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

[Stillalive420]

I've been able to keep a plant alive without a root system before.

 

[Stillalive420]

Well shit big daddy send some cash my way lol

 

[TheMadDabber]

I've been able to keep a plant alive without a root system before.

I think it would work awesome for cuttings! Like using it for a veg. But I'm not sure about a flowering plant. Unless you wanna monster crop. I've never tried it but I've heard good things

 

[Stillalive420]

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

Smarter also, I'm more of a hands on learner, I grow by sight, I tune the radio by ear..those frequency numbers mean nothing to me, just like the charts and graphs for the led lights mean nothing. I'm way out of my league here, but I'm like you, I enjoy a challenge.. So here I am, I'm still alive and I want to grow but I'm never going to learn by numbers, rider, your little analogies make more sense to me then your wattage chart. If everyone did that I just might learn a thing or 2

 

[Rider509]

Each of these two systems is designed to cover a 2x4 area. I know it seems like a lot of light but I grow with CO2, and they can always be dialed way down. I'll run my old 16 CXB3590 system (1200W max) in one side and 8 FB24B strips (1000W? max) on the other. I'm liking that I'll be able to run the Samsungs low and soft. The Crees create too much of a hotspot under the COB to run them very close to the canopy.

 

[Scrogdawg]

Where are you getting the LED's and drivers from?

 

[Rider509]

Digikey has good prices on the LEDs but you have to do a search for the FB24B part number you want. For whatever reason they don't show up under the F series Gen3 listing.
3000K: SI-B8VZ91B20WW
3500K: SI-B8UZ91B20WW
4000K: SI-B8TZ91B20WW
5000K: SI-B8RZ91B20WW

Onlinecomponents(dot)com has always had the best selection and prices on the Mean Well drivers.

 

[Graytail]

HLG- — Octopart

 

[gotrice007]

Digikey has good prices on the LEDs but you have to do a search for the FB24B part number you want. For whatever reason they don't show up under the F series Gen3 listing.
3000K: SI-B8VZ91B20WW
3500K: SI-B8UZ91B20WW
4000K: SI-B8TZ91B20WW
5000K: SI-B8RZ91B20WW

Onlinecomponents(dot)com has always had the best selection and prices on the Mean Well drivers.

Hello Rider,

Thanks for the great idea and built. I am also running cree cobs and interested in led strip for better heat control. However, i am a big amateur and don't understand most of the diy language and parts. If you could can you list your built and parts from A to Z for some copycat diy like me to easily follow.

Thanks to you and others for the great contribution to the community. Without you guys, newbie DIY and amateur like me would never able to built anything cheap and effective for our grow room.

Rice

 

[Rider509]

Hello Rider,

Thanks for the great idea and built. I am also running cree cobs and interested in led strip for better heat control. However, i am a big amateur and don't understand most of the diy language and parts. If you could can you list your built and parts from A to Z for some copycat diy like me to easily follow.

I'll try, but no promises. ADD means never having to say "I'm finished!"

And I'm only three weeks ahead of you. i went into it with the knowledge gleaned from my cob build but quickly figured out that I knew shit. It's like thinking you've got it dicked because you speak fluent calculus and then you bump into linear algebra and differential equations. Dive in and learn, otherwise you'll be able to build a box, but only that box.

 

[Rider509]

Holy smokes, Beav!
I took the F series strips to 90% of rated max. .
658W at the lights. 670W at the wall. I wouldn't care to run them that hard but, damn, that's a lot of light energy.
When run at a very much more reasonable 300W it provides 37.5W per foot square and the strips maintain 25C.
Such beautiful, uniform coverage. I'm stoked!

 

[Rider509]

OK, here's the build I'd recommend for a fun, safe, no explosions led experience over a 2'x4' area. It's still capable of more light energy than what's strictly needed but it allows you to run the leds gently for better efficiency and less heat generated.

