I used one of those fans with a 4" filter in my stealth cabinet and it worked fine. That was a bit smaller though.
LED light construction for complete noob
- Thread starter Simomas
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- #62
I would not use a scrubber/filter!
I would also install an 80mm (3") fan for the air intake
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- #63
Hi guys, as tomorrow is a holiday in my country and I will have some time, I have decided that I will do various measurements inside the grow box, a ppfd map using the build at various powers and various heights. I'll keep you up-to-date! In the end I decided that the grow space will be my growbox 40x40x120, and no longer the Ikea cabinet
Hope you take some time for yourself to enjoy the holiday.
Take care my friend.
Stay safe
Bill
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- #65
Guys, is my light underperforming?
I state that I do not have a Par test, and I used two smartphone apps, both are recommended and known, even if the results between the two are very different, one is the "Photone" app and the other "PPFD Meter".
I will post the results I obtained using the light at maximum power for my driver (70W at 500mA), at a height of 30cm (12 ").
Photone
This app doesn't allow you to create a ppfd map, so I took the measurements myself.
The average ppfd is 559.4 umol/m2/s, multiplied by the square meters of my growbox by a usable ppf of 89.5 umol.
The luminous efficiency should therefore be 1.27 umol/w.
I would get a 36.25DLI with a cycle of 18 hours of light, which is still excellent for the vegetative phase.
However for the flowering phase, so with 12 hours of light, I would only have 24.17 DLI, which is very low. And that's the most power I can get with my light.
Also because I had put aside the idea of only making autoflowers to dedicate myself to photoperiodics, to play with lst, topping and so on.
PPFD Meter
The second app I used gave slightly better results.
This app allows you to create a ppfd map, and then I can bring you the photo directly
In this case the average ppfd is 670 umol/m2/s, with a usable ppf of 107.2 umol. In this case the luminous efficiency would be 1.53 umol/w.
As before, cycle 18/6, 43 DLI, so even a little more than the indicative 40 DLI. While for flowering I would be at 28.9 DLI, not very well but better than before.
However, in both cases, the luminous efficiency seems to me to be very low. I had read on other forums that these strips had a luminous efficacy of 2 umol/w, but I am far from that number.
What do you think? Could I be able to do a satisfactorily grow cycle with this light? Sure, I could add more light strips (I still have 3), but I'd start working at particularly high voltages and still have to buy a thicker aluminum platter. Maybe after all it was better to buy a quantum board made and finished like a maxisun mf1000...
I state that I do not have a Par test, and I used two smartphone apps, both are recommended and known, even if the results between the two are very different, one is the "Photone" app and the other "PPFD Meter".
I will post the results I obtained using the light at maximum power for my driver (70W at 500mA), at a height of 30cm (12 ").
Photone
This app doesn't allow you to create a ppfd map, so I took the measurements myself.
The average ppfd is 559.4 umol/m2/s, multiplied by the square meters of my growbox by a usable ppf of 89.5 umol.
The luminous efficiency should therefore be 1.27 umol/w.
I would get a 36.25DLI with a cycle of 18 hours of light, which is still excellent for the vegetative phase.
However for the flowering phase, so with 12 hours of light, I would only have 24.17 DLI, which is very low. And that's the most power I can get with my light.
Also because I had put aside the idea of only making autoflowers to dedicate myself to photoperiodics, to play with lst, topping and so on.
PPFD Meter
The second app I used gave slightly better results.
This app allows you to create a ppfd map, and then I can bring you the photo directly
In this case the average ppfd is 670 umol/m2/s, with a usable ppf of 107.2 umol. In this case the luminous efficiency would be 1.53 umol/w.
As before, cycle 18/6, 43 DLI, so even a little more than the indicative 40 DLI. While for flowering I would be at 28.9 DLI, not very well but better than before.
However, in both cases, the luminous efficiency seems to me to be very low. I had read on other forums that these strips had a luminous efficacy of 2 umol/w, but I am far from that number.
What do you think? Could I be able to do a satisfactorily grow cycle with this light? Sure, I could add more light strips (I still have 3), but I'd start working at particularly high voltages and still have to buy a thicker aluminum platter. Maybe after all it was better to buy a quantum board made and finished like a maxisun mf1000...
