Vipar COB led grow (sog) - pics

12/01/17

And the beat goes on.
So i write these words while toking on a Skunk #1 weed joint with a sprinkle of Skunk #1 hash i made ..and the joint was then rolled on some of the buds in my current grow *Yummy*

So, the bud expansion slowly continues, temps are still a little low but I'm not too worried about a little slower bud growth. Very happy with resin output (see pic 7), all the buds have this lovely tric layout along all the leaves (would make a decent hash maker me thinks). I've pulled back a little on the feeding and all seems good. .."everything is proceeding as i have foreseen!"

Temp lights on (run at night) 20-23C
Temp lights off 15C


On a side note: I.ve just started soaking some seeds for my next grow;
Pineapple Kush (Royal Queen seeds)
and Strawberry cream (Breaking Buds).
I have one seed of Strawberry Cough (not Kyle's version but from the seed stock he gave Dutch Passion - that was the story i heard), so i might pop that bean too. I'll have to see about space (i think 2 plants-scrog- in a 1 meter square space is big enough though).

hmm pineapple kush. Sounds nice. I found the smelly culprit amongst my new lot - it's a critical kush from barney's seeds!

ps: I think your yield outperformed my results under a hps so not bad at all. Least I think so.

blackmelo said:

hmm pineapple kush. Sounds nice. I found the smelly culprit amongst my new lot - it's a critical kush from barney's seeds!

ps: I think your yield outperformed my results under a hps so not bad at all. Least I think so.

Click to expand...

I hear the Pineapple Kush is really fruity tasting and so it's first in the cue for growing out. I've just got a bunch of new seeds (chosen for fruity tastes mainly) but i wanted to grow a modern Kush strain first.
Too many strains and not enough grow tent ..Strawberry Banana and Chocolope also waiting in the wings to be grown. I also have a landrace sativa cross (Malawi x Panama) which i want to grow out soon ..even though it has the expected (12 week+) flower time the smoke is supposed to be really good.

fyi - Here's the PKush seedling in a seed cell (waiting to sprout beside her is a Strawberry Cream). These seed cells/pots are a new investment (all of £8 ). They seemed interesting as they air prune the seedlings roots and (apparently) ready the seedling better for larger air prune/material pots. Figured I'd give them a whirl

19/01/18
Well the chill of winter is still in effect. The grow tent is reaching 24c, but only after the led has warmed up the tent This old skunk strain is looking good though, pistol hairs are starting (on mass) to turn red. Not a massive flowering plant (this strain is too early for things like 'big bud' style cross breeding) but nonetheless it's doing quite well under the cob light. I do feel i should have defoliated a bit though (i made a conscious effort to not do that) as (at the mo) the upper sections of the buds are more developed and fat. Although there's still a few weeks to go (i decided i want to run it a little longer - for a more 'medicinal' effect) so we'll see.

Temp lights on (run at night) 20-24C
Temp lights off 15C

26/01/18
This week Most/all of the trics have turned milky (I've been dropping nute levels too) and the hairs have mostly all turned red (a few buds here and there with a tuft of white hairs still), Temps are still quite cold which has slowed growth but no biggie. Lot's of tric production though (see pics), so no issue with this light and a lack of UV light.
Now, this week I've started to feed only ph-ed water with some 'Billingtons Unrefined Molasses Cane Sugar' diluted into it (i actually started adding this sugar, in moderation, from week 4/5). imo - I find i can get a nicer flavour profile doing this (as well as using changes in smell to help assess things). From here on in I'll probably just feed the plants ph-ed water.

Did notice one issue arising (this week) from not defoliating (given my space and morning humidity levels), an increased chance of powdery mildew (the thicker leaf canopy appears to have kept too much moisture trapped in the deeper foliage). Luckily it seems to be contained to a few leaves/buds inside (lower in) the canopy. Perhaps putting a fan under my canopy would have addressed it (its only a small amount in a few places). Still, action needed to be taken so i unleashed the UV-C death ray of doom (15 watts UV-C power). I also removed what i saw from the leaves before giving the canopy (top and bottom) a blast of UV-C. I'll keep an eye on things and maybe give the canopy further blasts over the week (i also blasted the room the tent is in ..just in case. Will also be interesting to see if the UV-C effects tric production

Will harvest soon, but seeing as i'm judging on tric colour; I get the feeling I'm 2 weeks (roughly) away from the type of product i want to harvest. We'll see, as this strain can be fast to mature (usually when the temps are higher that is).
I'll also defoliate all the major leaves before harvest, so I can get some pics of the buds under the canopy down to the net (the lower buds do 'seem' in places under developed from lack of light exposure - but the buds are still growing).


