Rider's first foray into LED strip lighting: Samsung H Series GEN3

[Rider509]

 

[Rider509]

Time to drop some new beans and get the show on the road.

I'm inclined to crack the shells and see if it helps. It looks like there is some attempt at germinating.

 

[Stillalive420]

Your not stupid, you just naturally did what your budget would allow. Maybe at that point your goal was to just build a budget led, modify your design to be daisy chained and don't worry about it .

 

[Graytail]

When I awoke today I had the most startling epiphany; I am an idiot. Truly. I just thought I'd point that out before someone else does.

If the goal is 35-50 led watts per square foot, why did I just build a light fixture that's capable of 500W to cover only a 1x4 space? 125W per square foot? Really? I've got to slow down and get my freaking head in the game.

Heheh, I went through the same epiphany. And with the efficiency of these LEDs, you want to shoot for 35-40 W/sqft. The good news is that more diodes = more better. Just run them softer. I even had to realize that if you cover the entire sky with panels, you don't have any room for ventilation. I was designing a configuration that used 12" x 12" panels each sqft - makes problems that way. So, 8x12s at 40 watts each are better (or 10x10s, etc.).

I've run a LOT of numbers and it ends up being simpler than we make it. These LEDs will produce 1200 umols at 24 inches at 35-40 W/sqft. Over 1200 umols, you need CO2. 50 watts is overkill, and unless your environment is close to perfect, you'll just toast your leaves - they won't be able to use all that light. You have to have good control over humidity and temp and no other issues. It's tricky, like running 140 mph down the interstate - you can do it, but not if you make any mistakes.


[Edit] You can also use a sharp knife to gently scrape the edges of a seed case. It opens at the point and hinges on the flat end.

 

[bignstrange]

Hey they'll last longer if you run them underpowered no?

 

[Stillalive420]

Good way to look at it, turn a negative into a positive

 

[Graytail]

Hey they'll last longer if you run them underpowered no?

Theoretically, yes. But I think that applies mostly to the upper end. These diodes are rated at about 1/3 power (0.18 watts vs 0.6 max) . You can run them at max, but you'll get more heat and less efficiency, and that's not why we pay the large dollars for these diodes.

I run 304 diode boards at ~45 watts = 0.15 watts each.

 

[LedGuy74]

Theoretically, yes. But I think that applies mostly to the upper end. These diodes are rated at about 1/3 power (0.18 watts vs 0.6 max) . You can run them at max, but you'll get more heat and less efficiency, and that's not why we pay the large dollars for these diodes.

Without all the heat the chances of anything burning out significantly decreases in my opinion... Especially if you have airflow on the unit.

That applies to any LED I figured.. Hell thats why a lot of budget units have issues.. Improper ventilation and the diodes burn out due to the heat buildup.

I crank mine up to max rating anyhow lol my qb120's are ran on 60W drivers I just use fans to keep em cool and it does the job... also try to keep the drivers a few inches away from the panels suspended in the air.

 

[Graytail]

Can you order your own specific array from Samsung on a PCB with dimensions of your own choice? That would be cool but I spose you'd need to NASA to get them to do it.

Incidently, I have a contact person for a Chinese company that has a whiz-bang machine that can print any board you want. They made my boards at less than half the retail cost. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Graytail]

Without all the heat the chances of anything burning out significantly decreases in my opinion... Especially if you have airflow on the unit.

That applies to any LED I figured.. Hell thats why a lot of budget units have issues.. Improper ventilation and the diodes burn out due to the heat buildup.

I crank mine up to max rating anyhow lol my qb120's are ran on 60W drivers I just use fans to keep em cool and it does the job... also try to keep the drivers a few inches away from the panels suspended in the air.

Yeah, I was curious about that 60 watts. Seemed really high for a board with no sinks. How hot do you think they get? I have 128 diode boards at 8" x 12" for veg, but I'm only running them at 25 watts without sinks.

 

[TheMadDabber]

I was going to aim for 50 watts for my qb120s. Keeping in mind I plan to frame them on what is essentially a large passive heat sink, and have a 7 inch Honeywell fan aimed at "Christina" and the 2 baby boards. Thoughts? Should I aim for a higher wattage? I can grab some aluminum U channel to adhere to the top of the boards also for more heat dispersion also (not sure if a small heatsink is equally or more cost effective). I just want to get the most out of them that I possibly can

 

[LedGuy74]

Yeah, I was curious about that 60 watts. Seemed really high for a board with no sinks. How hot do you think they get? I have 128 diode boards at 8" x 12" for veg, but I'm only running them at 25 watts without sinks.

Stays cool... my LPV driver runs a tad hot but my ELN driver stays cool to the touch and the panels themselves are cool enough to hold onto.

 

[Rider509]

@Stillalive420, I’ve heard this term “budget” before but for the life of me I’ve never fully understood the concept. LMAO. And this mistake would hardly be kind on the budget, given my limited understanding of the term.

@Greytail, I do run CO2, but the lights can always be dimmed for those who don’t. Are your boards running the 561B or C? The 561C FB24B strip is 16Sx18P, so at a nominal 2240mA each diode (200mA max)is seeing 124mA. As diode performance parameters are spec’d at 65mA there’s lots of room for dimming. I did the same thing with the 3590s. At full output with 16 3590s in a 4x4 I can hit 75W per square foot. But I dim them down to run them softer and keep the heat down.
I like the open nature of the strips over quantum boards for the reason you pointed out, plus you gain more control over coverage. But I'm super interested in you PCB hookup. You, Sir, are a genius!

 

[LedGuy74]

I was going to aim for 50 watts for my qb120s. Keeping in mind I plan to frame them on what is essentially a large passive heat sink, and have a 7 inch Honeywell fan aimed at "Christina" and the 2 baby boards. Thoughts? Should I aim for a higher wattage? I can grab some aluminum U channel to adhere to the top of the boards also for more heat dispersion also (not sure if a small heatsink is equally or more cost effective). I just want to get the most out of them that I possibly can .

If you are mounting them on something and running fans then you would be 110% fine to run the boards at 60W each.

 

[Stillalive420]

OK you guys are smarter than me, so tell me if this will work... Can you cut off a budding branch, and take a gallon milk jug. Drill 2holes, put the air line in one hole, and the plant in the other hole. And add water, nutrients and air... And grow a nice fat ass bud?

 

[Stillalive420]

@rider budget = living within your means, can't spend what you don't have. Our mom would say that, you can't blood out of a turnip.. Budget what you got, in my case 0$.

 

[Stillalive420]

Get

 

[Scrogdawg]

OK you guys are smarter than me, so tell me if this will work... Can you cut off a budding branch, and take a gallon milk jug. Drill 2holes, put the air line in one hole, and the plant in the other hole. And add water, nutrients and air... And grow a nice fat ass bud?

Not sure if we're being baited, but hell, I'll bite. No, you can't, theres no root system to support a fat ass bud. Would that not be considered more along the lines of cloning.

 

[Scrogdawg]

Rider and budget don't ever belong in the same sentence......Trust me on that.

 

[Rider509]

OK you guys are smarter than me, so tell me if this will work... Can you cut off a budding branch, and take a gallon milk jug. Drill 2holes, put the air line in one hole, and the plant in the other hole. And add water, nutrients and air... And grow a nice fat ass bud?

Not smarter, just more experienced. But no, I wouldn't suggest it.