Dankman_420
Well-Known Member
I've tried searching on zon with little results. I'll have to check alli too. Maybe my search tag is not correct. Lol
I've a new light, but how bright? What's right? I'm a bit up tight! Request for insight
- Thread starter nivek
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Skybound
Well-Known Member
I built the 6 COB Vero29 fixture sold on RapidLED's site. I 3D printed the mounting bracket for the potentiometer and power inlet, as well as the reflectors to save on money and also built my own frames with locally sourced aluminum angles also to save on cost. Because I built my own rigs, I was able to pick out the larger driver (HLG 480H-C2100B) to drive the COBs harder, but after building everything, I later learned that though I can push it to the nominal drive current, that still is only half of what the COB can take. If I were to have found a larger driver though, I would need active cooling because my COBs being driven at the full 2100mA will emit about 82 watts of heat which is 2 watts higher than my heat sinks are rated for and I would be testing the barrier of what is too much current and heat produced.
My fixtures cost me about $450 each and I built 3 identical. In hind sight, I wish I went the same road that Tead did, but still, these COBs are better than my HIDs. FWIW, I havn't yet matched the weights I got out of HID, but my crops finish a little quicker, and every other factor aside from yield has been enhanced dramatically. My buds are stinkier and the smoke tastes better. I just chopped a Triple Cheese plant last week and it yielded a few grams shy of an even pound. Overall I am pleased with my fixtures, but I'm confident that Quant boards would have made me more pleased.
DIY COB LED Fixture Panels by Skybound420
In this data sheet excerpt, it shows nominal current (2100) but it can handle 4200. I feel cheated lol.
Heat was one of the largest factors in my decision process.
I went with Qboards rather than COBs specifically to spread that heat load. The Qboards are extremely cool (comparatively). So cool that I can easily and safely touch them anywhere. I'd qualify their overall heat temp as 'warm' but not 'hot'. Probably in the 80's or 90s. Cooler than the driver by just a touch.
In a COB config, you really concentrate all that heat in one spot (well, 6 spots in Skybound's case). If I were employing some sort of active cooling in the lights, I might include COBs in my selection, but my world is very warm anyway and I think I'd need active cooling for HIDs, COBs, and even more traditional LED fixtures.
I went with Qboards rather than COBs specifically to spread that heat load. The Qboards are extremely cool (comparatively). So cool that I can easily and safely touch them anywhere. I'd qualify their overall heat temp as 'warm' but not 'hot'. Probably in the 80's or 90s. Cooler than the driver by just a touch.
In a COB config, you really concentrate all that heat in one spot (well, 6 spots in Skybound's case). If I were employing some sort of active cooling in the lights, I might include COBs in my selection, but my world is very warm anyway and I think I'd need active cooling for HIDs, COBs, and even more traditional LED fixtures.
- Thread starter
- #44
sheesh,, great post sky,,
this light,, up and running for near a week now,, is super,,
not at all hot,, and i do have the driver mounted outside the flower room right now. the driver does produce a bit o heat but the lights produce next to none. i am kinda thinkin they could be run without any heatsinks at all and would be just fine.
however,, all are heatsinked and cool, groovy even
yes, i got my kit from rapidled,, it was a custom job, as they can sell near any configuration of stuff, to fit near any space configuration. i got three pucks and one driver, and the mounting frame,,
three, 70watt pucks, and a driver to drive em round, and the frame, and shipping, for about 450 canadian,, or 12.95 american
i sure am loving this light tho,, i have never seen my plants so 'spread out' fingers reaching right to the tippy tips
the plant lower middle is a lemon skunk,, leaves usually all wrinkly and twisted,, but not under this light,, opening right out to full size, flat and smooth
and the plant far left,, a blueberry,, bug bit and wrinkly too,, but the light is smoothing the leaves out like ive ironed em
i wont make one claim over another,, but i sure like this light,, me want more
Tead,, i mentioned before,, i had a delay in my purchase, cuz of shipping, so i had the option to cancel,, and i woulda too, cuz i went to alibaba, and if i could have got thru the paperwork, i would have bot one there,,
but me poor brain hurt trying to figure it all out
cheers friends,, great info here,, please,, supply more
- Thread starter
- #45
Skybound
Well-Known Member
For the same value, I got twice the spread (6 vs 3). Granted the GrowMau5 pucks are way better quality than my meager Veros, I'm of the belief that I'll get more lumens or whatever other values equate to quantity of light, whereas you got quality of light.