Temp lights on (run at night) 20-24C
Temp lights off 15C

Thought I'd add a pic of 3 new strains for my next round (i have a few plants so i'll grow them normally *no scrog*). So I'll have 2 1990's skunk clone plants and 3 plants from seed in the flower tent.

The three new strains will be Strawberry cream (Breaking Buds - mostly sativa) *top left in pic*, Pineapple kush (Royal Queen seeds - mostly indica)*top right* and Malawi x Panama (ACE seeds)*bottom of pic*. Actually, the MxP hasn't made ground level yet ..but the tap root is out and the rest of her is lurking just under the surface! The MxP should be interesting to grow, it's also supposed to be a very trippy sativa (i love the parent genes). I wonder what kind of charas this plant will give *yum!*

02/02/18 (approx. day 64 from switching lights to 12/12)

The end of days is upon us.
So this week it's been straight water all the way (with a tiny dose of molasses - 1 TeaSpoon to 5lts).
I'll continue to water (with just water) till a couple of days before harvest.
The leaves are starting to get lighter (so hopefully those buds are sucking up the stored nutes in their final swell).
Temps are still a little chilly but not overly so (maybe the cooler temps will give a better smell/taste profile, we'll see).
Humidity this week has naturally dropped in the tent; below 50% (to 48%) during lights on (still 60+ lights out), which always (indoors, for me) seems to indicate the time is close.
Trics are about 80% milky, 10%clear and 10% amber.
Smell has died off this week but expect it to start rising again over the next week (the usual smell change for this strain towards harvest). I'm looking to harvest at around 60% milky / 40% amber.

Temp lights on (run at night) 20-24C
Temp lights off 15C


*Veg tent pic*
Thought I'd add a pic of the new babies (I also have 2 more skunk 1993 clones - ready to go into final pots anytime). The new strains (fems) are 1 strawberry cream(top left), 1 pineapple kush(top right) and 1 Malawi x Panama (the little'un at the front). Considering the size of my flower tent, i think I'll grow these in pots with just basic training (no scrog). Plus, if i grow them 'standard' I can (weather permitting) give them some outdoor sun action. Getting ahead of myself enjoy this weeks pics.

11/02/18

This week it's been all microscopes on-deck. However the trics are changing slowwwly. To be honest, i could harvest now (or really a week or so back) but i want that 60/40 ratio and a more complex flavour/smell profile (that a little more time might provide). Trics are about 70% milky, 10%clear and 20% amber. Smell in the tent has started to take on that classic skunk smell (another indication for this strain that harvest is here), whereas earlier in flower the smell profile was more like an overripe fruit bowel.

fyi - The areas of PM i got seem to be contained (thanks to UVC), first time i've had PM inside so it was a fun and educational mission. Although i will have to resign myself to the extra step of h2o2 washing the harvest to clean off any remnants of dead pm (and a full sterilisation of grow tent afterwards, naturally). Given the higher humidity i get i think my future inside scrog grows will be more defoliated deeper in the canopy
I may also avoid using Smart pots as the 'final' pot (as they seemed to me to increase the relative humidity more ..compared to plastic pots).

Apart from more discolouration in the leaves (from flushing) the crop seems about the same as last week (only a few white bud hairs here and there with the majority orange). Enjoy the update pics.

