Bridgelux EB Series Build

Dont see the advantage of using channel/angle/tubing over flatbar as long as you have decent air movement.

If you wanted to push it I think the 12" hsusa sinks cut to 1" would work awesome for the 280mm eb strips but at $5/pc you'd be spending more $$$ on the sinks than the strips.

Danielson999 said:

I'm sure they don't 'need' a heatsink but obviously it's an incredibly smart investment. Not only do you need some type of structure to mount your strips to and hang but having them dissipate heat better/faster is going to make them slightly more efficient and last longer. Nice to know some are using 1", I was just wondering how they would fit as far as putting screws in so close the the edge. I'll definitely be using 1" and .125 material. Just not sure yet whether I'll use flatbar, rectangular tubing, square tubing, channel or angle. Depends on my mood and what type of over the top and stupid design I come up with.

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nogod_ said:

Dont see the advantage of using channel/angle/tubing over flatbar as long as you have decent air movement.

If you wanted to push it I think the 12" hsusa sinks cut to 1" would work awesome for the 280mm eb strips but at $5/pc you'd be spending more $$$ on the sinks than the strips.

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One advantage of tubing is to have all your wiring completely hidden. An advantage of angle or channel is the added strength/rigidity without having to add additional support like you do with flatbar. Assuming you use the 44" version of strips flatbar becomes pretty flexible, with 1 foot strips you could probably use flatbar without added support.

I always like going above and beyond what's necessary. The 1" x 1/2" rectangular tubing is pretty cool looking. Gets that Spyderx look going on...

Danielson999 said:

One advantage of tubing is to have all your wiring completely hidden. An advantage of angle or channel is the added strength/rigidity without having to add additional support like you do with flatbar. ...

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This is one of the reasons I chose angle. I have 48" lengths running the length of my grow space and I wanted something rigid. That, and the fact that online metal had a "special" on the angle-Al.

I used 1/4" bolts with lock washers to assemble my frame, using the same angle-Al for the end cross members, so you should have plenty of room for the self-tappers.

I had the same thought to better hide wires using channels or tubes, but in retrospect, with the strips, there's only a single wire that hops from strip to strip, + to -, about 25% of the way down the strip, and it wasn't worth my time or effort to hide those wires, so for me, going all angle worked out fine (and at a lower cost, cheap bastard that I am). I see you're also throwing in some cobs, so wire-hiding may be a bigger issue for you with those.

nogod_ said:

Dont see the advantage of using channel/angle/tubing over flatbar as long as you have decent air movement.

If you wanted to push it I think the 12" hsusa sinks cut to 1" would work awesome for the 280mm eb strips but at $5/pc you'd be spending more $$$ on the sinks than the strips.

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Or you could just use the 1" profile for $1.92 per foot. I was going to order some for mine, but shipping made it more expensive than aluminum U-channel from the hardware store.

True but the nice thing about the 12" cut to 1" pieces is many short fins vs. a few long ones

From what i understand the many short fins shed heat better than the few long ones because its easier for air to flow through a 1" channel than a 24" channel

nfhiggs said:

Or you could just use the 1" profile for $1.92 per foot. I was going to order some for mine, but shipping made it more expensive than aluminum U-channel from the hardware store.

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I am using the 1' @350ma, that's the same like the the 2' @700ma. One panel I am using I have built with aluminium c channel as heatsinks (fans moving air around the canopy, air gets sucked top), the other one just has an aluminium supporting frame (one fan blowing from top at the strips). I can't measure it, but I would guess the stay both at 85-105F when room temprature is at 70-85F. Always just slightly warm when touching the aluminium or the pcb.

I was not possible to screw the strips tightly to the aluminum. 90% of the strips I got where somehow twisted. I would go with thermal tape for good fixing over some expensive heatsinks.

Mounting the strips just on a frame was pretty easy, and I am happy that it's working properply. I builded 3 more panels like that, and will build even more like that, just beause I don't see a reason for the aluminium. They are so handy with a thin frame, very light weight, and cheap in construction without heatsinks. I will replace all lights we are using in spring to get the vegetable going with these strips. Way easier to store them, install them, adjust them in the room, ...

Abiqua said:

I recommend something...the only scenario I can see no heatsinking is a low >200mA....even at 500ma with a little breeze I still see 35c Tj temperatures....1/8" thickness as well....

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I concur. Unless you're driving the strips less than 1/3 power or have a fan blowing on them, at a minimum they should be affixed to an aluminum structure.

