The Chinese Quantum Board Knock Off Builds

[cobshopgrow]

for half the price and a few W more it is a nice deal for sure.

I myself cant complain about hot HLG drivers, mine is 108F/42C full power, HLG320 no fan blowing on it,73F/23C ambient.
And i would still go for the HLG one or one of their upcomming newer lines if i had to buy a new one.

The better efficiency, the lack of a fan (source of failure, needs cleaning) and a little splash proofness, will let me go for HLG or similar.
Also overall the HLG will heat your chamber less, as it is more efficient.

Especially the efficiency counts for me as 6% is quite some for me at my electricity rates,
and thats where the HLG line is simply king, there arent many powersupplies on the market that efficient.

 

[Terps420]

for half the price and a few W more it is a nice deal for sure.

I myself cant complain about hot HLG drivers, mine is 108F/42C full power, HLG320 no fan blowing on it,73F/23C ambient.
And i would still go for the HLG one or one of their upcomming newer lines if i had to buy a new one.

The better efficiency, the lack of a fan (source of failure, needs cleaning) and a little splash proofness, will let me go for HLG or similar.
Also overall the HLG will heat your chamber less, as it is more efficient.

Especilly the efficiency counts for me as 6% is quite some for me at my electricity rates,
and thats where the HLG line is simply king, there arent many powersupplies on the market that efficient.

Ya i respect ur opinion but if i can get same functions from a driver that is less than half price of the one you paid 100-125 bucks for is no brainer for me. That small efficiency loss is no worries. Its made from same company so its not like its a random brand. The fan built in on lrs drivers , cheap price, rugged design is why i chose em. 2 drivers for 80 bucks is still cheaper than the price of a hlg320-36. Its your coin spend it how u wish. Just my opinion.

 

[cobshopgrow]

compared to HPS were talking about peanuts, but energy savings will make it worth for me to choose the hlg.
Lets asume for 300W on the LED the LRS would suck 333W at 89% stated in the datasheet.
The HLG should be more 315W at 95% efficiency stated.
So roughly 18W in my simplyfied example (18W less/more heat in your tent also).
18W at 12h each day 216W by 30 days makes 6480W so 6.5 kwh at 30 cent..... 23 bucks a year for me if i am right, so less then 2 years and i am better with the HLG, different story for power rates at 5 cent of course.

 

[Terps420]

compared to HPS were talking about peanuts, but energy savings will make it worth for me to choose the hlg.
Lets asume for 300W on the LED the LRS would suck 333W at 89% stated in the datasheet.
The HLG should be more 315W at 95% efficiency stated.
So roughly 18W in my simplyfied example (18W less/more heat in your tent also).
18W at 12h each day 216W by 30 days makes 6480W so 6.5 kwh at 30 cent..... 23 bucks a year for me if i am right, so less then 2 years and i am better with the HLG, different story for power rates at 5 cent of course.

Id say ur bout right on with ur figures. But take 23 bucks and divide by 12 months is less than a xtra 2 bucks month to run lrs than hlg. For a xtra 1.75 a month and at a cost of 40 bucks a driver is stil better than spending a 100-125 bucks a driver just to save 1.75 each month? Id rather b charged a xtra 1.75 a month and spend 40 bucks a driver. For me the lrs will allways b my first option. I respect if u think its better to save 1.75 monthly and pay 100-125 a driver, its just not my first choice. Thx and appreciate us discussing the 2 in a adult manner. Ive had others online try to be ignorant to me for just suggesting another route to light your boards.. Thx bro good luck

 

[PSUAGRO.]

Never liked actively cooled ballasts/ drivers in a grow environment.......to each their own though.

Also didn't look up the ip rating(lazy)? So I could just be full of shit.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Never liked actively cooled ballasts/ drivers in a grow environment.......to each their own though.

Also didn't look up the ip rating(lazy)? So I could just be full of shit.

Water resistance is higher in HLG and warranty is 7 years versus 2 (i think...)

Then again ive seen the lrs350 quoted at around 25 for moq 10. Thats 3.5kW of driver for 250...

 

[10WeekFlushBro]

Then again ive seen the lrs350 quoted at around 25 for moq 10. Thats 3.5kW of driver for 250...

Lol, now there is a price point that's hard to argue with.
But let's not forget there are other manufacturers in the market who are making good drivers too. Inventronics for example. I'm always browsing Mean well but that's doing the others a disservice...
For example Inventronics 600w is already about €30 cheaper than mean well's 600w options I believe. Weed community is full of sheeple who still use bro-science from 30 years ago, I almost feel like one of them when I browse meanwell drivers. Cause in the end I'm just following the herd who selected a good driver for me.

 

[coreywebster]

Hey if they were good enough for nfhiggs...

The next builds i make ill run the dc thru one of these little boxes with amp and voltage on a display.

So the lrs350-48 is looking really hot to me. Its the right wattage for a 1m trays, for 2 fotops or for 4-6 qbs...

I have 6 of them from back when mau5 used to still frequent this forum.
Got 60 LDDs too.
One day i will build some mates a cheap but high performing light.
I only paid £20 per LRS.

