DIY with Quantum Boards

nc208

nc208

Well-Known Member
Black Thumb said:
Thanks for clearing that up i edited my post since your reply, Like i said an hour now i can hold my hands directly on the chips and they are no warmer than someones forehead who is running a fever.

I will be playing around with this and different heights see what the girls say.
Click to expand...
Have you measured the temp of the heatsink? If your touching the face of the chip that will be cool to the touch versus the heatsink.
 
619kt619

619kt619

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
Between the current loss due to length of wire carrying DC current, the hassle of separate mounting and the fact that good drivers are 94% efficient or higher, it just isn't worthwhile in most situations.

Final nail in the coffin is that LED rooms generally like warmer temperatures anyway.

YMMV, but such has been my experience.
Click to expand...
Voltage and current drops usually do not occur until length of cord is in the thousands for AC (Standard house currents) and I am not too sure about DC but it is not dramatic enough to make a difference in spans less than 50 feet

That being said I really like @Budzbuddha mounting of drivers to the top of the tent.

I will be mounting my drivers to a control panel. I am using B type drivers and plan to run the pots in a junction box next to a panel meter to show me the power going to the board. I will be able to not only control the boards, but also be able to document the readings to see how the girls react under different intensities. If ya wanna talk shop @Philip-O just let me know

and @ttystikk definitely is correct about increasing temps to match the metabolism potential using these crazy intensive lights
 
Philip-O

Philip-O

Well-Known Member
619kt619 said:
Voltage and current drops usually do not occur until length of cord is in the thousands for AC (Standard house currents) and I am not too sure about DC but it is not dramatic enough to make a difference in spans less than 50 feet

That being said I really like @Budzbuddha mounting of drivers to the top of the tent.

I will be mounting my drivers to a control panel. I am using B type drivers and plan to run the pots in a junction box next to a panel meter to show me the power going to the board. I will be able to not only control the boards, but also be able to document the readings to see how the girls react under different intensities. If ya wanna talk shop @Philip-O just let me know

and @ttystikk definitely is correct about increasing temps to match the metabolism potential using these crazy intensive lights
Click to expand...

Great! My idea was actually to set up something like the control panel you mentioned, more than the heat aspect. I´ve even orded the meter/displays, pots and large project boxes off ebay (take forever to arrive from China). I had been searching for a light controller (other than the mechanical timers I have) and ended up ordering some Sonoff modules yesterday after checking @Chronikool ´s thread and reading about them (they are basically relays controlled through a ESP8266 Wi-Fi chip, which you can use for small automation projects). I also use inline fuses on the DC side of my drivers (does anyone else does that around here, not necessary with Meanwell drivers?). All of these would go in the control panel, located in the tent room.

Have you started working on your project? I would definitely like to pick your brain about it.

Heat is actually not my main concern, since the weather is always mild around these parts (tent temp. is around 74-80 during the day), but I can think of several scenarios where remote driver would be useful (even a closet microgreen grow I´ll start when I receive a QB120, while it´s time for popping more seeds).
 
Last edited:
D

Drifter 420

Member
Evenin fellaz.
I have made a few attempts at reading parts of this thread to gain some understanding and it has helped some but I'm still a long way from understanding all these numbers involved in a diy led.
Captain Morgan set me up with Steven a few weeks ago and I bought 9 288 boards and am diving them with 240h c1400b drivers. I built a 42x42 frame for em and that is working out well. I still have a lot of studying to figure out how to best use this light but have a new project in mind.
I'm gonna use a shipping container and build a few rooms inside it. been hey will be ruffly 8x8. I want to leave a walkway in the middle to go from room to room so I will have a row of 6 plants in a bucket system on each side of the rooms. I grabbed 20x 288 boards the other day to do the first room but haven't chosen drivers yet. I am think I'm thinking 2 rows of 5 boards on each side with reflectors to help contain the light. Choosing drivers is confusing the shit outa me lol.
Any ideas on how to get the most outa this set up with drivers?
 
smokeybeard

smokeybeard

Well-Known Member
619kt619 said:
Voltage and current drops usually do not occur until length of cord is in the thousands for AC (Standard house currents) and I am not too sure about DC but it is not dramatic enough to make a difference in spans less than 50 feet

That being said I really like @Budzbuddha mounting of drivers to the top of the tent.

