DIY with Quantum Boards

man HLG drivers are expensive.
if I go with an XLG series for the 2x qb96, should it be the 240-M or the 240-H?
tryin to keep learning here.... the 240-H might not be able to dim with the 96's? because of low current limit 2200mA?

Airwalker16 said:

Did you manually adjust the current to where you wanted it using a multimeter with pos on pos and neg on neg?

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yes i adjusted it with a multimeter so it would max out at 1900mA

its.always.420 said:

man HLG drivers are expensive.
if I go with an XLG series for the 2x qb96, should it be the 240-M or the 240-H?
tryin to keep learning here.... the 240-H might not be able to dim with the 96's? because of low current limit 2200mA?

yes i adjusted it with a multimeter so it would max out at 1900mA

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The H is the one you need. It's has the highest current output

Well wrong or right I just placed my order for (2) HLG-600H-54a drivers. My plan is to run two 96v2’s per driver. I’ll use a multimeter to turn down the current to 2000ma unless I’m using active cooling.

In the future I’ll probably add another 96v2 to each driver making each of them run (3) 96’s.

Sound good ? No ?

Each driver was 200.00 delivered.

ThatKidiscrying said:

Well wrong or right I just placed my order for (2) HLG-600H-54a drivers. My plan is to run two 96v2’s per driver. I’ll use a multimeter to turn down the current to 2000ma unless I’m using active cooling.

In the future I’ll probably add another 96v2 to each driver making each of them run (3) 96’s.

Sound good ? No ?

Each driver was 200.00 delivered.

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They're usually $168. Arrow ships free. You got skunked a bit. they're out of stock though so your options are limited. I bet you could saved 40-50 had you searched a bit. But not a huge deal.

ThatKidiscrying said:

Well wrong or right I just placed my order for (2) HLG-600H-54a drivers. My plan is to run two 96v2’s per driver. I’ll use a multimeter to turn down the current to 2000ma unless I’m using active cooling.

In the future I’ll probably add another 96v2 to each driver making each of them run (3) 96’s.

Sound good ? No ?

Each driver was 200.00 delivered.

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Do you mean 2,000mA per QB 96?

The HLG-600H-54a current adjustment range is 4.05 amps to 12.12 amps (according to test report).

Barristan Whitebeard said:

Do you mean 2,000mA per QB 96?

The HLG-600H-54a current adjustment range is 4.05 amps to 12.12 amps (according to test report).

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Yes per board or a little more. 3500ma to each board giving me around 185 watts at each board.

Airwalker16 said:

They're usually $168. Arrow ships free. You got skunked a bit. they're out of stock though so your options are limited. I bet you could saved 40-50 had you searched a bit. But not a huge deal.

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I looked there, they're 178.00 but like you say out of stock. Mouser only has one left and they’ll be out of stock until June.

I looked some other place that was cheaper but they added a tariff fee and that boosted it up to about the same.

Mouser will have it to me by Friday and HLG shipped my boards priority mail this Am. I have aluminum angle, wire,wagos, and rivets.....

I meant to say 200 watts in that previous post rather than 2000ma. That good good got me....

Am i limited to 4 qb288 v2 r specs on an hlg-600-54b?

ianc4990 said:

Am i limited to 4 qb288 v2 r specs on an hlg-600-54b?

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Absolutely not. That's the beauty of constant voltage drivers rather than constant current ones. They have limits, but can run 2 parallel strings of however many boards Max can fit on them.
In your case however, you could add one more, or 20. The driver will split it's total output among however many boards in parallel are wired to it, evenly. Like in this picture for example, just imagine the strips are boards and the driver is a 600.