 

[cobshopgrow]

always good to have many options!
The LRS line is hard to beat pricewise especially for still beeing a meanwell.

Id say ur bout right on with ur figures. But take 23 bucks and divide by 12 months is less than a xtra 2 bucks month to run lrs than hlg. For a xtra 1.75 a month and at a cost of 40 bucks a driver is stil better than spending a 100-125 bucks a driver just to save 1.75 each month? Id rather b charged a xtra 1.75 a month and spend 40 bucks a driver. For me the lrs will allways b my first option. I respect if u think its better to save 1.75 monthly and pay 100-125 a driver, its just not my first choice.k

Your numbers are wrong, the HLG 320 isnt 100-125 bucks it is more 80-90 bucks at most sources (also incl worldwide express shipping at digikey).
https://octopart.com/search?q=hlg320 48
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MEAN-WELL/HLG-320H-48B?qs=DNaZHaGatO3I17c08YAcZw==

LRS is 31-39$ (never incl free shipping)
https://octopart.com/search?q=lrs 350 48

To my view everyone should buy what he likes and fits for him, but i like it when all facts are on the table with halfway right numbers.

I agree with the grower myths, while for meanwell it doesnt apply to me, they not only have a good reputation here, almost everywhere on the internet, with many usecases.
If you look arround, there arent that many brand options, for 48V there are quite some of the usual brick style like the LRS, but none with that high efficiency and/or a fanless design like the HLG.
Sort on digikey the AC-DC´s for efficiency, not many at the top.
Inventronics i need to check never heard before.
I wont say there arent other good suppliers, i am not bind to any brand but meanwell hardly can be avoided.

 

[Terps420]

Lol, now there is a price point that's hard to argue with.
But let's not forget there are other manufacturers in the market who are making good drivers too. Inventronics for example. I'm always browsing Mean well but that's doing the others a disservice...
For example Inventronics 600w is already about €30 cheaper than mean well's 600w options I believe. Weed community is full of sheeple who still use bro-science from 30 years ago, I almost feel like one of them when I browse meanwell drivers. Cause in the end I'm just following the herd who selected a good driver for me.

That inventronics brand isnt bad either. I had one on the ts1000 mars epistar quantum. Worked quite well. Got more hotter than lrs but it didnt have fan built in. Simple philips screw to adjust brightness. Worked perfectly for the 6 months i ran it wide open.. Good point

 

[Blossom21]

What brand you guys think would be the absolute best bang for the buck option to buy from, Kingbrite, Meijiu or someone/something else? My budget is about $340 (+ taxes).

I was planning to get 2x "240w qb288-lm301b" kits with separate heatsinks on each board (total of 4 boards) in a 4x4 tent so i could adjust the boards evenly. I was doing some window shopping and there's some differences between the drivers, heatsinks and dimmers they use. I could probably get a Kingbrite set with a total of 360€ (including shipping and taxes), Meijiu would be about 30€ more expensive (that's about $35) if the prices and shipping rates are correct.

Are they even using the real lm301b diodes from Samsung?

Those two seem to ship with HLG-240H-48B (Kingbrite) & HLG-240H-48AB (Meijiu) drivers, i guess the AB would be better in terms of maximum power output and the adjustment you can do. But the B version seems to be a little bit simpler to operate, especially without a multimeter. Maybe it would be the smarterst thing to run the boards between 50% and 95% power to get better effiency and longer lasting diodes.

I wonder if it's better to have 2 separate drivers for each 2 boards, or just depend on 1 bigger driver? Based of my calculations i would be going over the 10A rated outlets if i had just one driver maxed out. With 2 drivers i could split them between two outlets, but would most likely need 2 timers to control both if i'm not wrong. Timers are cheap so i don't really mind.

Is it possible to get any discount from those Alibaba suppliers?

How about warranty and customer service? i've heard some bad things about Meijiu and their "warranty policy", you seem to be on your own with faulty products because they don't take any responsibility or refund your money.

 

[Rocket Soul]

What brand you guys think would be the absolute best bang for the buck option to buy from, Kingbrite, Meijiu or someone/something else? My budget is about $340 (+ taxes).

I was planning to get 2x "240w qb288-lm301b" kits with separate heatsinks on each board (total of 4 boards) in a 4x4 tent so i could adjust the boards evenly. I was doing some window shopping and there's some differences between the drivers, heatsinks and dimmers they use. I could probably get a Kingbrite set with a total of 360€ (including shipping and taxes), Meijiu would be about 30€ more expensive (that's about $35) if the prices and shipping rates are correct.

Are they even using the real lm301b diodes from Samsung?

Those two seem to ship with HLG-240H-48B (Kingbrite) & HLG-240H-48AB (Meijiu) drivers, i guess the AB would be better in terms of maximum power output and the adjustment you can do. But the B version seems to be a little bit simpler to operate, especially without a multimeter. Maybe it would be the smarterst thing to run the boards between 50% and 95% power to get better effiency and longer lasting diodes.

