DIY COB build for my space?

[Huktonponics]

Hello 420'ers , my second post here, asi posted the same question elsewhee on the forum on someone else topic but it seems to have gone dead. Been looking around for an active forum discussing DIY COB builds and this one seems to be very informative and active, so kudos !

Anyhow, im going to be taking a plunge into diy'ing me a rig or 2 for my 8' x 4' tent. Currectly running 4 x 315w CMH lights in there in 2 x Raptor Dual Bulb Hoods, 2 x 930 bulbs and 2 x 942 bulbs over 3 plants in a diy RDWC.

What id like to know is, how many of these kits would i need to cover my area if i went full CoB, and how many would i need if i wanted to go COB + 2 x 315w CMH's

4pcs of Original CREE CXB3590 cob ( CXB3590 2700K-6500K top bin )

4pcs of thermal tape

4pcs of Ideal holder 50-2303CR

4pcs of Ideal 50-2300AN

4pcs of KingBrite Reflector KB-D82-90RF
4pcs of Pre-drilled Passive heatsink Φ133*H70mm(for 55-65W)

5pcs of Wago quick connectors
1pcs of Original MW driver HLG-185H-C1400B

1pcs of TOCOS (soldered) 100K linear potentiometer

Also which configuration would be best for coverage, would 1 big rig or 2 smaller ones be better, would adding some CMH be a good idea ?

The COBs would ideally see me through Veg and Flower also.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions ?

Cheers guy / gals

Hukt

 

[Scientific]

Interesting question and I'm all for creativity and innovation, but this far along into the LED lighting revolution, I'm wondering if it still makes sense to DIY. With so much demand, there must surely be ready made solutions out there for a competitive price (i.e. economies of scale), no? At the very least a kit like 200 Watt Cree CXB3590 4 COB Grow Light Kit

 

[Huktonponics]

Thats similar to the kit's available to me, minus the framework. They retail at $219 dolars a kit minus the framework, which i can get for next to nothing as i work in the Alu industry.

Ive seeen people spend $4-$5k on a setup for this sort of space and im thinking thats a little fucking insane.

Hence why im toying with the idea of mixing COBS with CMH. As i already have the CMH, a couple hundred quid on cobs and selling on the surplus CMH kit mite just break me even or round abouts. I love a bit of DIY

 

[Scientific]

I love a bit of DIY

Me too. (I built an LED flashlight back when the first high power LEDs became available.)

> which configuration would be best for coverage, would 1 big rig or 2 smaller ones be better
It seems like more LEDs is always better for more uniform coverage (rather than one big bright spot surrounded by twilight).
I do believe there are light spread diagrams for a lot of the LEDs out there if you want to get into the lighting engineering...

> Ive seeen people spend $4-$5k on a setup for this sort of space and im thinking thats a little fucking insane.
More than a little!

I'm still looking for someone to do the calculation of what setup gives the best growth per watt--like side by side grows with different spectra but everything else the same.

In five or ten years when all of these questions are worked out and there are more or less standard solutions and just a few manufacturers we'll look back at this time as the grower's technological Wild West...

 

[gbauto]

I'm a bit confused with using the CXB's-are the cheaper, more efficient products not available where you live? Much better choices are out there. I'd also consider using either boards(QB style) or light strips-much better uniformity-this can allow you to use less power.

 

[Huktonponics]

@gbauto Arnt the CXB3590's supposed to be very good ? More expensive but better quality than the cheaper more efficient products ? Efficiency would be based on how many i run and how hard I run them also ?

Im new to all the LED tech and the numbers game behind it baffles me, im just going from what Growmau5 had been saying. Also heard about the Vero's and the Citizen ones which are cheaper.

 

[Scientific]

> Im new to all the LED tech and the numbers game behind it baffles me

Light measurement in all its various aspects is complicated and getting more so! Even people in the trade seem confused (e.g. the industrial lighting people use different measures than the horticultural people, apparently.) This is helpful though technical: Photometry and Photosynthesis | All Things Lighting

The LED figure of merit that I've been looking at lately is the efficiency based on watts in/photons out.

 

[Scientific]

"Huktonponics" Har, I just got it. At first I was thinking of the name of a river in Connecticut.

 

[gbauto]

@gbauto Arnt the CXB3590's supposed to be very good ? More expensive but better quality than the cheaper more efficient products ? Efficiency would be based on how many i run and how hard I run them also ?

Im new to all the LED tech and the numbers game behind it baffles me, im just going from what Growmau5 had been saying. Also heard about the Vero's and the Citizen ones which are cheaper.

