DIY strip build ?'s

Talked a friend into ditching his Marshydro 96 for an upgrade.He was wanting to purchase a 135 QB but he finally understood what i've been trying to hammer into his head about complete canopy coverage.

I had him check out @Prawn Connery strip leds in the garden of paradise thread and he took the bait.

His space is a tad under 3x2.....35 in x 21 in to be exact with 42 in in height .I'd like to get him in the 250-300 watt range.And he also doesn't want to do any soldering.This will be a rig for flower but i think he may also want to do one for veg.

Any tips,advice on what strips and driver would be a big help.Thanks.

That's too much light. With the efficiency of good LEDs, 30-35 watts/ square foot is good. I ran the exact same space and used these Bridgelux EB Gen-2 strips. They are 19.5 volts, but I connected pairs in series and drive them with an HLG-185H-42B. I already had that driver, and connecting pairs of strips in series reduces the amount of wiring.

I used 18 of the 280mm strips, six rows of three strips, it barely fits in the tent. The 560mm length is another good option. Gen-3 is coming and Digikey has the Gen-2 at reduced prices. The 3500k would be good for veg and flower.

They don't really need heat sinking, so 1" aluminum angle is more than enough for mounting or a frame. This thermal tape can be used for mounting. Some people run them naked, no heat sink at all. On one occasion I had a few hanging by string in a water heater box.

nxsov180db said:

How do those Gen-2 strips compare to lm561 strips?
And you can run the short strips at 10w each without sinks? So 40w on the 4' long strips w/o sinks?

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If you are referring to efficacy, I think they are about the same.
I believe @Chip Green runs at 1050ma, or about 40w for the 4' long.

BXEB gen2s are probably the very best bang for the buck right now in the strip game. The newest Gen 3 is coming soon and Bridgelux dropped prices on the gen 2s real nice.

As 1212 said, i think a 185w driver and some gen 2s would cover that space nicely. 240 would be the biggest id run , no need for anymore than that imo..

Anyone have link(s) for how to’s and or understanding how to build these? Need more lights and would like to go this route

Search ledgardener.com

Look under the builds section.

They have a very good article/tutorial on strip lights, what you will need and how to wire them.

diggs99 said:

Search ledgardener.com

Look under the builds section.

They have a very good article/tutorial on strip lights, what you will need and how to wire them.

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Thanks man!

diggs99 said:

BXEB gen2s are probably the very best bang for the buck right now in the strip game. The newest Gen 3 is coming soon and Bridgelux dropped prices on the gen 2s real nice.

As 1212 said, i think a 185w driver and some gen 2s would cover that space nicely. 240 would be the biggest id run , no need for anymore than that imo..

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I'm pretty sure digikey had pricing up for gen 3 EBs, not viabale at the moment. at that price point, but it does offer more CRI options.