Going commercial

hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Do you have measured output with the planned reflectors as opposed to present model. What do reflectors do to footprint and distance to canopy? Optional with lenses or total change?
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
hillbill said:
Do you have measured output with the planned reflectors as opposed to present model. What do reflectors do to footprint and distance to canopy? Optional with lenses or total change?
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I don't have figures for the 90 degree optics I use, but thanks to robincnn I have figures for lens free and 80 degree optics along with the 90 degree reflector. The center point will be a bit brighter because the overall output will go up. This may mean the lights need to be raised an inch or two higher above the current minimum but I will need to do some testing. I've put off buying a meter and am waiting on the SQ-500. While I won't be able to offer lenses or reflectors in stock I could still do custom jobs with lenses. And while it won't interest the space confined I might be offering a choice between 90 and 65 degree viewing angles since those reflectors would be interchangeable.
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Please walk us through your decision making process for the switch from lenses to reflectors...what factors influenced your decision? Sorry if you mentioned it. All I saw was a bit on less screws and smaller packaging. Don't care about that, more interested in how the product performance changes
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
I originally went with lenses because they offer some protection during shipping, but they also increase the weight and size of the package. A drop in shipping prices is a drop in total cost of the lamps. Protecting the LES isn't that difficult.

There's also a small boost in output.

It's just an all around good decision.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
The lenses are advertised as 97% efficient. Whether this is entirely true or not I can't say but when factoring in the fact that most of the light doesn't touch the reflector and they are 93% efficient then the total output should be around 99%.

I've been running cobs optic free for 2 years now, not a spot of dust. They seem to repel particles. This may have something to do with the photon output but I suspect there is a bit of laminar flow produced by the temperature differential. My experience has been with passive heatsinks and vertical air movement so the flow pattern will change, but I still think the LES will stay fairly dust free over the long term, especially with reflectors in place.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Rahz said:
The lenses are advertised as 97% efficient. Whether this is entirely true or not I can't say but when factoring in the fact that most of the light doesn't touch the reflector and they are 93% efficient then the total output should be around 99%.

I've been running cobs optic free for 2 years now, not a spot of dust. They seem to repel particles. This may have something to do with the photon output but I suspect there is a bit of laminar flow produced by the temperature differential. My experience has been with passive heatsinks and vertical air movement so the flow pattern will change, but I still think the LES will stay fairly dust free over the long term, especially with reflectors in place.
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For overhead use I'm inclined to agree with you. I'm running mine vertically, so I'm more concerned with rubbing issues. They're cleanable and since I believe the biggest threat to their longevity is physical abuse, they seem like good insurance.

I'm running one with 80 degree lenses adjacent to one with no lenses at all, so I can directly compare and contrast their lighting characteristics. The no lens version clearly has a much steeper gradient of irradiance vs distance, so based on that and plant response under each so far I'm giving the preliminary nod to the lens unit -based just on early impressions.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
The last two days have left me kinda shocked. I received 3 orders yesterday, got them in the mail today and received 3 more orders today. A total of 9 lamps sold in the last 48 hours. Very thankful to those who are purchasing my lamps. These sales will allow me to double my next cob order. I'm once again at a point where I will be waiting on parts for a week or so, but I think within the next month or two I will have the funds to order a batch while still assembling the previous batch. This will allow me to me much more responsive to customer requests. Apologies to those who have been asking about the T2-1400s, I will be building at least enough to cover the current requests in the next run.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Why 1750 over 2100 at same virtual cost? Is it purely efficiency boost of 3%. Or do I need to think like 50% equals the whole number and 53% is really a 6% increase? How long are lenses available? New case?

I have an optic with lenses and a a51 reflector. At first I thought that the lensed light just had it all over the reflector. Now not so sure, they are just different. Reflectors have to be closer but all those photons are going somewhere and they sure do while keeping light from shooting over the top of the canopy.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
hillbill said:
Why 1750 over 2100 at same virtual cost? Is it purely efficiency boost of 3%. Or do I need to think like 50% equals the whole number and 53% is really a 6% increase? How long are lenses available? New case?
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There are a couple reasons for several series, but the biggest reason for me was intensity in particular spaces. Someone with a 3x3 tent might not be comfortable having almost 1300 PPFD, but is okay with 1100 PPFD or 900 PPFD... or 850 or 700 or 600. A single current can't provide that many options despite having several lamp models. I almost decided on just doing 1750 since it will hit just over 800 in a 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 4x4, and 5x5. That was the reason I started out focused on 1750 but there has been demand for all three currents.

I still have about 20 lenses so I will start mixing some reflectors into the next batch. I don't think there's a major difference in the output but the reflectors will save people some shipping cost, and technically it should be a few percent more light.

No new cases but at some point in volume I might start coating each series a different color.
 
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