@Tead what I don't like about the QBs is because the diodes are spread out, the light intensity will decay in a shorter distance than light from COBs. It would be nice if they made QBs with clusters of diodes to create some intensity while also using the wide spread diodes. Kind of 'best of both worlds' scenario.
Ultimately though, I haven't yet experienced enough heat to make me concerned. Now being the winter months I actually need the extra heat in the rooms, but so far it's been a very mild winter, but if I ever get a week of single digit temps or negatives, I'll really be needing all the heat I can get out of these fixtures.
@Tead what I don't like about the QBs is because the diodes are spread out, the light intensity will decay in a shorter distance than light from COBs. It would be nice if they made QBs with clusters of diodes to create some intensity while also using the wide spread diodes. Kind of 'best of both worlds' scenario.
Ultimately though, I haven't yet experienced enough heat to make me concerned. Now being the winter months I actually need the extra heat in the rooms, but so far it's been a very mild winter, but if I ever get a week of single digit temps or negatives, I'll really be needing all the heat I can get out of these fixtures.
Good words baby!
I'm using quite a few of the panels in a mid sized space. I'm working with fairly short height restrictions (well... normal ranch house ceiling height... not big old high ceilings). Spreading 6 kits (12 panels) over a 10x20 footprint.
My thought-train stopped at the 'ceiling of light' station. In my eye, all the even distribution will hopefully mean lots of penetration from all angles and the lack of heat allows me to bring the lights down a bit lower when possible.
Of course, all this is somewhat theoretical at this point. The proof-pudding has yet to be served, but I gotta say, the eye candy is mighty nice along the way. My plan 'B' for this is to add side lighting or play with the panel placement and angles.
--$.02--
Dankman_420
Well-Known Member
10x20 
......no wonder you have so much money invested. I have a 48"x32"x60" tent coming. Lol
......no wonder you have so much money invested. I have a 48"x32"x60" tent coming. Lol- Thread starter
- #49
sky,, my friend,, i am having a bit of a problem with the logic in the statement above,, the light intensity decaying part
the diodes are spread out (more), indeed, millimeters, or small centimeters,, correct
this is precisely the advantage, imo. the light is more spread out to begin with. all of the 'intensity' is still there, but spread out over a larger footprint, least more evenly
i absolutely could understand a cob having more 'intensity' directly below the cob, in a relatively small spot,, but the overall intensity will not be diminished by any inverse square law or similar,, the differing distances between the diodes will not be an impact eighteen inches away,, but actually improved by better distribution of the diodes
anyhoo,, not to be contradictory, or disrespectful,, jut my illogical brain trying to be logical
and these are the reasons for my decision to go where i goed
cheers friend
Skybound
Well-Known Member
I take no offense when my reasoning is questioned, but the way I see it, the COBs have the ability to shine light through leaves whereas QBs have the ability to shine light around leaves. Perhaps it is not much of a factor in an average grow room, but perhaps it is. The selling point of HID over LED when the blurples first came out was that HIDs can penetrate the canopy, well my logic is that COBs better mimic this one trait, more so than QBs do which is why I would like it if there was a combo panel that had clusters of closely spaced diodes and the rest of the area with greater spaced diodes. Such a fixture would penetrate and provide ample side lighting to boot.
FYI, I have hobbiest level electronics experience, but measuring light is not a concept I yet grasp well. I just know what happens to my eyes if I accidentally get a glance at a COB for even a moment, whereas my little 65w QB in veg is much less intense. My COB from 6' can blind me, my QB from 6' looks like a Light Brite. But like I said, maybe the distances encountered in a grow makes those difference much less of a factor?