I wonder if it's better to have 2 separate drivers for each 2 boards, or just depend on 1 bigger driver? Based of my calculations i would be going over the 10A rated outlets if i had just one driver maxed out.

Is it possible to get any discount from those Alibaba suppliers?

How about warranty and customer service? i've heard some bad things about Meijiu and their "warranty policy", you seem to be on your own with faulty products because they don't take any responsibility or refund your money.

Youve done your homework as well as anyone of us can. You just need to go on and buy something from someone. Id rec both Meijiu and Kingbrite from what ive seen. Try to get your driver(s) somewhere reasonably local cause its the only thing you will get warranty on. Ali-Boards are like 30$, if they break you just buy a new one. Dont count on any warranty, but if it happens, enjoy it

 

[Blossom21]

Youve done your homework as well as anyone of us can. You just need to go on and buy something from someone. Id rec both Meijiu and Kingbrite feom what ive seen. Try to get your driver(s) somewhere reasonably local cause its the only thing you will get warranty on. Ali-Boards are like 30$, if rhey break you just buy a new one. Dont Dount on any warranty, but if it happens, enjoy it

Buying drivers locally would get more expensive really fast, i haven't seen anyone selling kits without drivers that would make any sense to me. I've looked around and even building your own LED kits would be more expensive than buying these pre-built kits from Alibaba, unless i've missed something.

 

[coreywebster]

Buying drivers locally would get more expensive really fast, i haven't seen anyone selling kits without drivers that would make any sense to me. I've looked around and even building your own LED kits would be more expensive than buying these pre-built kits from Alibaba, unless i've missed something.

The same people selling these kits on ali also sell the boards and heatsinks separately. Last I looked kingbrite and mej were not particularly cheap on drivers.

That 7 year warranty on the meanwell driver is worth a few dollars more when buying local. Because there will be no warranty on them or the kits from china.

 

[Moflow]

More Knock off grown plants.
Moby Dick from seed, White Widow × Haze in flower. 30 days 12 on12 off
In a ~ 22 ltr pot in a mix of Biobizz light mix with added homemade compost, seaweed, perlite, vermiculite and sand.
A large pinch of Epsom salts in bottom 1/3 of pot.
This time around the Feed is Doff Feed for Roses...... and Atami Bloom Stimulator
EC ~ 1.1 pH of feed is around 6.6
The Moby Dick is a big plant and by the looks of it is an 11 weeker.

RQS Royal Gorrilla back left, Moby Dick back right, 2 x RQS Critical from seed not long on flower foreground.


Moby Dick


Critical plant getting blasted with burple side light.


Light at Canopy is 900 umols.
150 watts per FOTOP board. Around 10 inches away from plants.

 

[coreywebster]

@Moflow I think of your knock off plants with knock off food every time someone asks about a fancy unicorn piss nutrient.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Buying drivers locally would get more expensive really fast, i haven't seen anyone selling kits without drivers that would make any sense to me. I've looked around and even building your own LED kits would be more expensive than buying these pre-built kits from Alibaba, unless i've missed something.

Try do your numbers again, instead of getting a 4 board kit, just see what 8 boards cost (no heatsink, no driver) They can do half power with minimal (think some backing alusheet) heatsink. Check above for meanwell lrs drivers, they are cheap as f-ck. But honestly, just buy something. Your stuck in the same situation as all of us before making your first purchase: doubting your self. But there isnt so much more meaningfull checking you can do. Just buy it then grow.

 

[Blossom21]

Try do your numbers again, instead of getting a 4 board kit, just see what 8 boards cost. They can do half power with minimal (think some backing alusheet) heatsink. Check above for meanwell lrs drivers, they are cheap as f-ck. But honestly, just buy something. Your stuck in the same situation as all of us before making your first purchase: doubting your self. But there isnt so much more meaningfull checking you can do. Just buy it then grow.

Self-doubting is a good thing if you don't know much about something, especially when there's more experienced people who can help you see the light Before this i tried looking around the same parts DIY style but they always hit my ass with shipping fees and taxes so i ruled that out. Maybe i could save money by not buying any heatsinks and get cheaper drivers like you mentioned.

If i go with the pre-built route, i would like to know if there's any preferred brands and which brands i shouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole I've just heard people talk pretty much only about those two bigger brands, maybe there's some other companies worth looking into.

 

[cobshopgrow]

some seriously healthy plants Moflow !
Especially interessting strains you grow there, have a few of these myself, so always nice to see.
I hope you will write some lines about their quality, your harvested RQS Gorilla looked quite promissing

As far i see you left quite a lot big leafs, would be interessting to hear how you deal with this topic.

 

[Greensea]

Buying drivers locally would get more expensive really fast, i haven't seen anyone selling kits without drivers that would make any sense to me. I've looked around and even building your own LED kits would be more expensive than buying these pre-built kits from Alibaba, unless i've missed something.

Best place to buy driver is Digikey or Mouser... no shipping cost
Contact Rita from Meiju and ask only for kits without driver...they will send u even only one board...
And yea they are genuine ML301b but not top bin...
If u order driver from china it will boost shipping cost...