Where did you get the strips again? Any chance they could be a knock off? Either way I'm sure it'll do the job.
Mine grew this.
Mine grew this.
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- #67
I got them on DigiKey! So they should be original. This is why I don't understand how their efficiency is so lowWhere did you get the strips again? Any chance they could be a knock off? Either way I'm sure it'll do the job.
Mine grew this.
Could just be the apps and the device you're using them on.
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- #69
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- #70
Anyway, I have decided that I will modify the build by adding a stripe and changing the construction. In a nutshell Vet, I will copy yours exactly, I hope you do not offend!
Plus I found that the Photone app on Android works poorly, while it's super accurate on Apple devices, so I probably got scared for nothing before.
In addition, I have read that the luminous efficacy of these strips should be 2.5 umol/w
Plus I found that the Photone app on Android works poorly, while it's super accurate on Apple devices, so I probably got scared for nothing before.
In addition, I have read that the luminous efficacy of these strips should be 2.5 umol/w
Sounds like a good plan. It'll be great in your cabinet. Looking forward to seeing you grow with it. 
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- #72
I thank you! I think spacing them as you did, building a frame, is even better from a coverage point of view, as it was now it gave me little coverage on the sides.Sounds like a good plan. It'll be great in your cabinet. Looking forward to seeing you grow with it.
I managed to detach them from the thermal tape, it was a pain in the ass, unfortunately a strip "broke" during the operation, a piece of the material that composes it came off. Luckily I have more in reserve.
Can I ask how dry you got from your gorilla?
However, I also give you a little preview on how I would like to grow; 2 plants in 1 gallon air pot (actually these would be 3 liter pots which equals 0.8 gallons). The substrate will be coco soir. I already have good EC and pH meters because I had done a cycle in DWC. The small size of the pot is related to my growbox but also to keep the plants from getting too big, although I think the coco + airpot combo will still make the plants grow quite a lot. Plus as I told you, I currently have an outdoor plant in one cup only and I am having a lot of fun.
Pretty sure it was 4oz. That one was in a 4 litre pot in soil. Trying to remember but I think it was in my 40x40x100 tent and pretty much filled it width wise.
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- #74
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- #75
Hey guys! Here is the build in the final version.
As I told you, it is a copy of Vet's build
This is the aluminum frame, 2 strips of 300x40mm and 2 strips of 285x15mm, both are 3mm thick
And there was light
The maximum power will be 80w, I have not put any heat sink, as using it below 75% of its maximum (700mA) should not need it. It will probably have a shorter life but as @Nunyabiz also said in the original post by Vet, it will still last a long time (or rather, I hope so).
As I told you, it is a copy of Vet's build
This is the aluminum frame, 2 strips of 300x40mm and 2 strips of 285x15mm, both are 3mm thick
And there was light
The maximum power will be 80w, I have not put any heat sink, as using it below 75% of its maximum (700mA) should not need it. It will probably have a shorter life but as @Nunyabiz also said in the original post by Vet, it will still last a long time (or rather, I hope so).
You didn't mount one of the strips wonky like I did so yours is better 
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- #77
digikey will be the legit product. i've dealt with digikey and mouser for yrs.
adding more bars may not help unless they can be driven at the max range of your driver. you want the driver output and the emitters to be evenly matched, with emitters generally driven at 50%.
Hey guys! Here is the build in the final version.
As I told you, it is a copy of Vet's build
This is the aluminum frame, 2 strips of 300x40mm and 2 strips of 285x15mm, both are 3mm thick
And there was light
The maximum power will be 80w, I have not put any heat sink, as using it below 75% of its maximum (700mA) should not need it. It will probably have a shorter life but as @Nunyabiz also said in the original post by Vet, it will still last a long time (or rather, I hope so).
mounting the emitters on to an aluminum strip will suffice as a heat sink and greatly improve both the efficiency and lifespan of the rig. efficiency is directly related to how well you remove heat created by the emitters. the hotter the emitter gets, the less it puts out.
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- #79
In the end I think it was simply the app + the sensors on my phone that gave me incorrect data.
I added a stripe to copy the Vet build, and also because this build covers more area in my box.
Having the potentiometer and the Watt reader, I can bring my light between 55 and 60W, thus using it between 350mA and 390mA
