COB LED Setup Assistance

Teff

Teff

Member
Hello friends, they call me Teff and this is my first venture into LEDs.

After doing some reading and video watching I decided to order some things to get my build started and I was hoping I could get some assistance with filling in the blanks.

Tent: 20"x36"x62"
LEDs: 5x CREE CXB 3070s
Driver: 1x HLG-185H-C1400B


I have a few questions right off the bat but if there is anything you guys want to chime in with, like "that's too many COBs for that driver because..." I would love all the info I can get.

Are all 5 COBs going to fit on that driver?

I see a lot of people using a 36" heatsink for 5 of these LEDs, but that's the exact length of my tent.
Would it be best to buy...
2x heatsinks and put 2 LEDs on one and 3 on the other (uneven spread?)
or
1x 32"/34" heatsink and squeeze all 5 on (even more uneven spread?)
or
5x PC coolers (but then do I have to hang them all?)


I'd prefer not to have to drill anything so I think I'm going to go ahead and order some kapton tape and thermal grease.

Cheers,
Teff
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Do what I'm doing. 2 (3 for me) 30" heatsinks each with 3 3070s (3590s for me) and use 2,
120h-c1400b. They hold 3. You'll need 6 cobs & another driver but it's worth the extra 75.
Or run the 240-1400 and just do 2 & 2 on a 30" and you won't need fans. If you have a drill and drill bits, it's not that hard to drill through aluminum. Just have some drilling lube on hand. Tapping is simple too. You just screw in a screw basically but it's super hard and digs threads in.
 
PerroVerde

PerroVerde

Well-Known Member
The hlg 185 1050 would run your 5 36v 3070's. You will want dimming with that much in 5 square feet... :)
 
Waiks

Waiks

Well-Known Member
I use only 4 CXB3070s in the exact same size tent. Same driver you posted, and I use CPU coolers. Also, no drilling into the heatsink for me. I just finished my first grow/ first run with the lights and they held through with kapton tape and arctic silver 5 thermal paste. All 4 coolers are mounted on aluminum L channel making the whole thing one solid fixture instead of 4 individual hanging coolers. I feel like the spread is fine with just 4. Some people have grown well with only 3 in the same space. Like the others said above me, 5 cobs will not work with that driver. You can fit 4. If you really want to do 5 cobs however go with what Perro said and do 5 @ 1050ma. It'd actually have better light distribution and run more efficient as well.

Check out the link in my thread if you wanna see mine action :D I hit .82 gpw for my first grow ever using this DIY thing. Good stuff!
 
Teff

Teff

Member
Man Waiks your setup looks awesome. Could you explain how you wired up the 4 separate units? I couldn't find it on your thread :/
 
Waiks

Waiks

Well-Known Member
Teff said:
Man Waiks your setup looks awesome. Could you explain how you wired up the 4 separate units? I couldn't find it on your thread :/
Click to expand...
Thanks brotha :D
The cob holders made it easy to connect them all in series. I have the wires that run from each cob to another ziptied to the aluminum channel to keep it somewhat tidy.
The driver is outside of the tent to keep the heat out.
I have received criticism for using kapton tape with the cob holders instead of drilling/tapping but I have figured out the best way to keep it 1000% secure- Once you get to that step I'll go into detail.
Compared to the second light I built I consider this one a little sloppy now :P Wires everywhere, unbalanced and a pain to hang evenly lol. I plan to rebuild it soon to make it nice and neat. I'll be documenting it here when the time comes.

Keep us posted with your progress on this great journey!bongsmilie
I foresee a bright horizon in your near future :weed:
 
Teff

Teff

Member
Hey guys, so at this point I'm just waiting on a few things to come in before I can start the assembly.

I got the driver and my 5 CXBs, just waiting on the Arctic Alpine coolers and other assorted things.

I was thinking about getting a dimmer for my light, in case I end up adding the 5th LED and running the whole light lower. I watched growmau5's video and he briefly mentions a 10k Ohm "linear dimming potentiometer". Will either of these work for me?
http://www.amazon.com/10K-watt-Linear-Taper-Potentiometer/dp/B00OVCAGNY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453332553&sr=8-1&keywords=linear+dimming+potentiometer

http://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Adjustment-Single-Linear-Potentiometer/dp/B00E1IKGC4/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453332553&sr=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=linear+dimming+potentiometer
 
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