Need help picking light.

K

Klorhex

Member
Lets start this of by saying Hi to everyone! new guy here from Sweden.

Im looking for opinions on how my new light setup should look.

Ive been reading alot about strips/COB`s and QB`s. and to be fair, the more i read the more confused i get

Im trying to light a area 120cm x 250cm (about 4x8 )

Today im running 8x 250w hps. I know its no good, but they where free and i had to start with something :D

Im going to run scrog or sog on the next runs if that makes a difference when choosing a light

Ive set a budget on around 1000$ including shipping to sweden.

This could be pre buildt or DIY, im no stranger to electricity or bending some aluminium.

Thankful for any help or pointers i could get

(Sorry for any spelling mistakes or grammar)
 
MJCanada

MJCanada

Well-Known Member
Cobkits set me up good...

I'm in a small space, but man, his products are top notch and since you can DIY... pretty darn easy to get what you are looking for.

All the other not-so-DIY sites you pay through your nose for that extra plug-n-play style setups (QBs etc...)

Just my 2 cents...
 
K

Klorhex

Member
CobKits said:
cheap and easy: replace each 250 with 150W cob on active heatsink, ~$800

little more involved but more efficient: build an array of 18 cobs@ 60-70W ea, ~$1200
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Right now im leaning towards the 18-20 cobs setup. So i have a few followup questions on that :D

What brand of cob would you run ? how big of a difference is there between a Cree, Vero and Citizen?

Right now im thinking Cree cxb3590 at 3500k, or should i mix in some others aswell?

Is it worth adding mono diods to enhance the spectrum? or just run them as they are and be a happy farmer ?
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
Maybe some more info... How tall is your grow area? 50w cobs=hanging height around 30 cms, 75w = a bit more.
How cold is your grow area in winter? How do you control enviroment? Aircon or venting with fans? HPS might even be a good option if you are in the north or if your grow area is hard to keep temprature up, especially in the winter. Leds are good if your hps gets too hot but maybe not so good if your grow area is cold. Youll end up saving some watts on your lights but have to put in more watts in heating.
Cree cxb is the chip of yesteryear, they are ok but not as efficient as latest gen of vero and citizen, and also generally more expensive. In any case i recomend @CobKits: good service and prices. Remember your gear has to clear customs and youll have to pay taxes (moms etc). Happy growing

Svensk men inte i sverige ;)
 
V

VegasWinner

Well-Known Member
Check GrowGreen 200w boards. eight GrowGreen 200w boards will exceed your expectations. check out thread here on riu. A lot of drama, but I have learned over time when change appears folks hate change.

I think pcb's is the future. i studied other vendors designing and building pcb light engine boards. That is he way to go for enclosed spaces like closets and such with limited exhaust options.

I used to use a 600w hps in a closet with an exhaust fan thru a ceiling opening to exhaust outside in room above.

Now with a GrowGreen 200w boards minimal heat to worry about. I used to use COB's but they make heat passively that needs to be removed too.
 
Danielson999

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
Hey @VegasWinner, speaking of "other vendors" shouldn't you be paying to advertise on RIU like all the "other vendors"? Just wondering because I notice you spamming the threads alot lately with your questionable products. Maybe I have it all wrong but I thought it's against forum policy, perhaps a moderator could answer the question.
 
K

Klorhex

Member
Rocket Soul said:
Maybe some more info... How tall is your grow area? 50w cobs=hanging height around 30 cms, 75w = a bit more.
How cold is your grow area in winter? How do you control enviroment? Aircon or venting with fans? HPS might even be a good option if you are in the north or if your grow area is hard to keep temprature up, especially in the winter. Leds are good if your hps gets too hot but maybe not so good if your grow area is cold. Youll end up saving some watts on your lights but have to put in more watts in heating.
Cree cxb is the chip of yesteryear, they are ok but not as efficient as latest gen of vero and citizen, and also generally more expensive. In any case i recomend @CobKits: good service and prices. Remember your gear has to clear customs and youll have to pay taxes (moms etc). Happy growing

Svensk men inte i sverige ;)
Click to expand...
My area is about 2.3m tall so hight shouldent be an issue. room is well isolated so temps shouldent change to much, right now i run a ac to get the room down from about 35c to around 25c. i live in the south where it doesn`t get that cold
 
K

Klorhex

Member
CobKits said:
citi luminus or vero


little to no difference other than price


you certainly dont need them to raise a potent hi-yielding crop
Click to expand...

Well, id there isent that much difference, ill be going with something cheaper like citizen.

Should i go with CLU048 1212 90 CRI @ 3500k for a nice allround setup?

6 cobs per driver Meanwell HLG-320H-C1400B x3

How do see what gen the cob is if it isent listed? Can i see it on a serialnumber or something?
 
