Want to build a budget LED/COB for my 4x4

[Desmondg]

Hey everyone. I hope I am posting this in the right section. I am newbie as this is my first time growing. I have a 4x4 tent to grow in and I just got my 4 clones on Saturday (Bubba Kush). Only thing I have right now are 2 LED tubes sitting above them which seems to be ok but I need to get myself a light for veg/flower. I would love to build one on a budget that will work for maybe a couple of grows so it will give me more time to build another better one.
I have read a fair bit and watched YouTube videos. It is still a bit confusing. I can solder and build a frame for the lights no problem there but I need help with a shopping list for lights, drivers, etc.
I don’t need to get the best of the best. If you guys could recommend the items I would need that would be a great help. In return I would like to document the build and post it on here for all the other newbies. Again this is my first grow. I’m not looking for high yields (yet) but would like something that will do a decent job.
Thanks all,
Dezi

 

[verticalgrow]

Hey everyone. I hope I am posting this in the right section. I am newbie as this is my first time growing. I have a 4x4 tent to grow in and I just got my 4 clones on Saturday (Bubba Kush). Only thing I have right now are 2 LED tubes sitting above them which seems to be ok but I need to get myself a light for veg/flower. I would love to build one on a budget that will work for maybe a couple of grows so it will give me more time to build another better one.
I have read a fair bit and watched YouTube videos. It is still a bit confusing. I can solder and build a frame for the lights no problem there but I need help with a shopping list for lights, drivers, etc.
I don’t need to get the best of the best. If you guys could recommend the items I would need that would be a great help. In return I would like to document the build and post it on here for all the other newbies. Again this is my first grow. I’m not looking for high yields (yet) but would like something that will do a decent job.
Thanks all,
Dezi

200W qb96 $69 https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb96-elite-v2-quantum-board-engine

buy a driver & ur off to the races

 

[4ftRoots]

Get EB gen 2 or 3 strips. You can start with 12 strips on an HLG-240-1050b driver and after each grow continuously expand the light setup by adding more strips and drivers in increments of 12.

I use them for everything. They are great lights that don't need a heatsink at 1050 mA

 

[Desmondg]

200W qb96 $69 https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb96-elite-v2-quantum-board-engine

buy a driver & ur off to the races

Cool. Thanks. How many should I get for a 4x4 tent?

 

[verticalgrow]

Cool. Thanks. How many should I get for a 4x4 tent?

ur welcome des & 3 is recommended for 4 x 4 but if u already have 2 led lights then 2 qb96's should be enough

 

[Barristan Whitebeard]

Cool. Thanks. How many should I get for a 4x4 tent?

What are the LED tubes you are using? They will probably work well for seedling and early veg stages.

Do you have a budget for what you can afford to spend on your lights?

If you want to use the QB96 Elite V2 for a full cycle grow, I would recommend at least 4-6 engines.

Each 2 or 3 QB96 wired in parallel on a Mean Well HLG-320H-54 (A,B, or AB depending on which you prefer) for a potential of over 640 watts which you can of course dim as necessary. There are other good options for drivers, this is just one example that will perform well.

You'll need a plug for the driver input or a power cord and a waterproof connector will work well. Solid core 18 gauge wire for the board wiring and connectors (Wago 221 series are a good option). You can either build a frame for the QB96 with aluminum angle or you can hang the them individually.

 

[Desmondg]

What are the LED tubes you are using? They will probably work well for seedling and early veg stages.

Do you have a budget for what you can afford to spend on your lights?

If you want to use the QB96 Elite V2 for a full cycle grow, I would recommend at least 4-6 engines.

Each 2 or 3 QB96 wired in parallel on a Mean Well HLG-320H-54 (A,B, or AB depending on which you prefer) for a potential of over 640 watts which you can of course dim as necessary. There are other good options for drivers, this is just one example that will perform well.

You'll need a plug for the driver input or a power cord and a waterproof connector will work well. Solid core 18 gauge wire for the board wiring and connectors (Wago 221 series are a good option). You can either build a frame for the QB96 with aluminum angle or you can hang the them individually.

Plan to spend around $300 if possible.

 

[Desmondg]

What are the LED tubes you are using? They will probably work well for seedling and early veg stages.

yes they are from a grow shop. They should be fine for the seedlings and start of veg but I want to make sure I am ready for the rest of veg and flower stages with a better light.

 

[Barristan Whitebeard]

Plan to spend around $300 if possible.

If you do a build with 4 QB96 engines and 2 HLG-320H-54 it will cost at least $450-$500 for all the required components.

