DIY Citizen Cob LED grow

Mr. Smith has 4 daughters. Each of his daughters has a brother. How many children does Mr. Smith hav

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Jimmyclone42

Well-Known Member
I dont know how long they will last at that wattage. Youd be better off running 8 @600w..they will last longer and you would get more useable light and a lot less heat.. How big is our tent or room?
 

90skid

New Member
Uggh I could, but that would cost more and I would have to use twice as many heatsinks. Think I would get significantly less life out of them running at 150 watts? I've seen heatsink/fan combos rated for 150 to 200 watts. The tent is 5x5 and I've already got 500 watts of LED in em: The diode kind, not the COBs.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Uggh I could, but that would cost more and I would have to use twice as many heatsinks. Think I would get significantly less life out of them running at 150 watts? I've seen heatsink/fan combos rated for 150 to 200 watts. The tent is 5x5 and I've already got 500 watts of LED in em: The diode kind, not the COBs.
Cob life
Edit: the tubes turned out beautiful. I just need to tie up all the wire/ zip tie it or somethingg all together like, into one single line coming from rhe unit. It still sits with all the fan wires loose as well as the postive and negative leads to the cobs.
 

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berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Hey, I see you are using the HLG-320C-1400A drivers for the 1818 COBS. I'm thinking of using the same COBs. I'm wondering what you'd think of running them at a higher current, maybe 150 watts... On the website cobkits, where they sell these LEDs, it says...
"Best efficiency is seen below 150W with this chip. The 1818 is typically more efficient above 90W."
I'm wondering what you think of this? Safe to run them at 150 watts? Any disadvantages?
The driver will only put up so many volts. This one in particular CAN ONLY power 4 1818s but at a decent wattage and current. Ideal for the home personal grower. From my understanding the cobs are about 80 watts a piece. Not exact, just dividing up 320 by 4.
 

90skid

New Member
The driver will only put up so many volts. This one in particular CAN ONLY power 4 1818s but at a decent wattage and current. Ideal for the home personal grower. From my understanding the cobs are about 80 watts a piece. Not exact, just dividing up 320 by 4.
Oh, I see. 80 watts is pretty significant, especially looking at the bar you built. Seems like a lot of light in a smallish space. Probably just the right amount. Those cobs should last a long time at that wattage.
 

Jimmyclone42

Well-Known Member
Uggh I could, but that would cost more and I would have to use twice as many heatsinks. Think I would get significantly less life out of them running at 150 watts? I've seen heatsink/fan combos rated for 150 to 200 watts. The tent is 5x5 and I've already got 500 watts of LED in em: The diode kind, not the COBs.
I would personally not want to push any cob that hard. I think you would be asking for trouble.. And you cant compare blurple panels to cobs..
 

90skid

New Member
I would personally not want to push any cob that hard. I think you would be asking for trouble.. And you cant compare blurple panels to cobs..
Really? huh, I was about to order the 150 watt power supplies. Looks like I'm back to researching...

And yeah that's true. I don't like the way they look and their efficiency is nothing like the COBs. Although I like the idea of selective band. It might be a way to get more per watt..
 

