Building COB array and frame.

KhronicKills said:

Heres hole drilled to desire depth. After that and before tapping i hit area with dremel to remove burrs, so it sits better on frame (not needed but im anal)

Click to expand...

go one size up drill bit and just touch it- will deburr and leave you with a little 45" chamfer on top

Ill prob build one for my smaller 3' tent. I have to say this damn thing is heavy. It will be evenly supported from all corners with ratchet hangers...just hoping tent holds up. Im ziptieing cross braces up top toneliminate slop and slide. Shame Apollo foesnt sell top braces separately so if it comes to it ill have to engineer my own out of some EMT and straps. Cant wait until last driver comes so i can finish wiring and turn this badass on.

CobKits said:

go one size up drill bit and just touch it- will deburr and leave you with a little 45" chamfer on top

Click to expand...

After I posted that I wound up taking my small counter sink ad hitting it quick. Again most of this is wayyy overkill...but thats what i do im all in or not at all.

Also, all drivers will be grounded to frame directly from 120v ground coming in. It will be in a GFI, but as a former electrician, rather be safe than sorry. Dont need to burn place down for silly things

KhronicKills said:

Ill prob build one for my smaller 3' tent. I have to say this damn thing is heavy. It will be evenly supported from all corners with ratchet hangers...just hoping tent holds up. Im ziptieing cross braces up top toneliminate slop and slide. Shame Apollo foesnt sell top braces separately so if it comes to it ill have to engineer my own out of some EMT and straps. Cant wait until last driver comes so i can finish wiring and turn this badass on.

Click to expand...

i once took a tent and rebuilt the entire frame out of EMT and these




google "canopy fittings"

they even have ones with thru holes i have sliders on my vert poles for both a tray and a trellis

CobKits said:

i once took a tent and rebuilt the entire frame out of EMT and these

View attachment 3795605


google "canopy fittings"

they even have ones with thru holes i have sliders on my vert poles for both a tray and a trellis

Click to expand...

Oh sweet thanks man

2 pots and drivers wired on DC side. Need third to do rest and wire all 3 to on AC plug. Wish wires were longer to make a tad cleaner but it will be fine. Prob above what needed to be done as is. Nice pot connected to dim entire light down to 10% (90watts)

Side note...having a bad back isnt condusive to lifting this heavy m effer

No worries on supports. $15 and I have two. A stick (10') of 1/2" EMT some 3/4" straps and nuts snd bolts. Strong as hell and fits like a dream

Nice work OP, man that thing is gonna kill it

That support is identical to the ones I built and they are beasts

Six9 said:

Nice work OP, man that thing is gonna kill it

Click to expand...

Thanks dude. I was ablw to hook 2 sets of 4 up and have 8 lights and 600watts on and fuck is it bright and intense. Cant wait for last driver and get this 900w beast cranking out some big ol fat ladies

Nenno44 said:

That support is identical to the ones I built and they are beasts

Click to expand...

Super strong, now im building a few under supports for these to go over top. Shouldnt have any problems handling this monster light.

CobKits said:

some other tips ive learned (or re-learned) over the last few months:

-if building more than one or two make a template for your holes then you can blaze. i use the spring loaded punch from harbor freight to mark them all then drill bananas

-you can be a lot more accurate piloting holes with an 1/8" bit first then stack em up and hog em out with the right size which takes no time at all

-have extra bits and taps on hand! nothing more frustrating than a 75% project you get stuck on til tomorrow

-please wear eye protection when drilling! esp with a press as they can launch scraps at you

Click to expand...

Drill ? I glue everything, unless I can`t then I take out the plasma cutter and tig welder but I rarely need the big boy tools for gardening, I like diy gardening its so mellow, if I was building hot rods no way would I get as much time to smell the flowers and I`d be using all the big boy tools all the time

I like my water can, duct tape and glue gun methods more relaxing then using all these screws, lol

And whipped up the under braces to fit the others. Some nylock nuts and 10min have yourself a support.

And finally its done being wired and hung...plugging in and will see how insanely bright it is.

Pulls little over 1000watts...hopefully Dan can chime in and let me know if thats ok or if you guys think i should throttle back dimmer more near the 900w that it is. Dimmest it gets before it shuts off completly is 93-98ish watts

Hi @KhronicKills

Very nice build - that thing is a beast. I love it. Very excited to see what your plants think...

It's not uncommon for the Meanwell HLG's to run higher than rated -- nice thing about the dimmer is you are in control in case it is too much at times. Everything is well within the ratings of the wiring and fuses so safety should be covered even running at higher than rated wattages.

Also.....the hurricane fan is a great idea. We are evaluating new components and with a good direct breeze from a fan I can get temperature readings at the pins to go from 120F to 90F. This will improve your overall system efficiency as well as being a good practice for LED longevity.

Let us know if you need anything else - and thank you again for your business.

Regards,
Dan

Awesome, thanks Dan. For everything. Shot pins with temp gun after running for few hours and also the drivers, drivefs were cool to the touch couldnt feel any heat and the furthest sink away was in the 90°'s and barely warm.

Heres pkants when they were transplanted on Nov 4th

This is them now. Light is fantastic. ZERO heat issues like with HIDs.