Build Your Own LED Grow Light

[othermeu]

I find that but no Ampere info on it . Trying to calculate possible COB LED system.
Any suggestion about possible system.
How many and what kind COB i need ?

i think it will 165W output
3W Power Led Full Spectrum
165w/3w = 55‬
i should buy 55* 3W Power Led Full Spectrum


*i erease some info on it because writing some project name about place and country / city info on it.

 

[BigDannel]

So I keep going back and forth between which lights to get as an upgrade and found myself here. I love DIY projects so think this may be the answer for me.

My question is has anyone built a light for a 3'x3' tent? All of the bars and DIY kits I find seem to be 2'x2' and then jump up to 1M x 1M, which is too large for my tent. I really want to do one light fixture versus multiple, but can't seem to find the right sizes. I'd like to make something similar to this:

 

[bluter]

So I keep going back and forth between which lights to get as an upgrade and found myself here. I love DIY projects so think this may be the answer for me.

My question is has anyone built a light for a 3'x3' tent? All of the bars and DIY kits I find seem to be 2'x2' and then jump up to 1M x 1M, which is too large for my tent. I really want to do one light fixture versus multiple, but can't seem to find the right sizes. I'd like to make something similar to this:

1m x 1m is the same measure as 3 x 3 lol ..

 

[bluter]

this is cob but it fits in 3 x 3

light ghost.JPG

• bluter
• Mar 17, 2020

jungle room light and friendly ghost ...

 

[BigDannel]

1m x 1m is the same measure as 3 x 3 lol ..

No it's not... 3 feet = 1 yard. A meter is slightly larger than a yard, which is what is causing my problem lol. The Kingbrite setups use both measurements which is frustrating... they go from feet to meters. I contacted the seller to confirm exact measurements and while the light would fit in a 1m x 1m tent, it was a few inches too large for my 3 foot x 3 foot tent unfortunately.

That COB setup looks awesome! Really clean too, I love it.

I'm hoping to find bars like these in either 1' or 3' lengths -

 

[bluter]

it's about 4 inches. the 1m x 1m fixture should have a physical size under that. the lighting footprint should be the measure. that's the parameter used to determine purchase.

are you looking at footprint or fixture size ?

 

[BigDannel]

it's about 4 inches. the 1m x 1m fixture should have a physical size under that. the lighting footprint should be the measure. that's the parameter used to determine purchase.

are looking at footprint or fixture size ?

I was looking at the actual fixture size, this is what I got back from the seller of the light intended for a 1m x 1m tent -

My tent is 36"

Because of that, I figured I would make my own track system that fit and use the light bars that I wanted, but I can't seem to find the light bars in the correct length so I may need to look into making my own bars I guess.

 

[bluter]

oh nooo .. i think kingbrite is an alibaba junk .. run like hell anyway

stay the frick away from anything china .. or just send me your money. i'll burn it and post so you can see something useful happen to it.

contact @Budget LED

 

[BigDannel]

oh nooo .. i think kingbrite is an alibaba junk .. run like hell anyway

stay the frick away from anything china .. or just send me your money. i'll burn it and post so you can see something useful happen to it.

contact @Budget LED

It is. They have good reviews, including some on here, and use the exact same diodes. The whole appeal of DIY is to save money, so what's the point in paying a middle-man to buy the exact same thing from China and then mark it up to me? I'm confident enough in my electrical knowledge so again, I don't see the point in paying someone else to do something that I'm capable of doing myself. I like to learn and try new things, too. I'm working from home during all of this but still have extra time on my hands and have run out of rooms to paint lol..... Also, if you're using diodes that are actually made in the USA, you're far wealthier than I'll ever be.

Nothing against companies like BudgetLED, I'd just rather customize something for my own space at less cost.

 

[Big Sparks]

20190804_140826.jpg

• Big Sparks
• Apr 28, 2020

Quantum Boards

I run Quantum Boards in my 3'×3' from Marshydro. Got the QB's from Timber Growlights, but HLG has a 550 that will also fit the 3×3 just fine.
Good luck.

 

[BigDannel]

20190804_140826.jpg

• Big Sparks
• Apr 28, 2020

Quantum Boards

I run Quantum Boards in my 3'×3' from Marshydro. Got the QB's from Timber Growlights, but HLG has a 550 that will also fit the 3×3 just fine.
Good luck.

Looks awesome! Did they come with the light mount/bracket or did you make it? I guess if I could make my own hanging mount than I could utilize several smaller QBs.

I'd love to see what you guys have made for mounting the lights, specifically if you've made a "track system" that allows for lateral adjustment.