mefunky

Well-Known Member
As long as you keep your junction Temps down they will take the power. I'm using 1818's at 75 watts each now with a case temp of 35°c ( active cooled) . They max out at 250 watts the key to life span is running them cool. Most run them low wattage cause they are easy to cool an gain efficiency. They are made for street lights under horrible conditions.
Just my 2 cents
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Oh, I see. 80 watts is pretty significant, especially looking at the bar you built. Seems like a lot of light in a smallish space. Probably just the right amount. Those cobs should last a long time at that wattage.
I actually have another 4 cobs on order, just waitin for the distributor to have the heatsinks in stock then my order will ship. Expected ship date is april 14 so hopefully by then end of april i will have the 8 cob setup in flower room, So i can start flowering many more plants that are bigger at once.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Oh, I see. 80 watts is pretty significant, especially looking at the bar you built. Seems like a lot of light in a smallish space. Probably just the right amount. Those cobs should last a long time at that wattage.
Im no mathmetician, but to assume a 50000 hour lifespan per cob, at 12on/12off, itll last around 10 years.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Uggh I could, but that would cost more and I would have to use twice as many heatsinks. Think I would get significantly less life out of them running at 150 watts? I've seen heatsink/fan combos rated for 150 to 200 watts. The tent is 5x5 and I've already got 500 watts of LED in em: The diode kind, not the COBs.
You would definitely cut the lifespan short at that wattage. If u want to maximize light footprint in a 5x5 tent WITH the use of your diode led, i would throw atleast 8 cobs in. Ideally you want one cob per sq ft of area. You can dial the hlg 320-1400A driver down from the full 1400ma or get an even higher rated driver if u wanted. It will run 4 cobs. So you would need 2 for 8 cobs. Jst like my setup. My room is about 5x5. So just copy my setup or sixstrings/growmau5 if u want cree cobs. I went with citizen bcuz of price. Plus i wanted higher wattage per cob instead of more cobs with less wattage per. Make sense?
 

90skid

New Member
Makes total sense. I prefer the higher wattage per cob and less cobs. I imagine it would lead to higher yield because of increased amount of light per given space (ppfd). I will upgrade to your setup as soon as I have the money to. For now, I might invest in the heatsinks, but put the cheapo ebay 100w cobs, $2.99 per fixture plus the $10 power supplies. They might be worth the try. The worst that can happen is I lose 50 dollars when the cobs fail after 3 days.. Obviously the efficiency is not the same as the citizens, but 100watts at 110 lms/watt isn't a terrible deal, or so it seems....
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Makes total sense. I prefer the higher wattage per cob and less cobs. I imagine it would lead to higher yield because of increased amount of light per given space (ppfd). I will upgrade to your setup as soon as I have the money to. For now, I might invest in the heatsinks, but put the cheapo ebay 100w cobs, $2.99 per fixture plus the $10 power supplies. They might be worth the try. The worst that can happen is I lose 50 dollars when the cobs fail after 3 days.. Obviously the efficiency is not the same as the citizens, but 100watts at 110 lms/watt isn't a terrible deal, or so it seems....
I would just start piecing together your build. Like u said, get the heatsinks, then later on down the rd, get more parts but to throw money at some cheapo ebay chips is a waste imo. Save that cash, n put it towards 2 cobs. Build your two, n when u have ebough cash, get the rest. Thats basically what i did. But i saved my pennies till i had enough for 4 cobs. Built the first bar frame in the meantime waiting for them to arrive. The day they did arrive, thwy were up n running. But if u want to throw money at a chip thats not efficient, not as luminous, and definitely one that doesnt have nearly the longevity that quality cobs have, by all means.
 

1212ham

Well-Known Member
Hey skid, could you post a link to those $10 power supplies?

FWIW, I'd reconsider the no name ebay cobs at $3 when you can get Citizen 100 watt COBs for as little as $11.
I've seen some of the cheap ebay COBs tested on youtube and they were mostly crap.
 

90skid

New Member
I'll keep a lookout for the 1212s. I ended up ordering some prebuilt bars. The price was hard to beat. Epiled chips, 200w actual per bar, three seperate bars at 2 cobs each.$200 for the three bars! I think its a Roleadro but without the brand name. It looks identical. I will certainly switch out the chips when they burn out or I decide I have enough money to upgrade.
berten, I like the idea to start small with the money I have and just use less light at first. That probably would have been a smart decision for me. Well, too late! We'll see how these boards come out. I'm hoping they will be decent. crossing my fingers.

1212ham I was considering the 100w for $11 but those can only be run at 50w or so safely. I'm buying the three dollar chips that can be run at 100 actual watts, so it's a seemingly good deal. I found the power supply deal by looking for a chip, heatsink, powersupply combo. I found a 100w combo kit for $30. I also considered, and may still be considering the "smart ic" cobs on there. They are COBS with built in power supplies that connect directly to the wall!! $12.99 for a 100w. For a fun little experiment of course.They may give off significant heat with the built in power supplies and all. We'll see. I'm still looking at all the options. I wish there weren't this many sometimes!
 
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