To save some money you can use two XLG-240-M-A (or AB) with 2 QB96 wired in series to each driver or two XLG-240-H-A (or AB) with 2 QB96 wired in parallel to each driver. Using these drivers will give you 160 fewer watts than the two HLG-320H-54 , but it will cut your driver cost in half.

Also the recommendation by @4ftRoots to use Bridgelux EB Gen 2 or 3 strips is another great option that may cost less than the QB96 build, especially if you're running enough strips at a low enough current that they don't require heatsinks. You will just have to decide which size strips you want to use (2ft or 4ft), which CCT, and if you want to go with 80 CRI (more widely available) or 90 CRI strips. A few members of this forum have recently bought 90 CRI EB Gen 3 strips from Future Electronics. They are sold in multiples of 20 strips and are a good value for the price.

 

[4ftRoots]

Yeah I would go with the strips. If you want to mimic the sun then you want to go for diffusion of light. You can buy 12 strips and 1 hlg-240-1050b with no heatsinks per 2x2 and you have the max amount of diffusion and a beautiful par map. Build many 2x2 fixtures as you need (in your case you need 4) and hang them together in your tent.

I have mine at the top of my tent running at 65% and get 1k par over a foot away. about 800 par at the edges. at 100% I get close to 1k at soil level over 4 ft away.

Unsure of cost but it was around 600 for the whole setup and a couple hours of my time. Strips are dead simple to DIY.

 

[Desmondg]

Yeah I would go with the strips. If you want to mimic the sun then you want to go for diffusion of light. You can buy 12 strips and 1 hlg-240-1050b with no heatsinks per 2x2 and you have the max amount of diffusion and a beautiful par map. Build many 2x2 fixtures as you need (in your case you need 4) and hang them together in your tent.

I have mine at the top of my tent running at 65% and get 1k par over a foot away. about 800 par at the edges. at 100% I get close to 1k at soil level over 4 ft away.

Unsure of cost but it was around 600 for the whole setup and a couple hours of my time. Strips are dead simple to DIY.

Ok I am going to go the Bridgelux EB Gen 2 route and build my frames out of 1x1 aluminum tubing. I think since being here in Canada, Digikey will be my best bet?

Here is where I am hoping you guys can help me out. I want to build 2 light I think to hang both with separate drivers and dimmable.
I would like to use this setup for both veg and flower so this is where I get confused on what would be best selection of strips to use, drivers, potentiometer, etc. I really don’t like Digikeys website.
Could you guys help with suggestions on what I should order? Again many thanks.

 

[Barristan Whitebeard]

Ok I am going to go the Bridgelux EB Gen 2 route and build my frames out of 1x1 aluminum tubing. I think since being here in Canada, Digikey will be my best bet?

Here is where I am hoping you guys can help me out. I want to build 2 light I think to hang both with separate drivers and dimmable.
I would like to use this setup for both veg and flower so this is where I get confused on what would be best selection of strips to use, drivers, potentiometer, etc. I really don’t like Digikeys website.
Could you guys help with suggestions on what I should order? Again many thanks.

So you want to build two lights that will each cover about a 2'x4' area?

Driver selection will depend on whether you want to use the 2ft EB Gen 2 strips (typical forward voltage of 19.5 volts at nominal drive current 700 mA) or the 4ft strips (typical forward voltage of 39 volts at nominal drive current 700 mA). Either size can work well for your space.

If you want to use strips that are all the same color temperature, 3500k is a good choice for the full grow cycle. 3000k has more red in the spectrum and is also a common choice for the full cycle. The internodal spacing may just not be quite as tight as plants grown under a higher color temperature (which can result in slightly taller plants).

 

[Desmondg]

So you want to build two lights that will each cover about a 2'x4' area?

Driver selection will depend on whether you want to use the 2ft EB Gen 2 strips (typical forward voltage of 19.5 volts at nominal drive current 700 mA) or the 4ft strips (typical forward voltage of 39 volts at nominal drive current 700 mA). Either size can work well for your space.

If you want to use strips that are all the same color temperature, 3500k is a good choice for the full grow cycle. 3000k has more red in the spectrum and is also a common choice for the full cycle. The internodal spacing may just not be quite as tight as plants grown under a higher color temperature (which can result in slightly taller plants).

Sorry I need to cover a 4x4 area. Want to use 2’ strips for the build.
Would like to use the 3500k for the full grow cycle. Or should I use 3000k for flower and 5000k for veg? I could mix up the colours and use separate drivers to switch on and off as needed or pot’s to dim one over the other?
My biggest thing is knowing Qty. of strips at 2 feet needed as well as what would be the best drivers to use.