FYI, I have hobbiest level electronics experience, but measuring light is not a concept I yet grasp well. I just know what happens to my eyes if I accidentally get a glance at a COB for even a moment, whereas my little 65w QB in veg is much less intense. My COB from 6' can blind me, my QB from 6' looks like a Light Brite. But like I said, maybe the distances encountered in a grow makes those difference much less of a factor?
I feel that maybe your definition of penetration differs from the industry ideas about it.
Honestly, I think you're specifically off base on any ideas of light passing thru one leaf and providing any usable power 2nd hand. You could easily test the concept tho. Turn on one light and cover that light closely with 1 leaf right at the light source. I bet you'll find that it actually blocks most of the light and not much usable light passes thru the plant mass.
In my eye, when 'Penetration' is mentioned, folks are referring to the light that is not blocked and hits the lower growth.
- Thread starter
- #52
to be honest,, i have never done a single piece of research on cob's, so i was sorta talkin out me butt,,
so, mr bound,, you have peaked my interest, and i did some, research that is
i was never even actually sure about what produced the light in a cob
now i see it is led diodes, just like qb';s or pucks, or similar anyway
the magic of a cob,, which came out after and sorta replaced the old style led's, the blurples.
the magic was the ability to place the diodes oh so much closer together than the led's of the time, thereby intensifying the light by concentrating it together,, and, so, one can place more cobs into the space of the led lights,,
hence the increased intensity,, ok, agree with all that
i am thinking that you actually did not and do not believe in any 'xray' ability from a cob,, simply the intensity forcing it's way thru,,
i do not see any difference in the actual light from a cob or a qb, simply the design, kinda,, all workin with the same pieces of the mechano set
or i have a lotto more to learn,, most likely the case,,
cheers ,, great discussion,, i have learned a bunch last few days about this stuff,,
so, mr bound,, you have peaked my interest, and i did some, research that is
i was never even actually sure about what produced the light in a cob
now i see it is led diodes, just like qb';s or pucks, or similar anyway
the magic of a cob,, which came out after and sorta replaced the old style led's, the blurples.
the magic was the ability to place the diodes oh so much closer together than the led's of the time, thereby intensifying the light by concentrating it together,, and, so, one can place more cobs into the space of the led lights,,
hence the increased intensity,, ok, agree with all that
i am thinking that you actually did not and do not believe in any 'xray' ability from a cob,, simply the intensity forcing it's way thru,,
i do not see any difference in the actual light from a cob or a qb, simply the design, kinda,, all workin with the same pieces of the mechano set
or i have a lotto more to learn,, most likely the case,,
cheers ,, great discussion,, i have learned a bunch last few days about this stuff,,
Skybound
Well-Known Member
When I hear penetration, I am lead to believe that it means the ability to retain strength, or quality of light, but I've been wrong about many other things in the past. I suppose I am wrong about this.
- Thread starter
- #54
i think that is a completely correct description
see, that's what i was most curious about, because i knew nothing of cob's i thot the actual light might be different, as in how cfl is different and hps etc is actually 'different light' in that it is more able to travel distances without losing intensity
but now i see that cobs and qb's and even old style led's,, they all use led light,, it all behaves the same or similar as far as travel
so, one is correct to think that light types can behave differently,, however,, cobs and led's behave the same,, as far as penetration goes, imo
Thats probably true. I haven't done the math...Sounds reasonable though...
Skybound
Well-Known Member
I snapped a pic from under the canopy, next to the bottom of the pot, right on the grill. The fixture is 555'8" above the camera and the canopy's about 2-3' thick. From my interpretation, the light is blasting photons right through the leaves, and the leaves below them to the point that the lowest set grow from the radiation above them. I wish I had a better spread, but I wouldn't want to trade the intensity if that was possible. I think those GrowMau5 pucks are probably the best marriage of both approaches. I'm just locked in to what I have, so I didn't feel the need to learn any more about the light cuz I can't afford to change anything for a while.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
6 Vero 29 COBs with a HLG480 C2100B.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
top feed rockwool cubes in a pot, recirculating, aka Capn Style aka Simple Hydroponics
