg
420-magazine-mobile1366457270.jpg


I'm trying to come up with way to attach chill boards with my cobs, 2 different size heatsinks. The chill is a little smaller. Might have to make some washers. From specs, seems like the boards hits uva, some deep blues and reds. Should be good combo.

Do you think I should control each color individual or just wire in series and dim all channels together? Thanks bro
Click to expand...
First off your garden looks amazing! I love the sight of cobs hanging so close to a canopy.
About my harvest....Im pretty stoked about the results so far. 510 watts is looking to be between 1.5 and 1.6gpw with no larf included. I think if done again I could do a bit better but shoot, Im not complaining.
Can you share a link to the Chill boards? Hard to find on my phone. I want to give them another look over before I speak too much.
Im always in favor of adding just a few 90CRI chips to an array just for a touch more deep red in the spectrum but yes, you do lose efficiency by quite a bit. In a 3x3 tent with 9 chips 1 90cri is plenty to mix in. In a 4x4 with 16 chips maybe 2.
Im willing to give up just a hair of efficiency on 1 chip for the added deep reds they give.
 
Thanks

I'm using phone too, I'll pm it to ya so they don't think I'm advertising.
A few on other journals talking about doing complete build with 90 cri's, I thought that might be too much. From researching them, I thought you would only need a few. But those boards use the s6 samsungs for whites, and have red channel, and a blue/UVA.
 
Buckshot317 said:
Hey fan, wondering if you had time to check those boards out. I gotta order couple drivers. Do you think I should control each color or just run all together. Thanks
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Yep yep, sure did. Ill sit down here in a bit this eve and reply properly. Getting ready to eat...
 
Buckshot317 said:
Thanks

I'm using phone too, I'll pm it to ya so they don't think I'm advertising.
A few on other journals talking about doing complete build with 90 cri's, I thought that might be too much. From researching them, I thought you would only need a few. But those boards use the s6 samsungs for whites, and have red channel, and a blue/UVA.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I find it weird that some spend crazy money on cobs just to make a light that is as efficient as hps or blurples. Why go cob then right??
Anyways, here comes my response about the boards....
 
Buckshot317 said:
Hey fan, wondering if you had time to check those boards out. I gotta order couple drivers. Do you think I should control each color or just run all together. Thanks
Click to expand...

I like them and hate them at the same time. Keep in mind that I haven't used them so my info is based off of what I see, what I know and what I feel.

From them:
175W PCBs: 16 square feet x 0.238 PCBs per square foot = 3.808 PCBs, round to nearest whole number = 4 175w PCBs needed to get 1,000 micromoles PPFD average in 4 x 4ft (16sq ft) area.

So in a 4x4 you need to be using 700+ watts to hit 1000 micromoles average? That's 4 of their panels at $342.39 each so $1370 just for the kit to build yourself? Then you need more $$ for the rest of the parts/frame? For a 4X4? That's stupid expensive! You can go 1 cob per square foot with CXB's and frame, drivers and all be at about a grand. Especially for just enough to hit 1000 micromoles. I know I can go downstairs and do every bit of that or more with my array in my 4.5 X4 with 700 watts.

Now. That being said I love the way you can tune the spectrum to anything you want at any time. Keep in mind though that different color temps will provide higher or lower par at the same power level too so that gives me a few more questions about the ppfd rating. That must be the rating with all parts of the spectrum to the max.

My other concern would be the par numbers rapidly falling with added distance to get close to even ppfd across the canopy.


Heres my final conclusion.

I don't think they will be a huge success unless they find a way to drop their prices about 40%. I know I would never build a room full of them for several reasons. 1 is because having 4 boards in a 4X4 will never have the even canopy ppfd you could do with cobs every square foot. More light sources over a given canopy = more even canopy coverage unless you raise the boards up so high it all blends as good as it can but then what kind of ppfd will you have. 2 is the price. While everyone here should sure know by now that I'm not afraid to spend money I find doing a whole room in these boards unjustifiable. Especially when you could do 1 Cree CXB per square foot in the same room for way less $$. Now that says something. Cree's aren't cheap!
3 is that I don't see a power savings vs going cobs. Especially when you consider 700w in a 4x4 plus fans etc. Nope


Now, if you can afford a few boards to add to a cob array for certain stages of a grow then hell yeah, why not? I could see using 2 boards in 4x4 to add something to the spectrum especially late in the grow. Myself though I would probably be only using the deep red for flower. Then again, just a few 90CRI 3000k chips will do it as well so there is more then one way to skin a cat lol


I'm not meaning any of this to slam them, I'm honestly not. I just cannot see doing it myself. No way I could justify spending way over what Cree cobs cost and for what to gain I don't know.

I'm sure they grow damn fine plants man. I'm sure they would smoke almost any blurple panels on the market. I just know I will never go back to blurple unless the laws of physics get broken and something amazing comes out..


Would I use them as a whole room light? NOOOOO
Would I use them with a great cob array? HELL YES!

If you are doing it I want to see it for sure! They are cool as hell man. Just outrageously expensive. I would look at the light ShiggityFlip built man. I don't know what he has into it but it's sweeet as hell.
 
Yea, I got 4 of the 90watt boards, just for the reds. It would be crazy high price to do a big array. That's why I got 4 small boards for supplemental not primary. I think their $200 retail for 175w board stripped, kind of high.

I looked at the boards shiggs has too. If I was going to build a light out of them that would be way to go, they are $55 a piece. A good deal, especially since the boards are 36 volt boards, easy to match drivers.

That's about same conclusion I came up with after reading everything I could find on them. I think they might be cool for supplemental. The guy that makes them told me you lose 5 to 7% with the lenses, he said he had to offer them for IP rating for indoor greenhouses. For the money, shiggs built a damn nice light. I have 2 of the 730nm kits like his, after a couple runs going to give them a try for Emerson effect. Thanks fan, I ended up with little under or at $500 for 4 small boards. My biggest reason to try was no one else is running them, try something different. Also was able to negotiate a little too on the price.

Thanks fan
 
Just a quick one here please guys, I've read it's best to put a fuse in place other than the power cord so I'm guessing it's on the output side of the driver.
I have 3 x Cbx 3590 36v running on a Meanwell HLG -240H-C2100B and will be connected in series.
My questions are 2 fold.
Which wire - Red or Black or both and what size fuse ? 10 amp ? 2 amp? Etc etc.
Thanks for all the great guidance thus far
 
Freekin hell, sorry. I'm no electrician so I myself am not sure what that output would be at max hence the question.
I have it connected to potentiometer so if I turn it up I don't want the fuse to pop. Any guidance is appreciated
 

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