I'd agree with the more expensive part but hard data and experience disputes the quality advantage. When the CXB's were introduced they were a leap ahead of what was available. Guess what- the same thing happened to Cree with the Vero's and CMX. All I'm saying is that there are quite a few other chips that equal or better the performance of the CXB for significantly less money

 

[Huktonponics]

Right then, I wasn't going to continue with this but I changed my mind again. Figured I want to run a full cob rig through the summer so I've been searching for more kits.

Same size tent ( 8 x4 ) with a 10 pot flood & drain system.

These are the kits I've been looking at and wondering if 20-22 cobs is going to be sufficient or go more ( I like more lol ) or go less.

Source 250 Watt Clu048 1216 DIY COB grow light on m.alibaba.com 250w citi CLUO48 1216 kit

Source 300 Watt Citizen Clu048 1216 DIY cob kit on m.alibaba.com 300w citi clu48 1216 kit

Source 250w Citizen clu048 1212 cob DIY led grow light on m.alibaba.com 250w clu048 1212 citizen kit

Source 300 Watt Citizen cob led grow light on m.alibaba.com

There's loads on there. If the package kits are crap, I think I'm going to struggle putting it together piece by piece lol.



It would have to be 2 rigs instead of a 1 big array, easier to build and move about. So I'm wondering how big to go per frame and number of cobs as they need to be correctly spaced , right ?

Next thing are cob brands. Citizen 1212 or 1216, Vero29, cree cob 3590 ? Colours too as I'll be using it to veg and flower.

I don't mind throwing some cash at this build, not anything lavish, but I want to see how much I can spend to blow my CMH out the water and still come out on top with an equal or less power consumption and a reduction in heat.

If any of the guys that do this for a livingwant to chime in and guide me through a shopping list, or check those kitsout, I'd appreciate it. My budget will be around £600 ($800) just for the components, the fabrication I can deal with as I find time.

 

[Dab Marino]

All the components for the cobs can get quite expensive. Cob chips, holders, reflectors, heatsinks. Can probably spend the same amount for the cobs and get 2x the power and efficiency going with quantum boards or bridgelux/samsung led strips

As for light temps can mix 2700k with 6500k
Run a 2:1 ratio
Really dealers choice
Good luck building my friend

 

[Huktonponics]

All the components for the cobs can get quite expensive. Cob chips, holders, reflectors, heatsinks. Can probably spend the same amount for the cobs and get 2x the power and efficiency going with quantum boards or bridgelux/samsung led strips

As for light temps can mix 2700k with 6500k
Run a 2:1 ratio
Really dealers choice
Good luck building my friend

Those quantum boards look good but im dubious getting them shipped to the UK, and the tax and shipping will probably not make it worth the while over the COBS. Those kits i mentioned are complete minus the framework. Then the tax will probably make me shit my pants and then theres warranty issues.

A cob or a driver goes its a minor replacement, a few diodes go tits up on a QB and its screaming a few hundred quid to get any warranty from shipping. I like warranty or being able to repair it myself if it goes down the shitter.

It is something to think about at a later date if i want to add and replace, and if we get any UK stockists.

 

[Dab Marino]

Didn't take the UK in consideration. Warranties are good to have. I believe Kingbrite ships to the UK and has alot of options to choose from as well.
I'm just a 2x2 grower lol but I've built a cob rig for flower up to 435 watts max and a diy strip panels for veg 165 watts. Also have a high end blurple led a Unit Farm Ufo80 cree and osram led.. I always switch back and forth. I love the cobs and the strips.
As far as brand and price I'd go with the vero29 over the cree
Even cxm22 cobs are affordable and comparable to the cree cob

 

[gbauto]

Boards are a simpler solution to get equivalent or better efficiency than current tech cob's produce. If availabilty is an issue then using either Samsung or Bridgelux strips from an electronics supplier like Digikey or TRC should make availability much easier. Tech is advancing so quickly that something that is state of the art today will be the next diodes in your Chinese panel in a few years. Build the fixture to fit your space and get the best fit for price/efficacy that you can afford-it makes a difference.

 

[Scientific]

Tech is advancing so quickly that something that is state of the art today will be the next diodes in your Chinese panel in a few years.

It's amazing isn't it? I remember seeing my first LED in 1975 and being fascinated by it, even though it was only a dim little cherry red thing. Over 40 years later the technology is still advancing like crazy. I have been holding off on buying till the dust starts to settle, but I think that's going to be a long time from now. Maybe the wiser course at this point is to by last year's blurples for next to nothing as people move up.

 

[Wendy Zhang]

How do you think these ones?