Temp lights on (run at night) 20-23C
Temp lights off 14/15C

14/02/2018
Well, circumstances change (got to travel away from my grow for a week+). And so (at around 70/25/5*milky/amber/clear* trics) its time to harvest. I spent an hour removing just leaves (for the pics) although i only really got 1/2 way down to the net screen ..i swear the canopy hardly looks any different!
Nothing much has changed (in growth etc) since my last post. I tailed off the watering over the last few days too. The buds themselves are definitely more defined (and denser) the top few inches and I'm sure the heavy foliage hindered growth further down (due to light penetration). The choice to let the flowers get six inches above net before flipping to 12/12 really started the problem (imo). I had been advised to check that out but for me, the strain (with led lights) that just didn't work ..I get the feeling (with led) you should generally defoliate a bit to help with light penetration (and switch to 12/12 when plants are lower*at net height*).
Plants seem depleted of nutes and (judging by leaf colour) are riding on leaf stores. I pulled off a leaf (at the stem) and tasted the sap from the leaf. It tasted like sweet 'herbal' water. Apparently (i heard this recently), it tastes bitter if nutes are still heavy ..please note though; I have no idea if this is true or simply an old wives tale

The PM issue (for the most part) was contained within the bottom six inches of canopy (the uvc light did it's thing and stopped further progress). Although it has affected bud growth lower down in the canopy (the colder temps and heavy foliage were also factors in this). When i try scroging again i'll definitely defoliate a bit and add a fan to the underside of the canopy (and have a uvc light regime in place). There are always advantages to PM however; it did give me a chance to try the Cervantes peroxide wash. I must say it worked like a treat. After a ten minute soak (and some finger/bud agitation) the PM bubbled off and sat on the surface of the water.
The buds I was left with (after a quick wash off in fresh water) were surprising PM free. Thank you Mr. Cervantes!

Now, one thing I'm also finding is how long it can take to harvest a meter square scrog which was allowed to get unruly ..especially when you only really have access to one side of the tent
After 4 hours or so I had cleared the top of the canopy (down to the net) and was left with just the lower part of the canopy with popcorn buds on it (plus some nice 'scissor' hash). As I cut the buds, I trimmed and placed in paper bags. I ended up with three large brown paper bags (filed 1/4 way - for drying) of quality bud. And 1.5 bags of bud which (to some degree) had PM on it and needed the Cervantes wash.
There's still about half a bag of popcorn bud on the plant. I'll just leave that on the plants (and under lights) to start drying while I'm away (i stopped watering a couple of days ago). Just to see how it turns out I did cut a bud 7 days ago, drying small sections of the bud using separate (and very small) cardboard boxes). I'm smoking the result as I type and it signifies the harvest will at least taste like i hope (sweet, with an old skunk flavour crossed with good old style bag weed

Well apart from final drying and a weight report (and perhaps a breakdown of the light i used) that's it for this grow. I don't think i got a great result (compared to growing a full size plant or a more controlled scrog) but we'll see. The bud tops were especially dense and weighty ..so maybe it will even out some. Now all I need to do is give the tent a full disinfection to ready it for the five plants i'm putting in next grow (currently in my grow tent). Apart from training and pruning, the next grow will probably be 'standard' (no scrog) so i can move plants from the flower tent and use some natural sunlight at times.

Here's to 2018 and many good harvests for all!

more pics

26/02/2018 - update -
Still drying Been drying at 14 to 16C ..so drying is sloooow. Only just reaching the first dry/crunchy phase (before redistributing moisture left in core of bud).

So, I paid a little more for experimenting Tried using (for the first time) large paper bags (for whole early drying process). Which means, this grow i met 'pm' AND I met the 'other' mold while drying ..sigh, high moisture issues got me in this indoor grow but at least i got feedback/critical info about when these molds will strike in my setup. i just grabbed a few hand fulls (ones molded and buds around mold) and threw them out the drying bags (future note; never put too many buds in paper bag when drying as you create a high moisture area in the center of the buds Probably two layers of bud per bag would have been better. Incidentally all bud washed in peroxide did not mold at all during drying ..it seemed to me that the peroxide staves off mold in drying. Perhaps another reason to wash fresh bud in peroxide before drying process?

