Always save the trim, last time I made feco/ isopropanol wash. Got almost 50ml of the stuff from my last run
The Chinese Quantum Board Knock Off Builds
- Thread starter zypheruk
- Start date
butterfeet
Member
Hey I have a question about wiring a driver as 240v vs 120v. I'm using sunboards (96 lm561 diodes, 44-48 watts per strip) hooked up to a chargery s1200 driver. In the manual for the driver it seems like it would be 3-4% more efficient run as 240v. Any 240v timers have a weird ass plug. I saw plans for making a 240v light controller using a 40 amp coil relay to switch on and off up to 4 lights and recommends using power strips (15amp) for each of the 4 ballast/drivers connected. I'm running it around 65%. Can I just make a mini extension cord with a wacky plug for a 240v timer, try to make a light controller, or is it not really worth the effort for a couple % efficiency?
Labradorweed
Member
Can somebody help me understand if this is the right wire. I know that it’s the correct red wire but I’m confused about needing black and red wire. Do the colors matter with solid core copper?
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Pretty sure the different colors is just used to distinguish which wire goes to the + and which goes to the - to avoid wiring things up wrong.
Hello everyone.
I'm new here and to all of this, after reading a lot of this thread I am still confused what I should order. I have a 4m x 3m grow space, at first was thinking about having a go at DIY with the fotop boards but is the offerings from others now worth considering?
Sorry for all the questions, the hortibloom and geekbeast look interesting but expensive and can they really be used to flower a 5 x 5 area?
I'm new here and to all of this, after reading a lot of this thread I am still confused what I should order. I have a 4m x 3m grow space, at first was thinking about having a go at DIY with the fotop boards but is the offerings from others now worth considering?
Sorry for all the questions, the hortibloom and geekbeast look interesting but expensive and can they really be used to flower a 5 x 5 area?
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
Im not sure if lm561c Fotop boards are still available at meijiu. They were a great deal at about 100$ delivered in multiples of 6. Lm301b fotops are about 140 delivered, iirc. Check with meijiu for updated prices.
The geek lights look really interesting with all the spectrum features and at price of 500ish (correct me if im wrong?). Thing is a complete fixture of this size will have a lot of shipping cost. Not sure of how much they will flower but if 600w my best guess is 4.5x4.5'.
If youre in the us the current deal at HLG for qb96 is also really attractive: 62 $ per qb with RIU10 discount code included. They run fine on 120-160w per board and come fully backed up by hlg. So approx 0.5$/w + driver cost. This means not having to deal with china if anything goes wrong.
They need some hanging height but provide a very versatile solution, with red sup built in.
They do still sell them but with all the heatsinks and the rest.
Thanks for your help.
greenmorpho
Active Member
Hi guys, wondering if anyone can help me on this. I just got 12 of the Kingbright 600w bar light sets for the new room I am building. I would like to have the ballasts outside of the room mounted on a board so they can be controlled by a lighting controller (thinking trolmaster). What I am trying to figure out is what type of extension wire and connectors I should us. The furthest lights would be 20'-25' from the ballast. Will I lose power going to the bars? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
these are the lights I have
these are the lights I have
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
So no boards only? Have you emailed with them?
I like to run the Fotop with no heatsink, 150-200w. Buy in multiples of 6, thats the most economic shipping. Try to buy the boards only. If you get some 3mm alu sheet, with about 2" of lip around all sides you can run them at about 250w, 3 of them does a 2m aisle quite well at about 16".
There are so many boards and light nowadays. The geekbeast looks pretty good, id try it out if you werent getting a good deal on diy and shipping doesnt kill the price.
But in the end, theres nothing like the satisfaction of building and lighting up your own design, and see it break your own records...
I'm actually new to all of it. Growing and lighting but sure I could diy it, might just take me a long time. I will price it up and see what I can get it out as.
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
The good thing about the fotops is that its minimum connections for a decent size area. Litterally: connecting 3 boards and drilling a few sheet metal sheets 5 times and your done with enough for 2m2.
I would recommend trying on a small scale before going full in.
With leds, especially Fotops on low watts, environment gets tricky: you need a lot of heating to grow well with leds. Our grow uses both CMH and leds depending on the time of year. In a space that large i would say this would be the biggest challenge. One way of doing this would be halfing the space and run it on a flippflopp schedule and sharing the air, one space sorta heating the other during lights out.
For a space like that you would need a good idea of how to do all of this pr you may do expensive mistakes. Maybe even startingnin tents and not openspace as this would let you control environment more easily.
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Found the boards alone https://m.alibaba.com/product/60728388487/meiju-800-Samsung-LM561C-S6-LED.html?spm=a2706.7835515.0.0.30907ce4X0uiJ3&__detailProductImg=//s.alicdn.com/@sc01/kf/HLB1Ef8SR4naK1RjSZFBq6AW7VXa3.jpg_220x220.jpg
Also the newer option which have the reds in: https://m.alibaba.com/product/62387655160/Meijiu-Aluminum-Customized-qb288-qb800-Samsung.html?spm=a2706.7835515.0.0.30907ce4ly5FaN&__detailProductImg=//s.alicdn.com/@sc01/kf/H16ed7feea54845be8c6bb170d7a686e8U.jpg_220x220.jpg
I know most people seem to use tents but isn't height a limiting factor using them? Or just flower earlier. Other LED designs run hotter don't they, is the any you'd recommend to mix in or I will have to look at more traditional lights?
Thanks.
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
All.i can say is try small before you spend big $$. Depending on how youre going to setup your grow id say fotops, standard single qbs or strips combined with cmh, depending on heating conditionswill be a fairly safe bet.
Maybe try a geekbeast and a couple of cmh and see where you go from there. Its not all that easy to set things up for a big grow, even with advice from the web. Some things will allways be individual for your space and climate.
I think I'll try 6 fotop for now and add in some cmh when gets colder. Once have good feedback on the geek best and that real par reading comes in on here I may get one to try. Appreciate the help
DrKiz
Well-Known Member
With 1600w in a 9x5 it gets hot in the summer. I run my lights at night and exhaust full blast and then I’m holding 80.
In the winter I run lights during the day and a small heater at night to keep it at 68-70. It also helps kill the humidity at lights out.
You may want to switch up lights on times and go with a tent as suggested to hold in heat.
In the winter I run lights during the day and a small heater at night to keep it at 68-70. It also helps kill the humidity at lights out.
You may want to switch up lights on times and go with a tent as suggested to hold in heat.
I was thinking same thing about have lights on at night for heat reasons. Perhaps I will get a couple of big tents for now then.
GBAUTO
Well-Known Member
Looks like it uses constant voltage drivers, so each output circuit needs to carry approx. 12 amps to the fixture.
I think a 12 gauge would be ok but you may get some voltage drop.
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure its board.only.