 

[4ftRoots]

Sorry I need to cover a 4x4 area. Want to use 2’ strips for the build.
Would like to use the 3500k for the full grow cycle. Or should I use 3000k for flower and 5000k for veg? I could mix up the colours and use separate drivers to switch on and off as needed or pot’s to dim one over the other?
My biggest thing is knowing Qty. of strips at 2 feet needed as well as what would be the best drivers to use.

Personally, I use 12 strips per 2x2 because they fit perfectly within the specs of the HLG-240-1050b driver. I use 3500k for the whole run and I'm not sure how I feel yet so I can't help much. I used to use 3000k Cree cobs and feel like they grew the plants faster. Could have been because of the lack of blue in the spectrum, I don't know, but I'm not unhappy.

The best way to approach this is to
1) find the strips you want - done!
2) Find the approximate max wattage you want to run per fixture
3) knowing the max wattage, find a driver that fits within that criteria
4) look at the constant current voltage region and determine how many lights will fit within that region
5) Iterate until you go crazy and settle on your first plan

My thoughts on each step:
2) This is the hardest step because it depends on the height you are running and a bunch of other factors. A little cheat, I have always been happy running at 50w per sqft with my cobs and before that my HPS. So I designed my system to run at 50ish watts per sqft at 100% power, if that is too strong I can always dim it to a lower level. If you buy a driver and it is too weak, you cannot increase the power without completely rewiring your lights, etc.

3) finding a driver is pretty hard, just stick with meanwell, call customer support if you get stuck and they will hook you up. Also just ask lurk some forums and see what drivers they like to use. Most people want to use low voltage drivers, I am in another boat and that is a while new conversation. Read some threads and make the choice, it will run either way only with a few caveats.

4) This information is found in the datasheet. Take the min and max of the voltage region, divide by the forward voltage of the strip to see how many strips are possible to use on the driver.

Hope I helped!

 

[Krytend]

What's the difference between Bridgelux EB Gen and Samsung F strips. I know eb are cheaper but are F strips alot better? I also wanna upgrade my old cob set up I'm in a 3x3 and want to get a new 4x4. Heat is my biggest problem.

 

[welight]

Hey everyone. I hope I am posting this in the right section. I am newbie as this is my first time growing. I have a 4x4 tent to grow in and I just got my 4 clones on Saturday (Bubba Kush). Only thing I have right now are 2 LED tubes sitting above them which seems to be ok but I need to get myself a light for veg/flower. I would love to build one on a budget that will work for maybe a couple of grows so it will give me more time to build another better one.
I have read a fair bit and watched YouTube videos. It is still a bit confusing. I can solder and build a frame for the lights no problem there but I need help with a shopping list for lights, drivers, etc.
I don’t need to get the best of the best. If you guys could recommend the items I would need that would be a great help. In return I would like to document the build and post it on here for all the other newbies. Again this is my first grow. I’m not looking for high yields (yet) but would like something that will do a decent job.
Thanks all,
Dezi

You might find our 4x4 plan useful
4x4 Grow Light Strip Plan
Based on 16 of our PRBoost boards but will likely be useful for most strips
Cheers
Mark

 

[Desmondg]

Thanks @welight fir those plans. Useful for sure. I am going to go with (I hope) 2x2 lights. Plan to use 1x1 aluminum tubing for all the frame work as well as heat sinks. I would like to use a combination of 3500k and 5000k within each light. I will make all 4 lights the same which will make things easier for me to order. Plan is to have 30watts / sf with these lights. Would this be doable? I read that it is better to have more strips at lower wattage than it is to have them maxed out right?

I hope this helps with what I want to do, I just don’t know if it will work or not. And what driver to get for each panel?
Thanks again for your help everyone

 

[4ftRoots]

Thanks @welight fir those plans. Useful for sure. I am going to go with (I hope) 2x2 lights. Plan to use 1x1 aluminum tubing for all the frame work as well as heat sinks. I would like to use a combination of 3500k and 5000k within each light. I will make all 4 lights the same which will make things easier for me to order. Plan is to have 30watts / sf with these lights. Would this be doable? I read that it is better to have more strips at lower wattage than it is to have them maxed out right?

I hope this helps with what I want to do, I just don’t know if it will work or not. And what driver to get for each panel?
Thanks again for your help everyone

Do you want them 30w max? If so I'll help you find something to fix you up.

 

[Desmondg]

@4ftRoots I’m not sure if I get them at 30w max or figure 50w max but dim them down? This is where I was kind of hoping you experienced guys would help me make the right decision .

 

[4ftRoots]

@4ftRoots I’m not sure if I get them at 30w max or figure 50w max but dim them down? This is where I was kind of hoping you experienced guys would help me make the right decision .

How high do you want them over the plants?