I've decided to return to my own special 'modded' drying and curing process (the curing method often touted online never seems to work as well as my own 'simpler' method - fyi, I'm based in the south of UK). It's nothing special (which is why i like it), but i use small cardboard boxes and place 10 to 15g of fresh cut buds in each box (buds cut down to 'budlets' - I shoot closer to 10g in each box).
Close+seal boxes and place in dark loft (this has the lowest temps in my house ..in winter time that is (any cool/cold place in the house is good really).
After approx. 5/7 days in boxes, check contents after a few days and monitor until it's crisp dry on outside. *at this point you either just leave buds in boxes and smoke whenever (and you get a 'rudimentary' cure as time goes on), or;*
Now: start switching (daily) between storing in airtight jars with moisture gauges, and (once moisture has redistributed - when max moisture peaks on gauges) place back in cardboard boxes for 24hrs (or until outside of buds are crispy dry again). Repeat until moisture in buds is fixed at 60/62. Then, store in airtight jars for long 'pro' cure with moisture gauges (often i hardly need to burp jars after this either).

imo - The secret is the box size / amount of bud stored in box. The wife drinks Nescafe Gold Skinny Latte sachets (dont ask). The boxes they come in are perfect for my needs (and they have a closing tabs too). I'm collecting them as they're so good for curing on my scale (currently have about 20 boxes - lol). And they 'stack store' too
This method is simple for me (in ease and the fact its really only two steps) and just works each time. I came to it after finding too many times that my 'cured' bud didn't taste as good as THAT random bud that fell on the floor while pruning last crop ..and somehow just being on the floor in the corner of some room (with light and non favourable conditions) it tastes REALLY good ..so why spend time on lots of slow steps if i can just throw my stash on the floor and get a decent cure that lead me to using small boxes that will dry and give a simple cure ..and with a few extra steps (moisture redistribution) I get a slightly nicer 'pro' cure.

*pics - The box of choice and one pic of a stack of boxes filled with bud ..stored in my guitar loft at the mo *
Will have a final weight soon - I figure (for accuracy) it's better to weigh the crop once the bud reaches that perfect 62% moisture level

CobKits said:

if this is like many its got multiple small drivers

if you yank one of two drivers then wire the cobs from both in parallel you cut the current to all of them in half which will boost efficiency. put the other driver on the shelf for a spare

Click to expand...

Hey. I took the ViPar cob light apart, finally
I also re-tested the draw at wall (after it was on for a few hours) it fluctuated between 512 / 513 watts with all nine cobs turned on.
The nine cobs have 1 driver each, I've attached a pic of one of the drivers (they are all the same spec) *see pic 8*

I noticed that the cobs themselves (after a grow) had a white/cloudy look to them. At first i thought heat damage on the glass covers, but i used some isopropil (on a soft svelte cloth) and found it cleaned off the glass (that sits over the chips) ..no idea what this cloudy residue was (dust/dried moisture perhaps?) i wonder how much effect that build up had on cob efficiency

I noticed a number of wires (connecting chips to drivers) had threaded into the heat sinks. I felt that would cause more heat in the wire (and heat sink) so i moved the offending wires so they didn't directly touch the heat sinks (to any real degree).

fyi - I tried to remove a chip from a heat sink, but after removing the 4 screws (that hold chip/base plate to heat sink) i couldn't remove the chip from the heat sink. I guess its heat paste/glued to heat sink, so i left them alone.

Also, these red/blue/green chips display other colours apart from RGB (when a white light is shined on them from different angles). Not sure what that means but I thought I'd mention it.

more pics

id do 2 citi 1212s per driver

CobKits said:

id do 2 citi 1212s per driver

Click to expand...

Or 9 1212 hack that will be great

CobKits said:

id do 2 citi 1212s per driver

Click to expand...

swedsteven said:

Or 9 1212 hack that will be great

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info guys.
So from what you both say; I could wire two citi 1212s per driver (for efficiency) ..or, just replace the ones i have directly with citi 1212s (easier mod in priciple). I might just try both

Thanks again. Much appreciate the input ..leds seem like such a 'dark art' sometimes

Specs:
Chinese cob light (9 cobs - 512 Watts)
4 plants in scrog (two in 5 gallon, one in 3.5gallon and one in 3lt pot).
coco medium with biobizz (in grow) and floranova bloom (flower)

Final results:
Well, after three months we're finally there.
All those days fiddling with ferts and pipettes, squinting at digital ph gauges and risking life and limb with UVC bulbs has finally payed off. All bud is dried to around 60/62% moisture content. It always shocks me how much size you lose in drying ..but all the buds are heavy and have that nice Dutch coffee shop spring/bounce to them when squeezed
So I got 173.8g of nice bud and 34.7g of popcorn bud (from the underlying canopy that didn't really get light). And a nice big bag of trimmings to add to my stockpile of past harvest trimmings (waiting for future hash production).

Total Bud (all manicured) - 208.5g / 7.4oz

Note:
i haven't included any bud smoked from this crop ..as i didn't weigh as i smoked
but I figure 1Oz smoked Plus, the loses to PM in grow (as well as some mold loses during the 'bag' drying process I experimented with).
Not anywhere near that magic 1 Watt / 1 gram number that people strive for, but I got enough product for my needs. Though i feel i could have done better if I had pruned the canopy rather then leaving it pretty natural, and make sure to get those temps higher and moisture levels lower (winter has been a pain this year for me - keeping the grow room colder and with more moisture). This was my first 'real' scrog attempt (filling the whole tent), and i got a result somewhat close to when i grew 8 small plants in the same space (i didn't have temp and moisture issues in that 'summer season' grow however). So overall a win for scrog (plus its easier ti maintain then 8 plants). I have some new strains to grow out next, a 'half scrog half natural/lst' grow will be the route for the next round.
I'll also look at modding this light with better cob chips. That should be fun

Smoke:
Well at around 60/62% moisture (approx. 3 weeks drying) the bud is starting to give that classic skunk smell/flavour (leaving the bud out for an hour intensifies smell / flavour).
And I seem to be able to taste the difference adding molasses cane sugar had (from week 4 flower onwards - and some black strap molasis in week eight). There is a subtle malty/brown sugar sweetness after the exhale ..very nice. The longer two week flush seems to have been a good choice too.
I'm sure (from smoking) that this is a hybrid. Skunk is the underlying tone, but it has a piney sweet sativa edge (also expressed in the high). Very 'up / do things' high although (when smoked more heavily) the couch starts to look very appealing.

This plant is a stealthy grow, low on smell (both in flower and during early drying) unless you agitate the buds too much (then 'that' smell hits the air). If you continue to jar cure (after a base drying) the buds really express themselves (full smell profile comes out). So after 2/3 months sealed in cure jars ..opening the jars knocks you over with skunk-tasticness Will be interesting to see how the sugar changes the taste profile after that time. I've put some bud aside (will smoke the rest before) to get the full 3 month cure (while my next flower crop is going).

Pics:
I added a 70cl (1.23 Pints) mason 'moonshine' jar for scale. The old style glass jam jar is 1000Ml (1.8 Pints) and I have no idea about the larger plastic jars (they came with my food vacuum pump).
Beware; gratuitous bud and guitar shot ahead (a 1915 Washburn Parlor ..for those that care

swedsteven said:

Or 9 1212 hack that will be great

Click to expand...

CobKits said:

id do 2 citi 1212s per driver

Click to expand...

I saw these (here in the UK), what do you think? I figure 3500k is a good 'in the middle' light spectrum? or, would you just go 3000k for your flower tent (i thought 3500 might reduce plant stretch over 3000k). I was going to get five (5 cobs for a 1m2 tent should be enough, i think). Then later, get four other cobs with differing K ratings perhaps?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253471661913?ViewItem=&item=253471661913

So, apparently these specific citi 1212 cobs won't work well with the drivers in my old ViPar cob light (will only power them to 18 watts). Here was the reply I got:

"I'm afraid to tell you that the drivers won't match the cobs for the following reason:
The drivers power output is 550mA max so you would be getting only about 18w per cob believe it or not. It would however perform very efficiently because there would be very little heat produced and lots of photons but still only 18w.
Also I'm not sure if the cobs would be able to take the voltage because the cobs work at 37v more or less and the drivers start at 55v.

It can be done but you need to look more into the drivers you want. If you get 1400mA drivers you will be getting 50w per cob and would have one mother of a hps killer but cost's do start to get high."

If people agree that that is the case, can anyone tell me a decent cob chip that would work? Otherwise I'll resign myself to having to get new drivers too (although that would mean not upgrading the light for a time).