I will be mounting my drivers to a control panel. I am using B type drivers and plan to run the pots in a junction box next to a panel meter to show me the power going to the board. I will be able to not only control the boards, but also be able to document the readings to see how the girls react under different intensities. If ya wanna talk shop @Philip-O just let me know

and @ttystikk definitely is correct about increasing temps to match the metabolism potential using these crazy intensive lights
Click to expand...
Increasing temps to match metabolism potential? More info please. I run mine in a small 2.5'x6'ft closet with my driver mounted outside the tent. The room has always stayed a steady temp before the light but now it gets into the low 80's with tent closed and door.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
smokeybeard said:
Increasing temps to match metabolism potential? More info please. I run mine in a small 2.5'x6'ft closet with my driver mounted outside the tent. The room has always stayed a steady temp before the light but now it gets into the low 80's with tent closed and door.
Click to expand...
Because LED lights don't emit nearly as much infrared as HID lamps do, it's important to compensate by raising room temperatures into the low to mid 80s to encourage good transpiration rates.

It's easier to manage RH this way, as well.
 
Discreetdigrowman

Discreetdigrowman

Well-Known Member
ganglyguy420 said:
Do your driver's get really hot too? Mine are so hot I'm considering some kind of insulation for them. I would put a cooling fan on em if it extends the lifespan but there not in my room, im worried about a fire. Also, the wires were tinned on the driver but I had to shorten them for the rohs connector and did not put more solder on. Maybe that was a mistake cuse that stranded wire broke easy
Click to expand...
If its a meanwell driver dont worry about fire they have internal over temprature shutdown and will protect themselves from overheat
 
A

amsterdam11

Member
smokeybeard said:
I have the 260 kit and the driver turned all the way up will not over drive the boards. The dimming on them is set at 50% if I remember right when turned to the lowest. I run mine in a 24"x48" tent and had it on full blast last round with no issues. Driver does get pretty warm if cranked up so a small fan will really help dissipate the heat off it.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
Discreetdigrowman

Discreetdigrowman

Well-Known Member
Philip-O said:
Does any of you run a remote driver setup? I was thinking about getting my drivers out of the tent, and run some 12 or 14g stranded wires (between 4-12 feet) from the DC side of the drivers to wagos and from there 18g solid to the QBs. Probably using a IEC connector with switch to be able to turn lights off when opening the tent, or an aviation plug. What do you think?

It would be interesing to see some driver panels. It seems most pictures and posts in threads do not deal with this, but mostly with the LEDs or lamp fixtures.
Click to expand...
I run remotely can idividually shut of lightz to move and work on and rearrange as garden needs much easier for me and have a fan cooling
 

Attachments

Discreetdigrowman

Discreetdigrowman

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
Between the current loss due to length of wire carrying DC current, the hassle of separate mounting and the fact that good drivers are 94% efficient or higher, it just isn't worthwhile in most situations.

Final nail in the coffin is that LED rooms generally like warmer temperatures anyway.

YMMV, but such has been my experience.
Click to expand...
Yeah i wouldnt recommend running them 50 feet away dc voltage drop is great, mine are in the room for extra heat during winter and its totally unnessary but i just like the control box for easy switching around
 
pop22

pop22

Well-Known Member
I run all 5 drivers outside my tents, less weight and heat in the tent

Philip-O said:
Does any of you run a remote driver setup? I was thinking about getting my drivers out of the tent, and run some 12 or 14g stranded wires (between 4-12 feet) from the DC side of the drivers to wagos and from there 18g solid to the QBs. Probably using a IEC connector with switch to be able to turn lights off when opening the tent, or an aviation plug. What do you think?

It would be interesing to see some driver panels. It seems most pictures and posts in threads do not deal with this, but mostly with the LEDs or lamp fixtures.
Click to expand...
 
pop22

pop22

Well-Known Member
dimming not a problem. I mounted the drivers on a board along with junction boxes for wiring and the pots. I didn't bother with ammeters, I just plug into my watt meter and adjust, noting the power draw. Next build will be even simpler, I'll use DPDT switches and resistors. I'll have 3 positions: 0%, 50% and 75% dim, I see no need for more precise control.

kaoss_11 said:
Probably because the amount of work isn't worth it to run remote. especially since you probably want to run the lamps softer in a tent. In a bigger garden you got a ac plus you need some of that heat with the LEDs at least that's what I been noticing in the veg room
Click to expand...
 
ChaosHunter

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
pop22 said:
I run all 5 drivers outside my tents, less weight and heat in the tent
Click to expand...
Same here with using the Kill A Watt to know the wattage when dimming the lights up and down. The Idevice switch also shows the wattage, cost of use etc. For smaller growers not running high watt stuff there the cheap alternative. Also use one for my pump to water.
 
619kt619

619kt619

Well-Known Member
Discreetdigrowman said:
Yeah i wouldnt recommend running them 50 feet away dc voltage drop is great, mine are in the room for extra heat during winter and its totally unnessary but i just like the control box for easy switching around
Click to expand...
where are your calculations? to say that voltage drop is great does not quantify nor give legitimacy to your claim. I ran the numbers in a calculator and I saw a drop of 2 volts out of 122 total at 50ft for DC. so by these metrics 2/122 is great?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top