CobKits

CobKits

Well-Known Member
Danielson999 said:
Hey @VegasWinner, speaking of "other vendors" shouldn't you be paying to advertise on RIU like all the "other vendors"? Just wondering because I notice you spamming the threads alot lately with your questionable products. Maybe I have it all wrong but I thought it's against forum policy, perhaps a moderator could answer the question.
Click to expand...
not a mod but as a fellow advertiser,he most certainly should pony up for an advertiser acct

apart from the non-advertiser spamming a lot of the info is just factually incorrect- for example "cobs create too much heat relative to PCBs", "phosphor white boards have UV", etc.
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
good vendors will tell you the gen or the exact part number they are offering
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Cobby has both latest gen citizen and previous gen, both work fine, bridgelux vero gen 7: easy to find and order from digikey, if you google it. The gen 7 vero is a lot better than gen6.
There is also a citizen ebay vendor in estonia if youre after 1212-chips, but they are all of prevuous gen, and i think low bin. Its a good option if you cant be bothered with customs.
If you go with cobkits, which i recomend along with any of the vendors here, the current top bang for buck option seems to be 3 luminous cxm22 on a hlg185h-A48 driver in paralell. Cobs run around 70w each in paralele if you wanna go down in watt per cob to bump efficiency juat add another one later. Tip: buy the driver from tme.eu, if it breaks down during the warranty (5y i think) youll have service in europe instead of sending it back to cobby
 
CobKits

CobKits

Well-Known Member
Rocket Soul said:
Tip: buy the driver from tme.eu, if it breaks down during the warranty (5y i think) youll have service in europe instead of sending it back to cobby
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will save you $30+ on shipping if im just sending chips/small parts and not heatsinks or drivers internationally
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
It might also be an idea to check out quantumboards and HLG: the HLG550 covers a 4x4, has nice spread, superefficient diodes of highest bin. Its on discount now: just over 1600$ for a plug and play solution, 2 for your space. Shipping might be a bitch but will probably be similar for any cob vendor: heatsinks weigh a lot. But the real problem here ishow to not get nervous about passing customs, they might find it interesting that youre brining in a very expensive greenhouse lighting, especially if you arent some kinda farmer.

The grow green board of vegas is also an option, i have a few i havent set up yet so i cant say too much about them. Problem is you have to wait for having them made in china and you have to basicly trust the chinese alibaba vendor is using the good cuality diodes. It looks like it produces similar results like cuantum board in output but its very hard to compare as there is a differemce in form factor as well. They are 2 channel dual spectr which is cool, i bought mine solely on getting a board with 3000k 90cri and 5000k on the cheap.
 
K

Klorhex

Member
Rocket Soul said:
It might also be an idea to check out quantumboards and HLG: the HLG550 covers a 4x4, has nice spread, superefficient diodes of highest bin. Its on discount now: just over 1600$ for a plug and play solution, 2 for your space. Shipping might be a bitch but will probably be similar for any cob vendor: heatsinks weigh a lot. But the real problem here ishow to not get nervous about passing customs, they might find it interesting that youre brining in a very expensive greenhouse lighting, especially if you arent some kinda farmer.

The grow green board of vegas is also an option, i have a few i havent set up yet so i cant say too much about them. Problem is you have to wait for having them made in china and you have to basicly trust the chinese alibaba vendor is using the good cuality diodes. It looks like it produces similar results like cuantum board in output but its very hard to compare as there is a differemce in form factor as well. They are 2 channel dual spectr which is cool, i bought mine solely on getting a board with 3000k 90cri and 5000k on the cheap.
Click to expand...
Yeah, customs is the least of my problems :P Ive been thinking about buying everything of alibaba aswell, picking just the parts i need, dont know how much i can save of that. all i need is cobs, heatsinks and drivers from alibaba , cables and connectors i can get around where i live. Ill see if i can get in contact with a vendor and see how much it will add up to :D
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
Id worry about customs/police in sweden. They are not like in the states, they have authority go in and check on you pretty much if they feel like.so maybe a package of real expensive hoeticulture lights at customs can be enough for them to take a look at how your powerbill switches on and off every 12 hours and thats a giveaway. But if your only importing chips and power supplies etc you should be cool.
Funny story: some guys i met got busted for somkin in their house. When the cops came my mates asked for a warrant and got laughed at by the cops: they were told they watch too many american tv shows and that its an onsite decision by the comanding officer. Stay off that radar!
 
PSUAGRO.

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Rocket Soul said:
Id worry about customs/police in sweden. They are not like in the states, they have authority go in and check on you pretty much if they feel like.so maybe a package of real expensive hoeticulture lights at customs can be enough for them to take a look at how your powerbill switches on and off every 12 hours and thats a giveaway. But if your only importing chips and power supplies etc you should be cool.
Funny story: some guys i met got busted for somkin in their house. When the cops came my mates asked for a warrant and got laughed at by the cops: they were told they watch too many american tv shows and that its an onsite decision by the comanding officer. Stay off that radar!
Click to expand...
Really? that's troublesome for personal rights
 
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