1_____Mean Well HLG-480H-48A
4_____Samsung F Series Gen3 44" double row strips
4_____Al u-channel, 1.5" x 1.5" x 0.125" x 44"
1_____roll, thermal heat tape
1_____AC male plug end

You'll also need some 14ga zip cord, 18ga solid wire, and suitable electrical connectors. It can be easily assembled using simple hand tools. It'll help if you also buy an inexpensive Kill-A-Watt meter for each system.

For myself this is a 2x4 system, but it could handle a 4x4 area and still provide over 30W per foot square if driven to 500W.
Figure about $350USD.

 

[Rider509]

Life expectancy of the led strips is reduced when driven hard, but, seriously... are we that concerned about getting 50,000 hours (5.7 years of 24/7 use) out of them?

 

[Scrogdawg]

Could you use 6 strips spaced over a 4 x 4 foot area with a larger driver and safely run at 40-45 watt/ft2.

 

[Rider509]

Ciertamente, Señor Scrogdawg. That's exactly what I suggested to an esteemed colleague of ours. 45W/ft2 is 720W total for 16ft2. The limiting factor with one driver is that driver's capability. The 600H when maxed out hits 50.4V and 14.3A for 720W. With six strips, each strip would see 2.38A which is well within the comfort zone.

By doing it that way you save a few dollars but lose some of the uniformity of coverage that the two additional strips would provide. It's all a balancing act and, honestly, I don't know how much it really matters either way. We're kind of reinventing the wheel here in hopes that it rolls better.

edit: Let me just point out that I'm learning as I go. I'm a fricking Neanderthal with access to fire. I'm just trying not to get burned.

 

[Graytail]

Rider, have you read Fanleaf's early posts? If not, I think you'd enjoy them.

Fanleaf's Huge 42 COB Array Build Plus Other Builds

 

[Rider509]

Ha! I just thought of a corollary, Scrogdawg. You're a hydraulics guy, if I remember right. So lets say you're designing a sprinkler system for your yard. Let's say you have 75psi as your head pressure. The flow of the system is limited by the static head pressure and intervening pipes. With 1" pipe we get 53 gal/min. That's the total we have to work with. We could use one sprinkler that flows 53 gal/min or fifty three sprinklers that flow 1 gal/min. In either case we're using the max system capability. It's just a matter of how evenly we're spreading the resource.

 

[Rider509]

Rider, have you read Fanleaf's early posts? If not, I think you'd enjoy them.

Fanleaf's Huge 42 COB Array Build Plus Other Builds

Oh yeah! I was right there when he was working that all out. Fanleaf was the one that first got me thinking about COBs.

 

[gotrice007]

OK, here's the build I'd recommend for a fun, safe, no explosions led experience over a 2'x4' area. It's still capable of more light energy than what's strictly needed but it allows you to run the leds gently for better efficiency and less heat generated.

1_____Mean Well HLG-480H-48A
4_____Samsung F Series Gen3 44" double row strips
4_____Al u-channel, 1.5" x 1.5" x 0.125" x 44"
1_____roll, thermal heat tape
1_____AC male plug end

You'll also need some 14ga zip cord, 18ga solid wire, and suitable electrical connectors. It can be easily assembled using simple hand tools. It'll help if you also buy an inexpensive Kill-A-Watt meter for each system.

For myself this is a 2x4 system, but it could handle a 4x4 area and still provide over 30W per foot square if driven to 500W.
Figure about $350USD.

Hello Rider,

Thanks for the quick reply and great sum up of the details.
Question: if you can provide a par/ppfd reading to see the coverage distribution and level from canopy would be great.

I am amaze by the easy setup and great cost cutting compare to cobs, quantum board and chilledgrowlights. Also, how would you rate these versus your cobs? I know you have no plants yet, not sure how we can make a comparision. Maybe a par/ppfd reading is a good indicator.

Thanks Rider,

Rice.

 

[Rider509]