Airwalker16 said:

Absolutely not. That's the beauty of constant voltage drivers rather than constant current ones. They have limits, but can run 2 parallel strings of however many boards Max can fit on them.
In your case however, you could add one more, or 20. The driver will split it's total output among however many boards in parallel are wired to it, evenly. Like in this picture for example, just imagine the strips are boards and the driver is a 600.
View attachment 4541682

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Awesome. I have both of my lights wired in parallel. 1 light has 6 boards split between 2 hlg320-54b, and now i can add the 2 boards i just got to my hlg600 diy rig, and itll be decently even between the two!

I thought the driver only output around 277v and that you had to stay in the operating range of the driver. IE 4x54=216 so i would be only able to add 1 more board and be under the limit.

ianc4990 said:

I thought the driver only output around 277v and that you had to stay in the operating range of the driver. IE 4x54=216 so i would be only able to add 1 more board and be under the limit.

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277V is input. I think you misread the Info on the drivers face?
If it's a constant current driver it will have a "C" in the model #, homie. I.e. HLG-320H-C2100AB

is there a way beyond just turning on the boards to know if they are 100% functional? If i have qb rspecs and want to know that all of the diodes. all of the lights on the board are working, is there a way to test this?

RamenToppings said:

is there a way beyond just turning on the boards to know if they are 100% functional? If i have qb rspecs and want to know that all of the diodes. all of the lights on the board are working, is there a way to test this?

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A kill-a-watt plugged in to the wall could tell you wattage draw

andymex said:

Tbone did that. He is the guru of quantum boards in grasscity. I only plan to add 1 or 2 uv leds per board. For a total of 35 watts of uv in my 4x4 tent.

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Yeah, I know Tbone from my time at GC, but I haven't been over there for quite a while. Did he happen to monitor thermal performance after adding the extra diodes? I would be concerned about increasing the board temps.

Humple said:

Yeah, I know Tbone from my time at GC, but I haven't been over there for quite a while. Did he happen to monitor thermal performance after adding the extra diodes? I would be concerned about increasing the board temps.

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I am also concerned about that. I will only add one uv diode per board because of that.

Running LEDs at their maximum rated current defeats the whole purpose of LED lighting: efficiency. We're running lights here, not hot rods. More POWER! NO! Running QB 96s at max, considering the cost and efficiency loss, you might as well go back to HPS, efficiency at that level is not much better than HPS and a hell of a lot more expensive and will generate a lot of heat.

I lowered my rig about 5 inches or so and have vastly increased my lux readings. Getting 22-25k around the edges 44-50k in the middle with the 96s not even on. 50k on edges with the 96s on and 75k in the middle. Wow

I want to start growing for the first time and was looking for a good setup. My tent is 3x3. Prob growing in coco, but not set on it yet.

Would 4 of the HLG QB132 work well for that space? I'm leaning towards the HLG-240H-C1750 for a driver. Planning to probably mount them on something rigged out of aluminum angle.

Does that seem reasonable? I've read a ton, but am hesitating on taking the plunge.

Radagast the Brownthumbed said:

I want to start growing for the first time and was looking for a good setup. My tent is 3x3. Prob growing in coco, but not set on it yet.

Would 4 of the HLG QB132 work well for that space? I'm leaning towards the HLG-240H-C1750 for a driver. Planning to probably mount them on something rigged out of aluminum angle.

Does that seem reasonable? I've read a ton, but am hesitating on taking the plunge.

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Well that's a very good idea for a fixture if you're space were smaller. But a 3x3 needs 300watts minimum If you want the results your after. Those 132 boards claim 75watts without heatsinks but from the people who've used them here, it's more like 50. If you were to get some strips from cutter and an HLG-320H-48A driver, you'd be better off. 6-8 of the strips will be running them closer to 1amp(1,000mA) and would require you to heatsink then somehow. BUT, if you get 12-15 of them to share the amperage of that driver, they'll be at or below the 500mA threshold which states on the website that heatsinking isn't needed. I'd say go that route instead. You can still use aluminum angle to build a square or more a rectangle to mount them on. This will give you far better spread and an overall more effective light. The strips are 2' long and just right for your space.