 

[bluter]

It is. They have good reviews, including some on here, and use the exact same diodes. The whole appeal of DIY is to save money, so what's the point in paying a middle-man to buy the exact same thing from China and then mark it up to me? I'm confident enough in my electrical knowledge so again, I don't see the point in paying someone else to do something that I'm capable of doing myself. I like to learn and try new things, too. I'm working from home during all of this but still have extra time on my hands and have run out of rooms to paint lol..... Also, if you're using diodes that are actually made in the USA, you're far wealthier than I'll ever be.

Nothing against companies like BudgetLED, I'd just rather customize something for my own space at less cost.

it's a roll of the dice as to what you'll get. there is no recourse when you get the knock off of the knockoff of the knock off. which is what china specializes in.

all those reviews are paid or bots or other scammy prop mate. reviews from any chinese product mean less than the emissions from my sphincter.

 

[Big Sparks]

Looks awesome! Did they come with the light mount/bracket or did you make it? I guess if I could make my own hanging mount than I could utilize several smaller QBs.

I'd love to see what you guys have made for mounting the lights, specifically if you've made a "track system" that allows for lateral adjustment.

Yeah it came with the rackets. It was a kit. But I did also buy some small aluminum angle and some screws to make another, in case I wasn't happy with it.

 

[BigDannel]

it's a roll of the dice as to what you'll get. there is no recourse when you get the knock off of the knockoff of the knock off. which is what china specializes in.

all those reviews are paid or bots or other scammy prop mate. reviews from any chinese product mean less than the emissions from my sphincter.

I didn't really take the reviews there too seriously but saw a few people mentioning them here on the forums and had good results, no issues. I understand the potential risks but still think it is a much better value. The added value exists for me because I enjoy DIY projects and enjoy learning, saving some money is just an added bonus. I've always tried to avoid paying someone else to do something that I can learn to do myself. I like the customization aspect, things like Bluetooth drivers and custom track mounts that work for my space. Plus by learning how to build them, I'll be better suited to repair them should anything go wrong or if a specific part dies in the future.

That said, do you have any suggestions on where else to source parts from? Companies like HLG are a joke to me... product is fantastic but the premium they charge is laughable imo. Even BudgetLED's prices are more than I'd want to spend on a DIY project, I really just want to source as much as possible directly, which usually means China so not sure where else to turn

 

[Nunyabiz]

I would build your own that's 24" x 32"
Use 8 strips which is 325w.
Be 6" longer than mine.

 

[BigDannel]

I would build your own that's 24" x 32"
Use 8 strips which is 325w.
Be 6" longer than mine.

Something like that would be great. Where did you get your parts from?

 

[Nunyabiz]

Something like that would be great. Where did you get your parts from?

A place called Pacific Light Concepts.

They are taking pre-orders now I think, and they sell the perfect heatsinks.
Just have to buy the driver and frame elsewhere

 

[Nunyabiz]

Best DIY lighting

Far as I can tell this LED is the best light out there for the cost. This one in the video is 4 x 4 and 650w Mine is the same but I split it up into two lights that are 24" x 26" and 325w each to fit my space. This is an instructional video on how to build the 48" x 48" light. Super easy...

www.420magazine.com

 

[Big Sparks]

Look into Horticultural Lighting Group. They have parts and kits.

 

[trogger]

Hi All

I found
Fanleaf's 1st Grams Per Watt Grow Under The 25 Cree COBS

gpw thread first - liked his 25 COB setup, so moved on to PurpleGunRack's
Build Your Own LED Grow Light 42 COB diy build thread and then found this thread. So, I've done a fair bit of reading over last week or so and made some progress in remembering and applying my ancient High School and first year physics electronics. But, I have no "hands-on" experience for more than 45 years in actually building anything electronic (last project was a shortwave valve radio transmitter - in about 1971 or 1972!)

So, if I ask questions that make me seem a bit slow - I am - I'm old!

OK. Thanks greatly to PurpleGunRack - and others for all the detailed explanations you have posted to date. You've got me enthused and I just have to build a 4 x4 light. I was planning to use bridgelux BXEB-L1120Z-35E4000-C-B3‎ (gen2) strips and to run on a Meanwell constant current driver with strips in series.

I know the test current in the Bridgelux datasheet is 700mA, but I believe that would be running strips at about 50% of capacity.

If I go to the HGL-240H-C1050A I should be able to drive up to 75% when needed (and down to 37.5% if I use the built in potentiometer to dim)?

Just a few questions - if someone might be kind enough to help:

my calcs tell me I can run 6 of these strips off one driver - comes in just under the max voltage of the driver output, but I think wattage for 6 strips at 1050mA is 246Watts. Is this going to be an issue?

I would run a total of 12 strips off two drivers in a 4 x 4' build for a max wattage (running at 1050mA) of 490watts .

If this sounds OK, my next question is how much hotter are the strips likely to run at 1050mA rather than 700mA and would attaching with thermal tape or silicone paste to 1.2m x 25mm x 2mm aluminium strips be adequate as heatsinks?

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments.