Mau5Capades: builds & grow journal

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
This is somewhat interesting. A viewer on my YT asked for my opinion on this light. I prepared to copy paste my "why Chinese lights blow donkey balls" response. Then I looked at the thing...

30" x 30" nice large form factor panel, featuring 9 x cxa2540 & and a bunch of monos for a decent price point. I think China is reading these forums and starting to catch on to what growers want, namely: large spread out panels with name brand shit. I am going to predict that in 1 year, we see a light like this with cxa3070 or maybe even cxb for a similar price point.

What do you guys think, garbage, or half way decent?

View attachment 3535994
The part I like best are the rows of HID fixtures in the background lol :mrgreen:
 

SaltyNuts

Well-Known Member
Those lights do look like they'd pump out PAR watts. But yeah, they run hard. Maybe a good host hardware to mod with pots? Dim them for greater efficiency? Says they assemble with thermal adhesive, so repairs might be tricky. Still, way better than blurpinklecrap!
 

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
You can reduce weight and heat of the fixture by having the drivers remotely located. As this page says, there's no maximum cord length. I took the driver off my high bay and it's much lighter and cooler now.
 

EfficientWatt

Well-Known Member
Yes, you definitely can remotely place your drivers in case of too much heat (and vice versa).

But ...

You can reduce weight and heat of the fixture by having the drivers remotely located. As this page says, there's no maximum cord length. I took the driver off my high bay and it's much lighter and cooler now.
That is definitely not what that page says ... :shock:

"There is little practical limit in cord length" - from a commercial page.

should not be taken as a

"There is no maximum cord length" - a scientific fact.

Cord length are usually not an issue, however when remotely placing a driver, do check your wire size is not too much on the lowside and consider otherwise that :
- Distance of cord, if extreme, can cause quantifiable losses.
- If combined with a driver load close to max output => driver might not even startup anymore. (worst case and unfrequent scenario)

:peace:
 
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BobCajun

Well-Known Member
Yes, you definitely can remotely place your drivers in case of too much heat (and vice versa).

But ...


That is definitely not what that page says ... :shock:

"There is little practical limit in cord length" - from a commercial page.

should not be taken as a

"There is no maximum cord length" - a scientific fact.

Cord length are usually not an issue, however when remotely placing a driver, do check your wire size is not too much on the lowside and consider otherwise that :
- Distance of cord, if extreme, can cause quantifiable losses.
- If combined with a driver load close to max output => driver might not even startup anymore. (worst case and unfrequent scenario)

:peace:
Well let's just say 10' wouldn't be a problem. Though with several small drivers the number of long wires might get excessive for practicality.
 

Will Thayer

Well-Known Member
@Growmau5 ,
I just wanted to add my appreciation for you efforts. Your love for the hobby is expressed in your artisan approach to all your projects. I think many would agree that you make folks want to do things better. I enjoy your flair for design, it is nothing if not inspirational.
I regard your presentation of projects as infotainment of the highest caliber. Your videos inspired me to join this community and opened my eyes to a whole new way of doing things.

I tip my hat to you Sir ,
Will


download.jpg
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
@Growmau5 ,
I just wanted to add my appreciation for you efforts. Your love for the hobby is expressed in your artisan approach to all your projects. I think many would agree that you make folks want to do things better. I enjoy your flair for design, it is nothing if not inspirational.
I regard your presentation of projects as infotainment of the highest caliber. Your videos inspired me to join this community and opened my eyes to a whole new way of doing things.

I tip my hat to you Sir ,
Will


View attachment 3537735
Damn Will, that is quite the compliment. Just what I needed today, its been one of those low motivation kind of weeks. Sincerely, thank you!

So far, I have been making everything with basic hand tools: drill, drill press, angle grinder, dremel tool, etc. I am pretty excited to test the limits of DIY with a new acquisition::

X-Carve_1000_Angle.jpg
 

Will Thayer

Well-Known Member
I have watched a few videos of the X-carve in action. It looks like a nice bit of kit. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.I look forward to seeing what you will create with it. At the moment it would be a tool beyond my skill level in both design and application. I will serve my time as an apprentice and learn with the rudimentary tools suitable to my station. It is the Dremel, drill press, the experiences/knowledge shared by this community and my trusty catalog of foul expletives that will guide my progression.

Cheers,
Will
 

trichomatic

Member
Loving your content, as always @Growmau5. Gearing up for a build inspired by yours. How are those 700ma drivers working for you? Would you still use them if you were starting over on the build?

Was not familiar with the X-Carve. It looks awesome. Definitely going to make a place in my garage for one.

DGC represent!
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
Loving your content, as always @Growmau5. Gearing up for a build inspired by yours. How are those 700ma drivers working for you? Would you still use them if you were starting over on the build?

Was not familiar with the X-Carve. It looks awesome. Definitely going to make a place in my garage for one.

DGC represent!
What up tricho, thanks for stopping by! DGC represent!
- im in week 7 on the 700ma high efficiency run. So TBH, i dont know what I think of it yet, ill have to see the final product and weight. But I will publish the results.
-If it is sub par, I will not hesitate to order a bunch of 1400ma drivers and pump up the volume to 11.

cheers
 

PerroVerde

Well-Known Member
What up tricho, thanks for stopping by! DGC represent!
- im in week 7 on the 700ma high efficiency run. So TBH, i dont know what I think of it yet, ill have to see the final product and weight. But I will publish the results.
-If it is sub par, I will not hesitate to order a bunch of 1400ma drivers and pump up the volume to 11.

cheers
Just curious what your gut is telling you at the seven week mark with the high efficiency run... :) Huge fan of your grow style and builds...
 

Will Thayer

Well-Known Member
Thanks Green Dog, my gut is telling me that GPW is going to be great. but grams per sqft is going to be underwhelming. Trich development is looking on point.
I am building a very similar luminaire to your CXB3590 side. It will be 24x CXB3590 @ 700ma over 1.5m x 1m. Do you think distance from your canopy and lens losses could hinder your yield per sqft? My intention is to run the fixture closer to the canopy and without optics.
Like you suggested earlier if my yields are not up to par I will replace the drivers and up the current. I am hoping that will not be necessary. SupraSPL has got me hooked on efficiency. I have even started upgrading other equipment for more power savings. (new hyper fan on the way)

Cheers,
Will
 

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
I am building a very similar luminaire to your CXB3590 side. It will be 24x CXB3590 @ 700ma over 1.5m x 1m. Do you think distance from your canopy and lens losses could hinder your yield per sqft? My intention is to run the fixture closer to the canopy and without optics.
Like you suggested earlier if my yields are not up to par I will replace the drivers and up the current. I am hoping that will not be necessary. SupraSPL has got me hooked on efficiency. I have even started upgrading other equipment for more power savings. (new hyper fan on the way)

Cheers,
Will
In order to maintain a high g/sq ft and maintain a very high COB efficiency at the same time, you could increase the number of COBs covering the canopy. The more you increase the density the higher the PPFD. Lately I have been aiming for 750 PPFD but if you have tall ladies with a 3D canopy, it may be worthwhile to design the setup for higher PPFD.

Another way to say it, when we calculate PPFD that is assuming a 2D canopy. If you have tall colas with peaks and valleys, that increases your canopy surface area and reduces your effective PPFD. In a way that is good news because it means we can crank up the intensity without suffering from the law of diminishing returns demonstrated here by @Rahz

each column represents the cumulative photosynthetic power of a 100 PPFD increase. 600 PPFD is almost as effective as 1500 PPFD
PPFD2 RAHZ.jpg
 

Will Thayer

Well-Known Member
No trees for me here (height restriction) My canopy will be as even as possible and dress right dress. I love an even canopy I find serenity in uniformity. I have a day off work tomorrow so it is time to turn all this theory and planning into a real world application.

Cheers,
Will
 

Shredderthirty

Well-Known Member
What up tricho, thanks for stopping by! DGC represent!
- im in week 7 on the 700ma high efficiency run. So TBH, i dont know what I think of it yet, ill have to see the final product and weight. But I will publish the results.
-If it is sub par, I will not hesitate to order a bunch of 1400ma drivers and pump up the volume to 11.

cheers

nice that's what i've been thinking, i'm running 36V and c700's right now. So when/if you go to c1400 do you just run 1 driver per bar(4cxb)
 
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