Best spacing for 3 Hlg QB 96 Elites v2 on DIY Frame for 4x4 grow tent
- Thread starter BigSco508
- Start date
hybridway2
Amare Shill
Think mine was 22" apert per double 96 Elite pre-made.
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
i do not think that is enough wattage for 3 boards bud i'm not positive tho think you wanna at least want 150w to 200w some people run 1 QB96 elite per 1 HLG 240H 54v so... I do not know what the minimum amount of watts is but i'm pretty sure 107 watts is to low. Think you might be better of a HLG 480H 54v that would be 163w around 165 if you buy an A type driver instead of B
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info i bought another QB96 elite for 4 boards for the 4x4 hybridway2
mgchaze7
Active Member
Thanks for your reply BigSco! I understand that these lights can be run as low as 25w (max without heatsink according to HLG website). My idea with low wattage with these boards is to provide near 320w of LED in my 3x3 space. At max power on a 320H-54B they should pull a minimum of 2 amps at 53V - 106w per board. They have an efficiency of 2.4-2.5 μmoles/joule at this power. So 106w x 2.4 = 254ppf. Then if I multiply that ppf per board and divide by the square meter space I am using i can figure ppfd - (254ppf x 3 lights)/.836sqm = 911ppfd. Apparently the ideal range during flowering on 12/12 schedule without supplemental co2 is 800-1100ppfd. So I might be able to approach that with a 3x3 by running 320w through 3 qb96s.
I'm not sure my math follows the correct logic yet, but it seems to me I could get away with flowering a 3x3 near 911ppfd using a single 320h-54B. Here is a chart Or_Gro posted before testing the ppfd of 3 qb96s using a light meter in a 4x4 tent. At 120w he shows values ranging from 400ppfd to 800ppfd at 18" for a 3x3. So close to what I am going for, but he powers them each with a 240h-54a.
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
I'm just not sure you will have enough watts to make it worth not shelling out another $30 for piece of mind you know .
Because at 120w in a 3x3 your only pushing 800 & something ppdf at 18" far short of the 900 your aiming for and if you move the qb96's any closer to your canopy your risking Fox tailing & bud bleaching i would think although i'm no expert at this.
But with a 480H 54v you would be pushing 1000 to 700 ppdf on Or_Gro chart .
mgchaze7
Active Member
Thank you for your guidance BigSco! I think you're absolutely correct. Once I started posting in forums I realized my understanding was off somehow. My ppfd calculations were too optimistic. As you're mentioning I don't think I was considering height levels well...the inverse square law might help explain the discrepancy. But who knows...measuring light is complicated business!
Regardless, I agree with you, a 480h-54a seems like it would work much better than the 320H! Thanks again for your post! Hopefully someday I'll figure out how these LEDs are working exactly, and its members like you who help the most!
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
No problem brother i like yourself am just learning about the ppfd/lux and umoles /joules took me a while to figure out how to apply the mathematics part of all this as i learn better from seeing it applied in a real life situation rather then just some formula on paper . [ Dam my math teacher was a dick]
Their is a lot to learn about about lighting if you want to at the very least grasp most of the info and be able to apply it to your grow so save the thank's for Or_Gro and the others that have mapped ppdf and but in the work and shared that info with his fellow growers on RIU i have done nothing but try to keep a fellow LED noob from making some of the mistakes i did ie buying 3 qb96 with a HLG 600h 54A then buying a 4x4 tent so that i had to much Sq. Footage to cover optimally with on 3 qb 96's. then having to go and buy 1 more qb 96 and another 240h 54 A driver .
Oh and just FYI these drivers get hot brother when jacked up to full Wattage and current i found it better IMO to leave them outside of the grow tent.
well i hope everything works out for the best bud . BigSco508
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
I went with the A version of the drive because it pushes more watts then the B and i wired them in Parallel well 3 qb96 in parallel and one to it's own HLG 240h 54a . Hope this help bud !
mgchaze7
Active Member
Thanks for your help brother! It's so nice to find a welcoming community of LED enthusiasts. I have so much to learn yet, and I appreciate the tip on the heat trouble with the driver's.
I'm using a 3x3 now and I'm not sure if I'll go with the qb96s yet. Have you tried any other quality LEDs? I saw a video yesterday if a guy using a hlg320-24 to power Samsung f series strips in his 3x3. He was rocking it too it seemed! I wonder if it'll be more efficient to go with those strips in the 3x3 and still get the ppfd that I was expecting from the qb96s.
BigSco508
Well-Known Member
Nope this is my 1st LED set up myself so that is a big fat no i don't know which is better or more efficient just know my buddy had fantastic results with the HLG qb 96 elites. But from what i have read and have been told by others unless you wanna spend over $1000 usd then HLG is the way to go my lights all shipped out fast and got them with in 2 to 3 days also i did send a PM Stephenj37826 on here and he gave me a discount code for my order after i told him what i wanted to get so that saved me at the very least the S&H cost of my QB's