Loving this thread just read the whole thing in a day at work. I have a few drivers one hlg185c700 and two HLG 240 c1050 and a bunch of heat sink USA 6.85 or whatever it was that are 40" long and want to make a few "strip" lights to fill in gaps between my lights. I also have a bc northern lights roommate I got for like 150$ that I use for clones and early veg I might outfit with these strips as well. What is the go to strip for these drivers /heat sinks I have. A couple 200wbars I think would fill in lower light spots in my one flower room but I have no idea how many w of these strips I would need in the roomate which is 28x28" any recommendations would be great. I have two 600w qb builds in one room now but thought this would be a good use for the heat sinks I have that I don't want to drill and tap for the cobs I have and gives me an excuse to get the passive heatsinks that are now out that I wish were around when I bought everything else lol.

The near paper thin aluminum roll stock as a backing, is working splendidly for my panels. 1/8th inch aluminum frames, with a 2'x2' sheet that the strips are fixed onto. Mildly flexible as well....
8x 560mm strips on a MW 185 1050, and I have a 700ma version with 11 strips.
1.1% voltage droop was the max I have reached.....

Getgrowingson said:

Loving this thread just read the whole thing in a day at work. I have a few drivers one hlg185c700 and two HLG 240 c1050 and a bunch of heat sink USA 6.85 or whatever it was that are 40" long and want to make a few "strip" lights to fill in gaps between my lights. I also have a bc northern lights roommate I got for like 150$ that I use for clones and early veg I might outfit with these strips as well. What is the go to strip for these drivers /heat sinks I have. A couple 200wbars I think would fill in lower light spots in my one flower room but I have no idea how many w of these strips I would need in the roomate which is 28x28" any recommendations would be great. I have two 600w qb builds in one room now but thought this would be a good use for the heat sinks I have that I don't want to drill and tap for the cobs I have and gives me an excuse to get the passive heatsinks that are now out that I wish were around when I bought everything else lol.

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The HLG-185H-C700 driver will work with 12 of the 560mm EB strips at 15.5w per strip or 6 of the 1120mm strips at 31w each.
The HLG-240H-C1050 driver works with 10 of the 560mm strips at 24w each or 5 of the 1120mm strips at 48w each.

The HLG-240 fills out the driver slightly better but both are good choices for EB strips.

Danielson999 said:

The HLG-185H-C700 driver will work with 12 of the 560mm EB strips at 15.5w per strip or 6 of the 1120mm strips at 31w each.
The HLG-240H-C1050 driver works with 10 of the 560mm strips at 24w each or 5 of the 1120mm strips at 48w each.

The HLG-240 fills out the driver slightly better but both are good choices for EB strips.

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Thanks I had an idea and you just confirmed it. How many watts would you recommend for clones/ early veg in a 28x28x48 ?

And what is the easiest way to mount them? I don't want to drill/tap I ain't got no time fo that lol

Thermal tape

Danielson999 said:

The HLG-185H-C700 driver will work with 12 of the 560mm EB strips at 15.5w per strip or 6 of the 1120mm strips at 31w each.
The HLG-240H-C1050 driver works with 10 of the 560mm strips at 24w each or 5 of the 1120mm strips at 48w each.

The HLG-240 fills out the driver slightly better but both are good choices for EB strips.

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Thanks for posting this, I bought 14 of the 560 EB's and was not sure of my final light size till I
get my grow cabinet. Most likely will be using 12 strips.
SLITLOS

Wheres the best place to get them in the great white north? I've seen a few fellow Canucks in the thread I just can't remember what post/page etc

Getgrowingson said:

Wheres the best place to get them in the great white north? I've seen a few fellow Canucks in the thread I just can't remember what post/page etc

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I bought mine HERE at Digikey. It was free shipping. I ordered them on a Wednesday night at close to midnight and they were on my doorstep Friday morning.


You can also drill a small hole and use self tapping screws to mount them.

Got a few things in the mail this week. HLG-320H x 3, 4000K EB strips x 6, 3000K EB strips x 6, 1750K Vero 29se x 6, Growmau5 Far Red flower initiators x 2, thermal pads, wago's, 3 pronged power cords x 3 and 2 12V adapters for the far red pucks. Just waiting on the SST120 heatsinks for the 6 cobs and the metal to get cut next week for the frame.

^^^ Quality collection of gear up there....

heck yeah, Like fkn Xmas

This is just one of several ideas. This frame is 44" x 68". Strips are mounted on aluminum sheeting that's framed in 3/4" alu angle. On the back side is one long strip of 2"x4" alu channel with 3 Growmau5 pucks mounted between the strips where the 2"x4" is exposed. Looks alittle warmer toward the center but that's just the way the design ended up. I could do 3 strips per sheet but it would push the cobs towards each other. Anyway, not sure what design I want to do yet but it whichever I choose it will be just over 900w total in a 4'x6' tent.

I have 5 more 60w 55-100V @ 0.730A drivers out of my mars I ripped apart... How many 560mm strips can we run off those?
Cheers